Film Ma Thesis
| Narrative elements
Plot: The story begins with the death of an FBI agent who has infiltrated the drug world. In order to solve the case, two Miami police detectives, James 'Sonny' Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Ricardo 'Rico' Tubbs (Jamie Foxx), take fabricated identities of drug dealers and make contact with the financial administration of a drug cartel in Colombia. They get deeply involved, trying to make gangsters believe them. During the operation, Sonny gets too involved, falling in Love with Isabella, the boss's right hand. Characters: Hero is the Miami Police detective Sonny Crockett, who is engaged in the undercover mission by FBI. Villains are chilling Colombian criminals Jose Yero, the guardian of organisation, and Jesus Montoya, a cold-blooded boss of drug cartel who operates according to his own moral principles while saying very little. Heroine is Isabella, a business woman who works with criminals and gets in a love relationship with the hero. She appears cold and dangerous, but hidden features of fragile and vulnerable woman emerge eventually. List of secondary characters include smart police officers involved in the case, and bold and tattooed criminals. Dialogue: The dialogue is characterized by bad English with Spanish influence, full of slangs. On a deeper level, dialogue in Miami Vice plays an important role, especially between Crockett and Tubbs: Det. Ricardo Tubbs: "So what's going on?" Det. Sonny Crockett: "As in?" Det. Ricardo Tubbs: "As in there is undercover and then there is "Which way is out?" Det. Sonny Crocket: "What? Do you think I'm in so deep I forgot?" Historical setting: The story is settled in the 21st century, year 2006. Location: The story takes place in urban setting, Miami, Florida. Objects or weaponry: Both the criminals and law officials use handguns, rifles and pistols. Themes: The film investigates the world of drug dealers and detectives in a high-tech ambient. Locomotion: The criminals drive large, black or white jeeps. Sonny and Ricardo travel from Miami to South America in private jet and speed boats. Police officers show up in police cars with sirens. Motif: The Ocean is a symbolical element in the film that repeats in a significant way. The Ocean presents the freedom for the hero, constantly evading him. Plot structure as suggested by Shatz's (1977): Establishment The opening sequence at the disco portrays the night life in contemporary Miami, introducing main characters on the mission. The mission is interrupted with a phone call which gives reason to Sonny for moving through the discothèque and getting out on the roof from which we can see megapolis' panorama. We become aware of the location, the historical time and of generic community in which story takes place. The infiltrated FBI agent calls Sonny to tell him that FBI undercover mission is being discovered. Animation FBI engages Sonny and Rico to complete failed mission and infiltrate the Colombian drug cartel as undercover detectives. Sonny and Rico get fabricated identities of drug dealers and get in contact with Colombian drug cartel boss. They start to organize drug deliveries from Latin America to Florida. Intensification Intensification of conflicts is caused by love affair between Sonny and Isabella. Jose Yero, one of boss's assistants, become jealous and initiates the mistrust which leads to conflict between the 'associates'. Resolution The physical threat embodied in drug criminals is eliminated in the gun fight, at the encounter between criminal group and police. The bad guys get killed and it seems that the well-ordered community is temporarily celebrated. The hero saves the community, but separates from Isabella, remaining tragically lost in the routine of everyday life. Binary oppositions that re-occur in the film are: Legal vs. Illegal 3.2 THE DEPARTED (2006) by Martin Scorsese "Loyalty is a lie. Sacrifice is a test. How far can you take it?" Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) originate from the streets of Boston's Irish American community, which is governed by the gangster Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). From that point their lives develop in different directions. In order to become a state trooper, Billy Costigan joins the police Academy. On the other side, in order to provide Costello with inside-police information, Sullivan becomes a Special Unite detective. Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Sgt. Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) have chosen Costigan for a crucial job: as undercover detective he has to infiltrate Costello's closest group. Thus begins a high-stakes game, with Costigan sending back information to the cops about Costello's plans while Sullivan delivers information to his boss. Both Costigan and Sullivan act as moles, without knowing each other's positions but feeling consequences of each other's actions. The list of principal elements as suggested by Hansen et al. (1998) a) Technical elements Camera shots: Scorsese uses the mid shot and the long shot. Characters can not be separated from the milieu in which story takes place. Camera angle: The use of the straight on angle fosters the feeling that there is an invisible, neutral observer. Scorsese puts the camera on the safe position from which the story can be traced. Lenses: wide-angle. Depth of field: close-up focus. Camera movement: The elegant camera movement, in this case tracking and dolly, are a kind of trademark of Scorsese's opus. In this film they function as a reference to film noir. Editing: The scenes often begin with transgression over the details, for example State Police badges, caps, or pistols. Framing
The destinies of the main characters, both in undercover actions, in their true/false identities, Scorsese presents through juxtaposed frames with common elements. Costigan is literary in the prison, with lattice portraying his impasse situation. On the other side, Sullivan wears police shirt with his name on it, which proves that he is "in the other team" at the moment. But just like Costigan, he is captured in self-deception. |
Lighting:Scorsese uses high key, usually in scenes taking place in the night. The strong contrast between light and dark spaces alludes on film noir.
