"Spotlight": The Film Rhythm of Boiled Frogs in Warm Water

Zackery 2022-04-22 07:01:02

As the best picture at the 88th Oscars, "Focus" has neither cool special effects, ups and downs, nor unexpected reversals, but such a bland dish has won numerous awards and received many praises. What I like most about the film is its pacing. To talk about the film rhythm of "Focus", the numbers 13, 90, 87, and 70 cannot be escaped. This is the ever-changing number of priests who sexually abuse children in the film. The number change from 13 to 90 is surprising, and it is also the process of the film's rhythm changing from slow to fast. Especially the three-person room scene in which Robbie, Michael and another newspaper editor, with Robbie getting up not only changed the original rhythm of the movie, but also saw Robbie's surprise from this rise, and faced another When asked by an editor, Robbie's answer was simple, "too long" and "temporarily over". If I were Robbie, faced with ninety priests who sexually abuse children in my city, I would be helpless and horrified, and I would choose not to say a word. The excess of 90 to 87 is represented by a montage technique. We saw the members of the focus group use a ruler and a list to confirm the number of problematic priests. The rhythm of this section is lively and the background music is more aggressive, which can feel the event. The impact is significant, there is a feeling of howling wind before the storm. The change in the last number is from 87 to 70, which is where the rhythm of the film changes the most. Michael and Robbie quarrel over the handling of Archbishop Raul, Michael advocates reporting the atrocities immediately, Robbie arguing for a long line to catch big fish, and then the film begins fast to slow, showing the lives of focus group members before the report. Status, silence has almost become the main theme, but behind that silence is a powerful undercurrent. We see that Robbie didn't pay attention to and started to blame himself because he had received a report from a priest who sexually abused children. The silence of the room, we heard chicken soup for the soul of the editor-in-chief, that is also the silence of everyone. Although this is already the climax of the film, it is expressed in a stillness. Then, with the swishing sound of the newspaper printing press, the film ushered in several consecutive positive and negative hits. The first is an image of the printing press going fast, compared to Sasha and her grandmother's reaction to the report. The printing press was spinning to sort out the newspapers, and the lawyer looked at the newspapers Michael had brought. The start of the final newspaper truck, in contrast to the quiet morning in Boston, when Matt tossed the papers at the door of the troubled priest in his neighborhood. The film then ends with a fast-paced bell as the focus group's office phone rings. "Focus" uses this static and dynamic push and pull to tell us a fascinating story

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Extended Reading

Spotlight quotes

  • Sacha Pfeiffer: [from trailer] We understand you settled several cases against the church.

    Eric Macleish: I can't discuss that.

    Sacha Pfeiffer: Are there any records of any of these settlements?

    Eric Macleish: No.

  • Eric Macleish: [from trailer] Are you threatening me?