Analysing the film 'The Bourne Identity'

The Bourne Trilogy is a series of three films, which include The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Trilogy and The Bourne Ultimatum – all three starring the character Jason Bourne. I decided to research The Bourne Identity. A man is found in by an Italian fishing crew unconscious in the Mediterranean sea. When the man awakes, he knows nothing about his identity, other than an account number to a deposit box. Using this information, the man travels to Switzerland and accesses a bank account.

It is here that he discovers he is able to speak German, and also that he is good at combat. It is from here that he assumes the identity of Jason Bourne. His adventures then take him around the world, first fleeing to Paris to evade capture, where he believes his home is. It is then revealed by the CIA that Bourne was involved with an assassination attempt of an African Dictator. Later on in the film, the revelation triggers Bourne’s memory, and Bourne remembers that he did not kill the Dictator, because his children were present, giving up on the mission and being shot by the Dictator, Nykwana Wombosi, leading to the Italian fishermen finding him unconscious in the sea at the beginning of the film.  From the start of this film, it is evident that the film has been edited to show lots of quick-moving shots, which suggests to the audience that action is present from the outset. In the film, fast –paced background music has been added to create the impression of tension in the film. The characters are often motivated by money, something many people can relate to, which encourages the audience to feel involved with the plot of the film.

There are often close-up shots of the main characters in the film, taken at key points in the plot, makes the audience feel involved with the action, adding to the suspense felt and overall enjoyment. Examples of such shots can be found in the screen grab aynalisation below. Unlike normal films, where we can sometimes expect that characters to have physical defects, but in this film, the character has mental and memory defects, which perhaps would encourage people to want to watch this film.

 

 

This shot shows one of the main characters Jason Bourne. A close-up shot has been used by the camera, which puts makes the audience feel more involved with the action of the film. The camera is pointing back at Jason as he prepares to shoot his gun, and this camera work makes the audience feel that they are being shot at.

The earpiece that is present in Jason’s ear suggests that he is involved in some sort of larger operation as a spy or secret agent, which further suggests to the audience that Bourne is experienced in doing this sort of thing.

 

This shot shows Jason Bourne trying to climb the side of a building. This sort of action is something that we see lots of in films from the thriller genre, as it portrays the image of him being in danger. This shot is taken from the left hand side of the character, which is particularly significant for two reasons. Firstly, it shows that Bourne is only gripping to a small window ledge, which makes his life seem very fragile and insecure, because the audience may think that he can fall at any moment. Secondly, the shot allows us to see the white building in the background, which appears to be some sort of tall building. The presence of this gives the audience a feeling of how high Bourne is at this point in time, again making Bourne’s life seem very fragile. The shot is then edited to show part of the metal platform below him breaking, which again gives the audience an impression that Bourne’s life may be in danger.
The next shot shows Jason Bourne on the telephone. It shows that he is probably in a home or a flat, because Jason looks fairly dressed down, and the shelving units behind him also support this. The facial expressions on Bourne’s face suggest that he has just received some shocking or upsetting news that he did not expect to hear. The facial expressions also suggest that he may have to take some sort of action as a result of the call. The lighting used in this shot sets quite a dull atmosphere, which perhaps indicates that the show was taken in the evening or late at night instead of in the daytime, where we would expect the lighting to be much brighter.
This is an interesting shot of John Bourne biking. In the background, we can see that John is in a city setting, with cars and high-rise buildings behind him. This shot has been edited so that Bourne is shown in focus, whilst the goings on in the background are out of focus, creating the impression that he is the centre of attention in this shot. The facial expressions in the shot suggest that John is absent-minded, and is perhaps focusing on a task other than riding his bicycle. Whilst this is going on, however, lots of other people are focusing on their jobs all around Bourne, and life carries on as normal.

This shot shows Jason Bourne in the passenger seat of a car, being driven somewhere by a female friend. We are given the impression that the car is being driven quite fast, because the hedgerow that can be seen through the car windows is quite blurred, giving the impression of speed. Also, the expression on the drivers face leads us to think that she is deep in concentration on the task of driving the vehicle. Bourne, who is in the passenger seat, seems to have a heightened state of awareness, as he is sitting forward in his seat. He appears to be saying something as his mouth is open, and he perhaps is encouraging the driver to drive faster.