2. Memento Narrative
The film starts off seemingly in a state of disequilibrium as a hand is
shown holding a Polaroid photograph of a bloody scene. The
polaroid photo shows what seems to be the climax of the narrative
however we have not yet witnessed the events onscreen. It appears
that polaroid pictures seems to be fogging up, but in fact it is
reversing as the the scene unfolds backwards. This opening
sequence is a hint to the rest of the film due to the reversed linear
narrative of the film.
The reason why the narrative is structured like this is because it
almost represents a puzzle piece that the audience have to piece
together; this connects the audience with the genre of the film which
is mystery/drama/thriller.
Throughout the film and in the opening sequence there is a constant
cycle of disequilibrium and new equilibrium; the original equilibrium
of the film is shown throughout however there is a mystery around it.
Instead of the film being told from one person’s point of view, it’s told
from multiple perspectives; this is significant because the audience
is able to know more than the protagonist and that gives them a
wider perspective of the events happening in the movie.
3. Cloverfield Narrative
The film starts off with in a state of equilibrium as the opening
begins with a party and we see all the characters happy; however
the state of equilibrium is soon to be disturbed as one of the main
protagonists is leaving to go to Japan; however this change of
events is unable to occur as the monster arrives and starts to
destroy the city of New York.
The film begins with the perspective shifting from one person to
another to establish the viewer with the different types of
characters. As the film progresses, the perspective shifts once
again to one specific character who follows the group of friends
around the city as they escape the monster, this is done to give a
more structured element to the narrative.
The handy cam is passed between characters as they are picked
off one by one until the camera essentially dies as the main
protagonists die.
The majority of the film is in a state of disequilibrium and the film
essentially doesn’t stabilize although it could be said that the final
characters death could as a balancing equilibrium.
