24 Extract Essay

I believe the director is trying to convey the distrust between the two characters, and itself as a theme overall in the extract. In the extract we see a woman being interrogated about a bomb and information that she only knows. However, this interrogation goes nowhere as both the interrogator and interrogated both do not trust each other. Another example of distrust in this extract is with the people watching the interrogation on camera. It signifies distrust of the man and the other workers, as they are keeping an eye on him.

The scene begins with the interrogator entering a room filled with heavy breathing and anxiety in the air. It pans to a security camera, letting us know that the interview is being recorded. The mood is being set in these scenes, as they exchange glances and the interrogator cautiously puts down a packet of papers. This creates a feeling of unease and seriousness. Next, the woman glances at a clock helping convey her emotions of being anxious, this is filmed with an eye-line match. The woman quickly explains her demands in a serious tone, without any sense of relaxation. We next see the first instance of distrust; the woman will not tell the man who her contact is. As the conversation continues the ambiance gets louder and louder, and so does the score. This shows build-up and pressure in the conversation. The next example of distrust is the man not letting her leave until she tells him what he wants to know. The actor increases in pace as he walks around the room, showing impatience and hinting on an outburst if she keeps refusing his demands. The editing during the dialogue has intense shadows, shaky camera movement, and many jump cuts. Reason for this being the fact that it gives an intense mood to an extract befitting a thriller. After more demands are denied we see the interrogator's first outburst; He picks up a table and throws it into the side of the room, demanding that she needs to stop wasting his time. The perspective is from an over the shoulder shot of the woman, and we can see her shake as he throws it. The director was trying to convey that she had no power in her situation and could not stop him if he did anything rash. The director explains this to the audience with the next lines of dialogue. There is a shot-reverse-shot with the people watching the interview from the camera at the beginning, letting us know that they do not trust the interrogator to be calm after what they just witnessed. Next is the climax of the scene, where the woman claims he would have to follow her lead. This is her breaking point because as of this point, he had all the power in the conversation. This plays out with both their reactions in consecutive jump-cuts, showing the calm before the storm. Right after, he charges at her and we hear the diegetic sound of the chair squealing as it slides on the floor. This is a great sound effect, as it conveys travel and the force, he is pushing her at. Next, a split-screen is shown of the two pushed into the wall and the people outside rushing to resolve the issue. During this the incidental music reaches its climax, creating a feeling of impact and violence.  This climax is done well as the interrogator solves the issue of distrust by deciding to do whatever it takes to get the answers.

All these examples work together to create the director’s vision of distrust towards each other. The way they act shows that they do not feel like creating friendships and only want to benefit themselves. The editing creates a violent and disliking atmosphere between the characters, and the actions showed the anxiety between the two. What is most important is after all the interrogators' insane scare tactics and violent methods, she still stands her ground and sticks up for her demands.