Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Films in Slow Motion!



I guess I should start this off by saying I know next to nothing about film. I took a film course in college which consisted mostly of my professor showing up late to class, and then begging us not to give her a bad end of the year review. As you can imagine, not much learning happened in that class. One film habit I did pick up during college as a way to de-stress before my big exams (I’m looking at you midterms and finals), was binge watching movies. Something about lying down on a comfortable bed with a pair of industrial strength headphones and some snacks, really takes the edge off the intense horrors of whatever impending test may lie before you. In the process of indulging this habit, I found myself drawn to certain scenes throughout the films I watched, namely, slow-motion scenes. I mean, come on, slow-motion scenes are the coolest. The director can use them to slow down a fast moving sequence, they can use them to highlight something important, they can even use them just for the hell of it. The possibilities truly are endless.  
                All this being said, I thought I would recount some of my all-time favorite uses of slow-motion in film. Fair warning, I have a very, let’s call it eclectic style so these film range from highly acclaimed to dismally bashed by critics. So let’s jump into it.

Drive (2011)


                One of my all-time favorite films is Drive, directed by Nicholas Winding Refn and starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston and Oscar Issac. The film is a crime/drama centered on the life of a man referred to as the Driver. I could go on and on about the various aspects of this film I find absolutely brilliant, but for our purposes I’ll move straight to the hands-down best use of slow-motion in any film I’ve ever seen. Let me set up the scene. The Driver (Ryan Gosling) enters his apartment building elevator, joining Irene (Carey Mulligan) his neighbor who he has fallen in love with, and a burly well-dressed man. The man presses the ground floor button and the elevator doors close. From out of the corner of his eye, The Driver notices the glint of a handgun in the man’s inside pocket. Protectively placing a hand around Irene, the Driver guides her to the corner of the elevator. The lights dim, triggering the slow-motion, the Driver turns to face Irene. Their eyes lock in an extended stare before they move in for a passionate, unexpected, truly beautiful kiss, every movement captured in breathtaking slow-motion. The lights brighten as they pull away from one another, casting them in an almost ethereal glow. Their eyes meet again, a shy smile creeps to their mouths. The elevator rings and the door open snapping the world back into motion.           
This is a moment of pure happiness, a moment unrivaled by all other moments in this film. A moment made even more important by the events following it. Once the elevator reaches the ground floor, the Driver shoves Irene off of the elevator and proceeds to brutally attack and kill the well-dressed man. Irene watches in horror as the elevator door closes. Can you say brilliant? No matter how many times I watch this film, I can never get over this scene. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

Electrick Children (2012)



                This next film I stumbled upon after a night of watching independent movies on Netflix and it immediately captured my heart. Electrick Children, written and directed by Rebecca Thomas and starring Julia Garner, Liam Aiken (think Klaus from Viacom’s A Series of Unfortunate Events), and Rory Culkin, is a coming of age story about a young Mormon girl who believes she is pregnant as a result of immaculate conception. Picture this moment, it’s late evening, the sun hangs just below the horizon electrifying the air in an almost neon blue glow. A group of teenagers, some on bikes, others on skateboards, ride through an empty alleyway. In the front, Clyde (Rory Culkin), the unofficial leader of the group, pedals his bike, his long wavy hair blows in the wind as he moves towards the camera. Behind him Rachael (Julia Garner) rides on his pegs wearing a pair of bright red heart-shaped sunglasses. Her hands rest on Clyde’s shoulders, a mixture of peace and apprehension blankets her face. As the pair moves closer, the camera blurs into a haze of fuzzy shapes and figures. The sound of the ocean, waves pushing and pulling, can be heard. Now imagine all of this captured in a 30 second slow-motion shot. No fancy editing, no artistic lighting, just these teenagers in this empty alleyway riding towards the camera. The mix of Rachel’s expression with the undeniable energy of the air around the teenagers makes this scene so breathtakingly beautiful.
                In context of this movie, I think this scene really shows Rachael claiming control of her body. She’s fifteen, she’s pregnant with a child who she believes to be the son of God, and she’s finally doing exactly what it is she wants to do, even if she’s not entirely sure what that is yet. 

Sucker Punch (2011)


While Drive and Electrick Children use slow-motion sparingly, Sucker Punch gloriously overindulges in its slow-motion shots. From what I’m told the director Zack Snyder, think 300 or Man of Steele, really, really loves his slow-motion shots and he is not shy about using them. A little bit about Sucker Punch, it’s an action/adventure/fantasy/psychological thriller/neo-noir mashup that follows the story of five girls desire to break free from the oppressive world they live in. This film has everything you want in a movie. An amazing kickass all-girl gang, an interesting plot, complex internal struggles depicted through a series of badass fight sequences, I mean does it get any better that that? For these reasons (and also the fact that I have a horrendous crush on Emily Browning ever since she played Violet in A Series of Unfortunate Events), Sucker Punch is one of my all-time favorite movies.
                Getting back to the slow-motion though. Because this film is filled with fight scenes, and I mean deliciously filled, and Zack Snyder can’t help himself in the editing room, you can find slow-motion EVERYWHERE in this film. For this reason it’s hard for me to narrow down just one sequence that I really love, but for the purposes of this list I’ll focus on the opening scene. Unlike the simplicity of Electrick Children, Snyder pulls out all the stops for this film. There’s stylized lighting, highly gimmicky costumes, and an eerie soft music that grows into a loud orchestra/rock hybrid. Also unlike Electrick Children, this slow-motion scene lasts five minutes. For the sake of time I’ll focus on the opening fifteen to thirty seconds. The camera lands on a young woman (Emily Browning) with platinum blonde hair and heavy costume makeup on. She’s been crying, streaks of mascara run down her ghostly white skin. Outside it is dark, rain pours down from ominous grey storm clouds. A man appears in the doorway shaking his head. The young woman runs out of the room desperately making her way to the end of the hallway where she bursts through a door and falls to her knees at the foot of a large bed. Her mother has died. Intense right?
Now, I don’t want to give away any spoilers because this movie really is too good to pass up, even with its scantily clad female fighters which some took offense to. There’s something so very Xena: Warrior Princess about this film. I really dig it. I will say that this movie handles some really heavy topics that may make some people uncomfortable and as I said before Snyder isn’t afraid to go out these topics with all he’s got.

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