Another week and another movie that left me with some questions. First, why was the film so short. I needed another 20 minutes to help smooth out a few questions. The movie seemed to be a little rushed and went over different aspects quickly. Next, why did Vera wrap the phone cord around here neck. I understand that she was drunk and was playing with the cord, but it seemed odd to put it around here neck like that. I though it was going to get stuck on the bed frame and she accidentally kill herself, which he would get blamed for. Also, was a poor choice on his part to pull on that end of the cord. The plug in to the wall was outside the room, so he did not even have to pull the phone. Just disconnect it from the wall and he would be fine, but that would not fit with the movie of everything going wrong. That aspect of the film made it feel like a disaster film like Poseidon Adventure, which we watched last year. With a simple goal of going to see his girl, and every aspect along the way goes wrong.

One aspect of the film I liked was the camera work and use of shade. Anytime there was a flashback the whole room would go dark and focus on his eyes. This is very powerful to see how lost and hopeless his eyes are. It seemed as if he no longer knows where to go or who he can turn to. All Roberts wanted to do was go see his girl, Sue, out in Hollywood and that choice started his bad luck. First with the passing of Charles, which just seemed odd and makes you think about what he was taking from the glove compartment. Then he does the nice thing of picking up Vera, until he realizes where she is and who he is acting to be. When I saw her sleeping before she confronted Roberts, I was positive she was going to be dead again. When she popped up, it was like a cannon going off and caught everyone by surprise. The use of the camera after Vera’s death really helped to show how Roberts must have felt. The in and out of focused shots just showed the disbelief that he must have had and the pure fear and unknown. I just wonder why he didn’t just break the door down first. Each time the camera moved to a new object; it was an idea of what he may be able to do.

Before these classes, I don’t think that I would have ever of watched a film in black and white. Now seeing many of these non-colored films, I think that color would ruin them. As we discussed in the class, color could ruin the aura that these films had. That original glow, that made these films see so great and what made people remember about them. I don’t think you could get the same flashback close ups of Roberts eyes in color and get the same feeling of distress he was feeling. It is a big factor into why I don’t enjoy seeing sequels of movies because they are never as good as the first one.