Of course, people are different, and everyone has their own thoughts. But I personally believe that a good mystery should be sincere and cunning.
First of all, the clues are not exposed too much, so that the suspense is revealed too early, and the readability is reduced. I believe that most reasoning fans have a kind of arrogance, or arrogance, of a smart person. The process of reading is a process of challenging the author. There is always a desire to know the truth before the ending is announced, to prove that what you think is right, and to prove that you are smarter than the author. It’s like the policeman in the film, constantly declaring to verbal during the interrogation: I can know the truth I want from you because I am cleverer than you. The development of China is even getting closer and closer to the truth. It's like getting closer to the end of the novel, as we know more, we will be more confident that we know the truth. But we forgot, when reading the best novels, never trust your instincts too much before turning to the last page. A smart writer will always have a way to surprise you, or even upset you.
In addition, a good mystery must not deliberately conceal clues to deceive readers. Covering up details in order to create accidents will only make the logic of the novel pale and often cannot justify itself. And don’t forget, those who read novels are smart people, at least self-righteous, deliberate deception is an insult and provocation, and sincerity is a kind of respect, as verbal said in the movie: I'm not a rat.
You will never find the foreshadowing or guess the result while looking at it; if you know the truth, come and look at it, but you will find that there are foreshadowing everywhere. The clever thing is to always put the details in front of your eyes, but you just can’t see it, and in the end, all the details can be put forward in a reasonable and reasonable ending, and none of them are indispensable; the wiser thing is to use a set of clues to lead you to think so Take the initiative to draw conclusions that he wants you to know, because smart people trust their own inferences more than they tell directly. Only when I think I am satisfied with the victory will I be mad at being caught in a trap. In the film, the police triumphantly lead the interrogation, step by step from the stupid cripple to inquire the truth, and then sat at the table contentedly and arrogantly drinking coffee, without knowing that the moment he took the coffee cup from his hand, it was announced. His failure.
There are only Fengmao Water chestnuts that can be called a classic mystery. It can be seen that it is not easy to create such an atmosphere that is both good and evil, true and false. Moreover, the text is not easy, the film will only be more difficult, because the film has a higher degree of restoration of the event, and the extension from the text to the image is obviously easy to expose more details. If you try to hide, it will easily lead to deliberate deception, especially such a movie that is completely supported by characters. For example, another film adapted from Agatha's novel "Zero Moment" is also very good, with a typical set of clues, two lines of reasoning, and multiple reasonable inferences, but there is only one truth.
Going back to this film, without considering the character factor, just as far as the plot and shooting of the film are concerned, it fits the characteristics of an excellent mystery novel.
As you can see, there are many important details in the movie.
1. First of all, at the beginning of the film, Keyser is about to kill Keaton. His face is cut off from the camera, but he deliberately filmed the action of lighting his cigarette. Here are two hints:
First, we can see the golden color of Keyser through the lens. The lighter, if you look more closely, you can see that he is wearing a gold watch in his hand that flashes by. If you have read it all over, you will find that at the end, when Verbal was interrogated and went to the counter to retrieve his personal belongings, the old man receiving him gave him a golden lighter, a gold watch, and a box of cigarettes. And these key items also appeared in the film.
Second, at the beginning, Keyser smoked a cigarette when he killed someone, and when you recall it carefully or watch it again, you can find that in the whole film, verbal’s iconic action is smoking (for example: when you first entered the office for interrogation, or when In his memory, when they committed the crime), and what needs to be noticed is that in the whole film, only verbal was smoking, which in fact always implies that verbal is the Keyser. ps especially want to point out a detail. When the police interrogating Verbal first entered the office, another policeman wanted to pass him a cigarette, but he refused to give up. There were also 5 people in the car discussing the action. The accomplices had cigarettes in their mouths but did not ignite them. These can be understood as the details specially arranged by the director. In order not to cause ambiguity in directivity, so as to make smoking a distinguishing feature belonging to Keyser only, it is really hard! In addition, when Verbal just entered the office, the camera gave a close-up of the cigarette case on the table, which can also be regarded as a hint, and this hint runs through.
2. The director arranged a very interesting identity for verbal-a scammer. Not long after the beginning of the film, five people were imprisoned and had a brief conversation. Regarding his identity, verbal said he had been sentenced to six months in prison for fraud, and later in his own memoir, Kobayashi identified their relationship with Keyser. , Also said that he lied to Keyser's money. These are all hints that Verbal is a liar, he has been lying to hide himself.
