67% Crit A
67% Crit D
The film-maker cuts to a point-of-view shot through the
scope of the gun. Not only does this position us in his shoes – proving that it
is a very difficult job, but we are focused only on the potential enemies. We
are shocked when the young boy and woman appear. The confusion and indecision
is confirmed with the sniper’s facial expression. He is clearly struggling to make the decision. We are
persuaded to watch the film because we want a resolution
to this issue and to find out whether he shoots or not as well as the
consequences of this decision. The final shot of the extreme
close up on the trigger hints at the decision we realise will have massive consequences mentally.
The uses of the flash-back technique to
highlight his life also make us feel on the side of the
sniper. We can determine that he has a wife at home and a young child. These close-up shots of the birth of his child coincide with the decision of whether to shoot this mother and
child in the war zone. This reinforces the feeling of tension and fear for the sniper. There is clear distress at home with the shots of his wife in tears and the fearful
expression on his face when he is holding his own child.
The pace of shots speeds up in the second half
of the trailer. This happens at the same time as a heavy heart beat sound effect increases in
tempo. These
non-diegetic sounds, combined with the rapid images of
him visiting someone in hospital, travelling back on a plane surrounded by
coffins and enjoying normal family time at home all create the feeling that he will face difficult decisions in the film and we as the audience want
a resolution.
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The shot of the sniper travelling home on the
plane includes the framing of the coffins covered with the American
flag. This appears to be very patriotic and we
understand that it will be a proud, nationalistic movie.
Furthermore, the lighting is such that we just see the outline silhouette of
his head as his face is in darkness. This could represent the darkness he feels having made the decision.
The
peaceful quiet before the mother and son appear through the POV shot could
highlight how quickly the war can turn. This shows
that it will be an exciting film as we do not know what will happen
next. It seems to be unpredictable which is important for a movie about war.
The mixture of shots showing his normal life
back home and his life as a soldier reinforce the idea that we need to empathise with this character. We see
the dreadful effect that war can have when you
return from war. Through the simultaneous shots of his own son and the son he may well have to kill we
understand how impossible the situation really is and how
troublesome the results could be for an individual. We may want to go and see the film to gain an understanding of how
to deal with these situations.
