zodiac synopsis

Zodiac

 

At the beginning of this sequence an establishing shot is seen, in this shot you can see a large bridge and what appears to be a busy town or city, lowkey lighting is also used showing the audience it is night time or the evening this darkness this adds a sense of mystery. There is also firework seen in this scene suggesting there is a celebration going on. Whilst this is being shown I can hear some slow music playing that feels quite calm.

 

The next shot is slow and panning as a car drives through what appears to be the suburbs, there are many people stood on the street and you can hear the chatter of them which feels quite light hearted. Across the bottom of the screen the caption ‘July 4 1969-Vallego, CA’ appears. This reflected not on in the Independence Day celebrations of fireworks but also in the music, costume design and vehicles used.

 

The car being driven comes slowly to a stop outside a home and the driver beeps the horn twice which makes me think she’s in a rush or is frustrated. A young man runs outside the house appearing angry and insisting on driving the vehicle however the woman driving refuses creating a tense atmosphere. The demanding manor of the man reflects gender stereotypes of the time in him wanting be in control. In this dialog an eye level angle is used which makes the audience feel comfortable and unsuspecting.

 

After the car drives off from the row of houses they appear at a bustling diner. The high key lighting, bright colour and level of chatter feels light hearted and safe. However, the driver appears uncomfortable and on edge in this setting claiming its ‘too crowded’ this makes me suspicious of her thinking she may have something to hide. 

 

The two arrive in a desolate dusty lot, the lighting is very lowkey and there seems to be no one around, this is very mysterious and make me feel tense and be in high anticipation. Suddenly a car appears with no warning. As this happens a close up shot of the two in the original car shows their confusion and fear in their faces.  The person in the second throws some kind of poppers at their vehicle and drives off quickly, the man in the passenger seat shouts at them aggressively as they drive off showing he feels threatened and unsafe. However, the driver laughs this off and seems to be making an effort to comfort him and make him less fearful. 

 

At this point only the bottom half of the screen has high key lighting reflecting how the audience doesn’t have the full picture and is not entirely sure as to what is going on. 

 

An entirely different car pulls up two times and the second time a man exits it and shines a bright torch at the two in the vehicle. This high key lighting is exposing and feels violating. The man pulls out a gun and shoots the two several times. This all happens in slow motion enabling the viewer to really focus on the emotions and expressions of the characters getting shot which feels very intimate. This also makes the scene feel less serious in a way as the slow motion feels almost cartoon-esque in a way, this tone is also added to by the cheerful music which juxtaposes the death of the two characters. I think this was done to confuse the audience as it personally left me in shock causing me to wonder what would happen in the rest of the film. This also makes me think the film was intended to be more of a thriller than horror.