Savages - Textual Analysis

Savages 2012

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

Mise en scene

At the start of the film we are introduced to a tape recording of four men being tied down and held hostage by the looks of it, they have cuts and blood on their faces, this shows us that the situation taking place is not a nice one, we then see a man who is wearing a skeleton mask, this man has a chainsaw in his hand and he looks towards one of the hostages, the clip then suddenly switches to the beach and sunny sea of California where we are introduced to a young blonde woman called 'O' (Blake Lively) she begins to talk and says 'just cause i am telling you this story doesn't mean i am alive at the end of it, this could all be pre recorded and i could be talking to you from the bottom of the ocean, yeah its that kind of story, because things just got so out of control' what's happening on screen at this point and with what she is saying the back ground is all in black and white, this may tell us (the audience) that she is speaking in the past and everything we are about to see has already happened, this keeps the audience interested. after this point we are just shown the beaches of California and the lovely scenery surrounding them and their lives. we are then taken to their home, as the film continues we are bought to the location of their home and we are shown a snapshot of the outside to show us the audience how nice their home is, after this we see the couple having sexual intercourse this shows us their relationship and how close the bond is between them, during this there is a voice over from Blake Lively as she tells us about 'Tron' the love of her life as she explains, she tells us he is an ex marine and still has bad memories of his past.

Editing

During the beginning of the clip straight cuts and flash backs are used to create emphasis to the action occuring on screen, the flash back is used as Blake Lively finishes her talk during the walk on the beach, she says 'everything just got so out of control' and then a flash back of many different situations takes place including her being stabbed in the arm! the straight cuts are used to change scene so the audience do not lose interest in the film early on, we see an example of a straight cut as we go from seeing the house from the outside to being directly taken inside and apart of the action that is happening.

Sound

As Blake Lively walks down the beach there is a soft and mysterious sound track being played behind her voice, this keeps the audience intrigued and in curiosity, as we are shown the sunny beaches of California a non diegetic sound track is played, the sound track is very appealing and very enjoyable as it sounds like a piece of music you would hear at a holiday destination. during the rest of the five minutes the only sound used is the sound of Blake Lively's voice as there is a voice over the action taking place on screen, she tells us about her life and the people she lives with in this time.

Camera Shots and Camera Movement

There are not many close ups used in the first five minutes but the ones used are establishing shots, close ups and mid shots, the establishing shot is used when we are taken to the beach of California where there are palm tree's and people relaxing, this establishing shot is used to show us the location and the relaxation of California, the close up shot appears during the couples connection when we see the emotion and the dark past through Tron's eyes as Blake Lively tells us about his life during the war and the mid shot is used when Blake Lively firstly speaks to us on the beach.