b) Symbolic elements Costume and objects: Costumes are casual, without much stylisation, except in portraying State Police Officials. Baseball caps, sneakers and sports clothes say much about the milieu in which story takes place. Special attention is devoted to working-class environment in which Frank Costello "operates" – bars, groceries, abandoned factories and sheds clearly portray the criminal milieu. Stars and performances: Matt Damon and Leonardo Di Caprio belong to the top list Hollywood actors. In the film they seem like "twins" and two sides of the coin, captured in the same identity nightmare. Sound: Another landmark of Scorsese's opus is rock music of the sixties and seventies, which stresses the atmosphere and goes in tune with editing (for example, intro with "Gimme Shelter" by Rolling Stones). Mise-en-scene
Scorsese is recognizable for his gangster sagas, which have suffered many transformations of principles through his opus. The Departed represents a natural ambient for his signature. New York milieu is changed into Boston, but the impression remains the same. In this scene at the bank, at the edge of the large city, Costello and Mr. French sadistically execute another crime, acting like inexorable torturer, without any sign of regret. The city conquered by his cruelty is behind them. Airplane above them tells about lucky ones that avoid the consequences of his actions. Murders like this can be found in other Scorsese's films, like "Goodfellas" and "Casino". Iconography applied to Buscombe's (1970) table:
Narrative elements Plot: Billy Costigan is being chosen for undercover mission and has to infiltrate Costello's closest group and inform the office about his actions. Sullivan, who is in charge of Police's Elite Unit, provides Costello with inside information. Both cops are Irish and both are disabling each one's actions. The more time Costigan spends in Costello's circle, the more difficult he finds way out. Characters: Hero is William Billy Costigan who, while just graduated from Police Academy, is being proposed to go undercover to bring down a criminal group. Irish community criminals present villains, headed by diabolic Frank Costello. Their group is enforced by Sullivan, a mole in the Police. Heroine is a police shrink, Madolyn, who gets in the relationship with both Costigan and Sullivan. Captain Queenan and Sgt. Dignam, the only characters who know the true identity of Billy Costigan, belong to the list of secondary characters. Stg. Dignam initially gives an unpleasant and provoking impression, but eventually turns out to be a messenger of the final justice. Dialogue: The dialogue is full of smart lines, swears, poem quotes, police jokes, and some Irish slang. Dialogues between police officers are characterised by subtlety and say much about the atmosphere in the department, where they act in constant hurry and rivalry. The film is also full of Costello's pretentious monologues, like: "I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me" or "When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals. Today, what I'm saying to you is this: when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?" The identity game is strongly embedded in dialogues. During the interview, Stg. Dignam asks Billy "Do you want to be a cop or do you want appear to be a cop?" As a reason for not letting Billy in State troop, Queenan says "We do not deal with self-deception." Costigan's lines also emphasize the identity game: "You know who I am!" or "I want my identity back!" Historical setting: The story is settled in the 21st century, year 2006. Location: The story takes place in urban setting, Boston, Massachusetts. Objects or weaponry: Both the criminals and law officials use handguns, rifles and pistols. Themes: The film investigates the world of Special Unite cops and Irish gangsters. Locomotion: The criminals drive inconspicuous cars, police officers drive police cars with sirens. Motif: The church is repeatedly presented, symbolically providing forgiveness for Sullivan.Plot structureas suggested by Shatz's (1977): Establishment The film begins with a monologue of Costello, which provide us with information about time and place in which the story develops, as well as about crime problems that Irish gangsters cause. The introduction also provides us with images of police academy and young police officers. We introduce the Elite Unit Department where Costigan and Sullivan are being interviewed. Through interviewing, we get the picture of Costigan's Irish background and tragic life. Captain Queenan and Sgt. Dignam employ him to go undercover and infiltrate Costello's criminal group. |
