Limitless - Textual Analysis

Limitless

I watched the first five minutes of the film and analysed four key areas, Mise en scene, Editing, Sound and Camera Movement and Camera Shots.

Mise en sceneDuring the beginning of the film we see the famous New York city and the tracking shots and the constant jump cuts show us the streets of New York and the hotels and landscapes around the main character Bradley Cooper. The beginning of the film tells about his lifestyle and his loved ones around him as this is shown as we are introduced to them right at the beginning, we are told that he is a writer who is having trouble publishing something. There are bright high key lights surrounding him as we are introduced to the city, this signifies the chaos of New York., Todorov's theory is best suited to the film Limitless as there is a new equilibrium as things go wrong and there is a realisation of the bad things happening but then later on everything become's fine and a new equilibrium is safely established.

Camera MovementAt the start of the film there are many jump cuts and straight cuts used, this is to show the change of scene and setting, it also gives the audience a sense of realism as they are put in the position of the main character when Bradley Cooper meets his girlfriend there is a close up on his face to show his facial expression and his emotion as she ends their relationship, we can see that through the eye contact and the way he is sitting he doesn't want to lose her and doesn't want to lose what they had.

Editingthe editing in this extract consists of special effects and jump cuts, the editing also gives the audience a sense of realism, there are fast paced cuts used also, this is to show his lifestyle and the chaos he is going trough! the jump cuts are used to narrow down different parts so the audience doesn't feel lost and so they do not lose interest. the special effects put a twist on the action taking place on screen and keep the audience intrigued and interested, it also gives the film that modern appeal that will help it appeal to the younger generation as well as the older.

Sound

The sound mainly used at the very start when a fast paced sound track is used to show the excitement and daily life of the city! This is none diegetic sound as the characters on screen cannot hear it. On the other hand diegetic sound is also used as we hear Bradley Cooper speaks over the action happening on screen.