3. When five people stood against the wall and were asked to pronounce the specified sentence, the verbal narrator said: Five criminals should not be locked together. Who knows what happens when five people are locked together. In addition, the background is also specially blurred, and verbal is only focused. After watching the movie, it is indeed quite meaningful.
4. At the beginning of the narrated story, that is, 5 people just came out of prison, as the verbal next to it, said: It takes five people to do this, and the key to the five people is Keaton. Including verbal going to Keaton's house and persuading him to also say: They don't know me, but you do and they won't take me unless you have you. These undoubtedly imply that Keaton does have a very important role in the Keyser project, as his scapegoat. Because as I said at the beginning, he is the key to the police interrogation, and the police undoubtedly know him well, and he also has enough power and personality to be believed to be an omnipotent and cold Keyser.
5. In the end, as everyone knows, all kinds of information on the wall appeared in verbal's narrative, which finally made the police aware of the clues. In fact, when verbal was sitting in the office and the police had not yet come in, the camera was deliberately scanned. That wall is also a hint of echoing back and forth. Including, verbal asked for a cup of coffee before starting to tell the story, and echoed with Kobayashi, who was the key to solving the case at the bottom of the broken cup. This is actually like a mystery novel. The author puts all the clues in front of you, just as the director hangs all the clues on the wall behind the police officer from the beginning, or even puts it in the camera, but you just won't notice it.
There are many similar hints, but you need to look very carefully several times to find out. I think that this movie absolutely needs to be watched at least 2 times. The first time you feel the surprise at the end, the second time you can find evidence with the truth, reason it yourself, and clarify the context of the story. After that, you can grasp the actor's performance and the director's shooting techniques and clever design. In short, each time will have a different feeling, it is an intriguing movie.
Finally, the most important thing to say is the performance of the actors!
In this film, Kevin Spacey’s appearance is too dazzling, and he is absolutely shocking and stunning in this film. The first time I saw it, because he kept emphasizing that he was an innocent person, it was not suspicious at all to cooperate with his various performances. What impressed me the most was his pure and innocent eyes, which was deeply pierced. It was hard not to feel pity for him, just like the look on the face of the policeman who last watched him leave, full of sympathy and pity. In addition, he was crooked at 90° with his feet, deformed left hand, curled up under the sofa and shivering when being questioned by the police. He cowardly admitted that he was afraid of Keyser and did not come forward. He was helplessly betraying his friends. "And weeping, all kinds of behaviors combined with the pitiful and innocent eyes, made us feel weird even though we had doubts.
As far as I am concerned, Kevin Spacey’s expression in the movie is innocent and cowardly, there are always certain moments that make people feel a hint of insidious and dangerous atmosphere, but the most powerful thing is that he can do that. The conspiracy and dangerous breath wanders through the pitiful and innocent, looming and not overwhelming, which can be said to be admirable.
When I looked at it the second time with the truth, I saw more information, and all of them made me feel amazed. For example:
1. When the first 5 people read the sentence, Kevin Spacey’s evil expression and tone, looking back, it really made my hair horrified.
2. When he first entered the office for interrogation, he deliberately rolled his eyes to observe the wall, including when he was drinking coffee, he looked up at the bottom of the police officer's cup (written with Kobayashi). These did not touch his head. In fact, the castle is deep. People are often good at using subtle movements without being noticed. This is indeed the meticulous and true performance of Kevin Spacey.
3. In fact, what impressed me the most was the expression in the film 41'50-42'08 in just a dozen seconds. In fact, we all have this kind of experience. Because we are playing tricks to deceive others and others don't know it, we secretly happily and uncontrollably raise the corners of our mouths, but at the same time force ourselves not to laugh so as not to be discovered by others. This kind of over-subtle expression is actually difficult to express, especially if it is natural and true without being too obvious, but it is undeniable that it can definitely increase the detailed metaphor and authenticity of the movie. This kind of performance is really astonishingly powerful, and it is a fight against the scene of the murder in the Al Pacino restaurant in the godfather.
This role can only be said to be too suitable for Kevin Spacey, deep and restrained, and always has a kind of evil in his leisure. It can only be said that it is really tailor-made for him. Faint expression is less dramatic, and more reveals. His handling is as precise as the description of a novel, but more vivid than words. And that kind of temperament makes people feel dangerous and can't help but sink into that kind of charm. It can only be said that his appearance in this film is amazing.
Using the words and information just seen on the spot, you can compose a true and false intersecting story without any flaws, and can guide others step by step into his traps and draw the conclusions he wants, but the person is not at all. Unconscious and complacent about his own intelligence, I believe this character will become another charming classic villain in film history, and a clever person who can't be hated.
Because most of us are just the policeman.
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