In one of the more action packed, violent scenes of Hanna
there is little dialogue however the mise en scene here almost tells you
something bad is going to happen. In the opening shot both of the characters
look messy. The man is dressed in a suit, however his top buttons are undone
and his jacket and trousers are crumpled which could give you the message that
he used to be In more control, or have some sort of power as his clothing
indicates authority however as it is now crumpled and dirty and he has a cut
down his face implying this power he once had has been taken away. The girl
looks similar. However, her clothes are very plain and simple yet also dirty
and un tidy. She is obviously young and she has white hair. Her hair could
symbolise her innocence and purity as a child.
The close ups of the characters faces showcase their facial
expressions well, you can clearly see that they are both distressed. This
distressed mood is highlighted even more by the expression on the mans face as
he sees the car pull up through the sheets. It almost foretells a future scene
in the film, as the mise en scene here almost tells you that something
significant and possibly dangerous is going to happen. Here the man seems in control as he tells the
girl where to go and goes to confront the people in the car himself, where as
he protects her. However, the sheets are very narrow, almost like a path which
makes it seem like the girl knows exactly where she has to go which does give
her some sort of control on the situation also. A tracking shot with shallow focus follows the man as he is
running towards the car. This pulls your attention to him only, and shows you
where he is running to. The P.O.V shot of the man showing the car door opening
in front of him is very effective for showing an action scene as it brings more
excitement into the scene as you immediately feel alarmed by the fact that he
almost got hit by the door, whereas if that was from a long shot it wouldn’t be
so significant and memorable.
In this scene a new character is introduced to us. She is
first seen quickly reversing her car after seeing the man running away from the
van and there is a close up of her in the car showcasing her facial expression which
indicates quite severe concentration. There is a contrast between her and the
other characters. She is very well presented, in a suit and has a clean and
expensive looking car whereas all of the other characters seem to be quite
rough and battered looking. She has seen the man running, however he has not
seen her. The way she suddenly moved as soon as she caught sight of him could
either mean that she is going to protect him, or do quite the opposite. It is
unclear here who she is and what her role is, and whether she is good or bad. I
feel that because I don’t know who she is I am immediately more encaptured in
the film as I want to see what’s going to happen and whether she’s going to
play a big part in the storyline.
At one point when the van is chasing the man, there is a
medium shot of the man running and a shallow focus. This, for me, brings my
attention on the man running but the van in the background is still significant
as it’s seen, yet blurry. I think this technique is good here so you keep your
focus on the main character of this part of the film, yet you don’t completely
forget about the others. There is an over the shoulder shot from in the car,
almost like a shot from the drivers point of view where you can also see the
man running,yet it looks like you’re looking out of the car window at him This
gives you a clearer view of how close the van is to the man which can build
anticipation as the van gets nearer. As the van is involved in a collision with
two other cars, you can tell that the drivers are annoyed by the use of mise on
scene. They have an annoyed facial expression however the most significant part
of mise on scene used here is the man in the passenger seats actions. He
angrily climbs out of the van window, so is obviously very determined to go get
his target. He must jump over another car to get to him and there is a close up
of his foot strongly hitting the bonnet of the other car leaving a dent which
to me shows his strength and anger which indicates that something violent is
about to happen between him and his victim. The fight scene is in a playground
which to me is significant, as the playground equipment to me links back to the
girl we saw in the opening shot. Playgrounds are supposed to be innocent places
full of fun and children, however obviously here that is not the case. It
reminds me of the girl as she is supposed to be young and innocent yet she is blatantly
caught up in something serious.
The weather during this whole section of the
film is a dreary, grey sky. It looks cold and all colours are dull and toned
down. This to me indicates the nature of the scene, and gives you a feel of
what the scene is going to be like right from the first shot. The next part of
the film is the most dramatic part to me, where it can make you feel a little
emotional. Even through this small section of the film I think a relationship
is created between you and the main man as it’s obvious that he’s on the “good
side.” There is non diegetic sound
throughout the fight scene but it cuts off as he kills the last man, showing
that the fight is over. He turns around and his facial expression is clearly
shocked and scared which indicates something significant is about to happen. There is a close up of the ginger women seen
before with her gun. This shot makes the gun stand out more, especially during
the over the shoulder shot where you can clearly see that the gun is pointing
at the man which creates a tension as you wait for whats going to happen. He drops to his knees which to me symbolises defeat and
could foretell that he is about to get shot.
In the closing shot the girl is seen still running away, yet
she hears a gun shot and drops to her knees. Although we do not actually see
the man getting shot, the use of mise on scene in the film implies that it was
him. Her dropping to her knees is significant in the fact that she obviously
knows what’s just happened. The camera then pans into her face into a close up
to broadcast her emotions to the audience.
