For my second deconstruction I decided to analyse a scene from the Safdie Brother’s second feature film Heaven Knows What. Unlike the scene I chose to deconstruct in the Safdie Brothers’ most recent film Good Time, which was set in a tiny lounge room, I wanted to analyse their shooting style in an outdoor setting. Heaven Knows What follows a heroin addicted Harley, whose life is being turned ruined by her sadistic on and off boyfriend.
The scene I am deconstructing appears later in the film, when Harley reconnects with her boyfriend Ilya. The pair decide to leave NYC and take a bus out of state. On the bus, Ilya gets off while Harley sleeps, leaving her alone. The scene I am going to deconstruct is Harley’s reaction when she realises Ilya has slipped out. Harley enters a rage and subsequently abuses the bus driver and passengers, finally forcing them to pull over the bus. The scene consists of a series of mid and close shots of Harley and the startled passengers and driver.
The scene opens with an extreme close-up of the driver, who while stairing at the road, tells Harley that he can’t pull the bus over. From there, they elect to use a number of POV shots of Harley as she starts bumping and kicking the door. The Safdie’s alternate between two shots of Harley as she yells at the driver, the first is a mid shot from the middle of the bus looking at her and the second is a high angled, close-up shot of her face. These shots, added with the camera jumping as the bus drives forward, highlights the intensity of both Harley and the situation. In the high angled shot of Harley kicking the door, the camera zooms in on Harley’s face, which due to excellent make-up and the actress being a one time heroin addict, outline Harley’s inebriated state. As Harley bumps the door and then moves over toward the driver, the Safdie’s use a really jumpy pan that chases and moves as Harley moves around the cabin, this is done to enhance the POV effect of the shot.
Example of the mid shot zoom.
The light and grade in the opening part of this shot is also used really well to express the Harley’s intensity and frame of mind. The Safdie’s opted to use the natural, blue light from outside the bus’s front window, this meant the onside of Harley’s face was darkened, while the offside was lit. This effect further expressed the darkness and gravity of the situation. The light in the close-up and mid shots of Harley when she is bumping the door seems over saturated or even overexposed. This was done to create an etherial vibe, I think that was done to recreate Harley’s drug addled state.
Diffuse/saturated lighting
In the next part of the scene, Harley walks towards her seat at the back of the bus. The Safdie’s outline this with two mid shots, one set up at the bus driver’s end of the bus and the other set up at the back of the bus. From there the Safdie’s use zooms and simple cuts to track Harley’s back and forth movement.The lighting is really interesting in these two shots, as Harley has very little light on her but the passengers are lit really well. This effect is most likely used to create a visual contrast between the bystanders and Harley.
Look at the difference between Harley and the passengers
The second phase of the scene I want to analyse is when and after Harley gets kicked off the bus. When Harley is grabbed by a passenger and forced towards the exit, the shot gets less and less focused. This effect is used to both set up the transition between the interior setting and the exterior setting in the next frame and to outline Harley’s state.
The long tracking shot of Harley walking down the freeway is arguably my favourite shot in the film. Firstly, the framing and tracking of Harley walking down the road set up and choreographed perfectly. Unlike the early pans, this time the Safdie’s stay in front of Harley as she moves forward. Whilst tracking, they zoom in and out depending on Harley’s state. When Harley was hysterically crying and trying to get a car’s attention, the Safdie’s use close-up and mid shots, alternatively, when Harley calms down and accepts the situation, we see slower, more steady wide shots. These two different shots within the one action, allows the Safdie’s to move forward the film’s narrative without being obvious.
Finally, I want to explain why I think this is the most beautiful frame in the film. In this devastating frame, we see Harley screaming “what is going on?” whilst trying to wave down cars. The construction of this close-up, is a great example of framing and lighting and i’;s effect on the mood of the scene.
The Safide’s use of a shallow depth of field in this frame perfectly creates the disconnect that Harley has with the her surrounding. The Safdie’s used the shallow depth of field to put emphasis on Harley’s face, which despite have no light on it, is obviously red with tears and stress. The colour grade in this frame also really affects the tone of the sequence. Harley’s face is still dark, but is contrasted perfectly with the background, effectively making the shot really beautiful, yet continuing the overall dark tone of the scene. The lighting in this particular frame also works really well, unlike lighting earlier in the scene, the onside of Harley’s face is lit, this is most likely used to try emphasise Harley’s distressed look but also her calming down and accepting the situation.
I absolutely love the Safdie Brothers and their style of filmmaking. Also this scene wasn’t as overtly stylistic as the scene from Good Time, the subtle use of zoom, pans, framing, depth of field, lighting and camera placement all culminated into making a seriously affecting, dark but beautiful scene.
I would recommend watching Good Time and Heaven Knows What. They are two of the most beautiful and affecting films made in the past decade.
AG