Duration: 1:13;30—1:17;15

1 Overview

It’s the middle part of the movie, the director arranges a dispute here, it’s the first and the only altercation between Lenny and Natalie in this film. In this part, Natalie walk into the house, first hide all the pens in the room to her bag, then get angry with Lenny, humiliate Lenny’s wife. As a result, Lenny goes mad, hit badly on Natalie’s face and knock her on the ground, Natalie stop shouting, walking out the house with blood on her face and the bag within pens, then sit in the car. After watch Natalie walking out, Lenny try to find a pen to make a note about Natalie, but all the pens are in Natalie’s bag. With the sound that Natalie close the car’s door, Lenny’s disease attack him again.

Contrast Dominants:


Shot Type
Master shot

Camera movement:
Flowing Natalie.

Camera angle:
Eye level

In this scene, Natalie come into her house, Lenny see her, from his eyes, we can find he doesn’t know Natalie at all, just pretend to care about Natalie. Here, camera changed, looks like from Lenny’s angle, let audiences see what Lenny sees, feel what he feels.

After Natalie come in, though Lenny’s eyes, we can see Natalie pretend to look outside the window and close all the curtains, a few shots built up a smart person immediately. And camera change to Lenny.

Here is the beginning of this part of story (between two parts of B/W scene), new we are the same as Lenny again (because we are also don’t know what is happening), and we also want to find out what’s the matter, so we will keep on watching the film, the director’s trick works again~.

Contrast Dominants:


Shot Type
Master shot

Camera angle:
Eye level

Lenny is curious on what Natalie doing and try to care about the woman he doesn’t remember. As the arrangement of the director, Lenny looks so relax, because he doesn’t remember he is the right one who kill Dodd’s partner and take the money. Director create a special sense, one side is irritable Natalie, another side is peaceful Lenny, just like the calm before the storm, something big will happen immediately.

Until here, things seem still normal, but we also can smell some gunpowder under this surface, from Lenny’s opinion, everything is fine (because he can’t remember anything), but from our eyes, Natalie having a huge different, she looks in a rush, and we’ll ask ourselves: what’s happen, where’s the gentle Natalie? In director’s idea, this is the peaceful before the storm, and we also hold our breath and watch.

Contrast Dominants:

Shot Type
closeup

Sound:
Some soft, oddly music

Camera movement:
Move with Natalie’s hands

Camera angle:
Eye level

Before Natalie goes crazy, she collect all the pens in the room, camera flowing Natalie’s hands, Natalie is going more strange, that’s the first mind in our mind, actually is director’s bedding, follow the camera, director shows us the details, all we can see is Natalie’s skilled movement (it’s too fast so that we can hardly finger out what is she collecting), and at the same time, the mystery in our minds are getting large, question marks are flying around our head. director want to telling us what’s Natalie doing now, let us think why Natalie do that and make us keep on watching this film, and let what happen next is logical.

Contrast Dominants:

Shot Type
Master shot

Camera movement:
Jump cut between Natalie and Lenny, and the camera is waving.

Camera angle:
Eye level

From this scene, Natalie finally get mad, she looks like lost her patient. First, she crates a story about Jimmy and Teddy, then want Lenny kill Dodd and ever pay for it. Natalie changes here, make everyone doubt, director let us guessing again: what’s Natalie really is?

Director cut the camera back to Lenny’s view, so that we can see Natalie shouts at us directly, Natalie finally shows her reality, but why in the next part Natalie turns back to a lady? Is Lenny doing something make Natalie changes? This questions flow out from our mind without any stop, director sends his message clearly, this shows the director know how to use the camera well.

Contrast Dominants:

Shot Type
Close up

Camera angle:
On shouder

In this part, Natalie start humiliating Lenny’s wife, camera jump cut between two roles constantly, audiences can feel the tension in this moment. Each time camera jumps, we can find Lenny getting more anger, he try hardly on control himself, a storm is coming.

The camera is changing between two characters, it fast so that we are holding our breath to follow their argument, director create a tensional environment, first we can feel how Natalie pressing Lenny harder and harder, and how is Lenny changes from doubt to anger and deep anger, director doesn’t left us time to think, and instated of a storm-style bombings.

Contrast Dominants:

Shot Type
Close up

Camera angle:
On shoulder

Lenny understands Natalie is a bad women, but unlucky, he lose his pen. Director plan this part, let us know Natalie is a smart and evil person. but we still feel unsure about why Natalie doing this.

The storm continues, in this dialogue, Natalie is the active side, our poor Lenny is suppressed that just can plug in some short sentences, at this moment, Lenny just like a spring, Natalie push Lenny hardly, and Lenny will resist at very last. All of us is waiting for that moment, and this is what the director want us feel.

Contrast Dominants:

Shot Type
Mater shot

Sound:
Some soft, oddly music again.

Camera angle:
Eye level

In this scene, Lenny hit Natalie, all the mysteries that director had set is clear, audiences contact every clue, director grasps audiences’ nerve successfully. Audiences can have a shot break, and waiting for next storm coming.

After Lenny hit Natalie on the ground, all the audience will say “O~~, so this is it!”, all the puzzle is solved, the last piece of this puzzle comes out, audiences start relaxing themselves, because they can guess the following part, but when all of us lay on the chair and breath, director cut into the B/W part, and we are focus again.

Summary
Sometimes directors is not only a movie maker, but also a psychologist, they know when is focusing, when is relaxing, when is laughing and when is crying, especially some big director such as Christopher Nolan, even some normal camera angel, normal edit, but still create a special movie for us. In this movie, the logic is a perfect circle – there’s no flaw at all, and this is one of the most important and difficult part every movie.