Research: Bourne Identity

 In Bourne identity, Jason Bourne is the main character, but he does not really know who he is at first. In this extract, his lack of mental clarity is shown in his attire which is worn, his various confused and perplexed facial expressions, and his constant wondering about the city where he has ended up. He has to sleep on a park bench, which shows that he, at the time, assumes a low status because he does not know his place in society. However, he seems to know multiple languages so the audience assumes at some point he was well educated. In his struggle to find out who he is, he comes off a bit weak. His fight scenes with the cops in the park on the other hand, suggest that he is actually highly trained with very strong physical ability. The overall representation of Jason Bourne in this extract is very mixed. One could interpret this to be intentional, to show Bourne’s lack of understanding of his true identity. He appears separate to all the people around him, which is an early sign of his old occupation before he lost his memory.

The four technical elements all work seamlessly together to reflect Bourne's character journey, literally and figuratively. The camera work consists mostly of hand held shots that follow him as he moves rather aimlessly about. The shaky effect emphasises Bourne’s unstableness and causes the audience to feel the same. There is a lot of zooming in closer to Bourne from wide angles and shots. This gives the audience a chance to analyse the surroundings and situation, and then draw a parallel to Bourne by noting his mental state through facial expressions, shown in a close up. There are various close up shots on items of significance as well such as the metal chip which Bourne holds in his hand, the red jacket, and the gun. Bourne's interaction with the Cops in the park is shown through a series of close ups and mid shots. This prevents the audience from analyzing wider surroundings, and therefore stops them from guessing that there will be a fight scene. The fight scene on the other hand, is captured in wide shots to give the audience a full picture of the action. The audience are able to properly take note of Bourne’s new found physical capabilities, and start to make connections between this and what his true identity may be. When Jason has knocked both Cops to the ground, there is a close up on his face which shows how uncomfortable he is with what he has just done. The camera pans down to the gun in his hand and captures the symbolic moment of him disabling it and throwing it to the ground. The camera finally captures yet another symbolic action in this extract, in an extra wide shot that follows Bourne as he runs away from the scene and throws his red jacket to the ground, leaving it behind him. 

The editing in this extract contributes heavily to setting the pace. At first all the takes are very prolonged. These are usually to show moments of Jason’s uncertainty and his moments of reflection. Examples of this included his movements about the port, when he is sitting on the train and when he is walking about the train station. Not only do these long moments correlate with Bourne’s state of mind, but they give the audience a chance to key conventions. The audience has a chance to take note of the blue and red hues, Jason staring at his reflection in the window of the train, and his moment at the train station with the blue hue in the background. The takes start to get shorter when Bourne starts to interact with the Cops. Slowly but surely the cuts start to become more frequent as the intensity of the situation rises. There is an eyeline match, when a bright light is shining on Bourne’s face, and then a shot of the Cops shining a torch on him. These images are a juxtaposition with the fast paced editing that follows at a wide angle. The fight scene is edited to be short and sharp and one could almost suggest that it has been sped up in the editing process for effect. When the fight scene is over the editing pace resumes its former pace and focuses again on Bourne, and significant conventions.

In this extract, sound is used to build intensity. Right from the beginning eerie music is playing in the background to show that Jason is vulnerable and possibly in danger. In terms of diegetic sound at the port, one can note birds, people talking, the ocean, cars and the sound of Bourne’s footsteps. Sounds like these as well as the train noises heard shortly after, create a sense of continuity and verisimilitude. All the diegetic noises that can be heard in the movie are realistic according to what you would hear in those settings in real life. Because it is so realistic, the audience will feel more engrossed in the world of the movie which means they will feel the emotion and suspense more strongly. There are moments where the sound is extremely quiet for a specific effect. The first time this happens is when Bourne is at the train station, looking back at where he has walked from, into the blue hue. This is a very reflective moment and by bringing the sound down, space is created for the audience to notice the symbolic imagery. The second time this happens is in the scene with dialogue between Bourne and the two cops. As Jason starts to realise that he is in trouble their voices get louder and there is an urgency in his tone. When he grapes the Cop’s bar there is a beat of a drum and then silence. The effect of the drum, followed by a moment of silence is that the audience takes note that something out of the ordinary is happening. The sound in this moment stands out to make a point that at this was the moment that Bourne’s fighting instinct kicked in unintentionally. During the fight scene there is a continuous beating drum to add intensity and when the fight scene is over there is quiet again. The quiet is for another moment of reflection but this time to address the strangeness of the previous events. There is some more diegetic sound, which in this case adds suspense (heavy breathing and sound of disabling a gun), and eerie music with a light drum fades in while he runs away. The combination of the eerie music and the drum combine the two feelings of worry and intensity, which shows that Bourne is on his way to do something about his problem.

The Mise en scene in this film is extremely important in communicating key themes. The most obvious example of this is the red and blue hues that can be seen throughout the entire film. The blue represents Jason Bourne’s old life as an assassin, and the red represents his new life. The red can be seen on his jacket and the train seats. These objects place emphasis on where he is going, and his new ‘Bourne’ identity (hence the title of the movie). The blue on the other hand can be seen in various places at the port, in the background at the train station and in the park. In all of these cases, Jason is walking away from the blue objects or settings. There is a key idea represented from this, that Bourne is (consciously or subconsciously) more interested in his new life. He of course has to figure out who he was before he becomes someone new, and he is on that journey. We as an audience start to paint a picture of when he may have been using the items of significance. The chip he held in the train was inside his head and had a code in it. This is very suspicious and it is unusual to have a code ingrained in your head, so this immediately points to an undercover/spy background because those are the most common people to possess these types of things. The audience will also notice his ability to fight and handle a gun, once again points to a highly trained and secretive background. As Jason discovers his abilities and links to his past life, so does the audience and they are bought on that journey with him.

In conclusion, the four elements along with the representation of Bourne allude to his past. The combine to create links to who he was, and who he might become. They also provide the necessary conventions to make a thriller. The sound and editing largely create suspense and set the pace of these scenes. The camera work and Mise en scene create imagery through which one can see Bourne’s emotions and understand the context of various events. Just as Bourne may be literally lost in an unknown city, so it is communicated that mentally he is lost as well.