Kathryn Bigelow and the Art of one of the greatest chase scenes in movie history
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The point break chase scene is a seminal work in the art of creating that particular type of scene. In my opinion it’s one of the ten or so greatest ever. The choreography, the editing, the adept use of pov for heightened realism, and depth of field which is connected to the pov of either the person running or the person giving chase allows us to see the specifics of the environment, and to ask questions pertinent to the tension, where are they? Where are they going? And most importantly “What’s going to happen? “. I’ve always thought of great fight scenes or chase scenes as little films within themselves. There has to be an inciting incident, rising action, a climax, falling action and an ending, same as in the rudimentary understanding of dramatic structure. From the French Connection to Indiana Jones, Lethal Weapon, to Die Hard, and more recently John Wick you can find this kind of structure and storytelling in the great action sequences.
The Inciting incident in the classic “Boulder action Sequence” in Raiders of the Lost Ark”
The Rising action and climax takes place when Indiana finds out Satipo has betrayed him and subsequently escapes a trap door, and a falling wall.
Quite literally falling action…
The End.
In the beginning of the portion where a foot chase ensues, Keanu is entering into an alley way from the street and the camera quickly cuts from a medium- wide depth of field to a shallow, which gives a sense of the width, space, and ultimately freedom of the city. The field though, becomes increasingly shallow as Bigelow zooms in while simultaneously moving the camera backwards. As Keanu comes towards us and into the narrow and shaded alleyway Bigelow’s camera marries the audience to the same sense of danger the subject of her camera might feel, something akin to the feeling one might get watching a mongoose entering a snake hole, simultaneously allowing us to conflate our experience with the character, tying us to the stakes, and providing a shared sense of experience through manipulation of simulacra.
The Alleyway entrance is getting…
smaller…
and smaller…
The tension is built from the scenes before the alleyway, and it is bi-focal. Bigelow wants us to feel this scene from both the POV of both the protagonist and antagonist. We see the world around them in multiple cuts and assume at some point either can enlist some help from their partners, but from the alleyway on there is a sense of foreboding.. because at this point both are on their own, and both have no clue where they are going, and neither do we the audience. In many films featuring chase scenes at least one of the three ; Audience, Chaser, and Chasee - knows exactly where they’re going, (maybe all three ) for example in Michael Mann's seminal Crime Thriller “HEAT" many of the chase sequences are about prediction and entrapment, and in the finale both Pacino and DeNiro know where DeNiro is going and we know where they are going through exposition.) This is not to imply there’s no drama there, we still want to know how it’s going to end. But that the drama in those chases is extracted more from a macro sense (The ultimate stakes) with some micro (The immediate objective) involved. In Bigelow's point break it is mostly the micro, the immediacy, the moment is what both Johnny Bodhi live for and that drives the action, this is underlined by the use of a hand held camera, concise editing, and POV shots that provide a very limited depth of vision. The greater stakes more related to the plot and driving force of the film in its entirety act as a foundation. And then there are the obstacles. Obstacles are a precursor to conflict, conflict a precursor to drama. Drama can be looked at in the macro – “undercover” cop joins a gang falls for both the leader, and the girl, but must still do his job – or in the micro – cop must chase and detain robber who happens to now be his friend. Make it the reverse for Swayze, and these are the stakes. The obstacles to each of their goals are physical as in most chase scenes, and take place not in space in a galaxy far far away, on a forest moon, or in a cavernous boobie trapped temple, but in a small quiet beach neighborhood, and therein lies that beauty of the scene.
Chaos Taking place in the peaceful setting of beachside burbs is part of the brilliance and long lasting appeal of point breaks chase scene
The ability to make the things we take for granted, or things we associate with anything but danger, and make them feel perilous and fraught with danger is ingenious in my opinion. To have them become a core part of the drama by creating tension through using particular qualities as obstacles is art. This particular skill was most recently captured in the Netflix film “The Ritual “. The woods and especially the indistinguishable nature of the trees in this particular wood are normally associated with things like serenity, peacefulness, the idea that nothing goes on here. Homogeny is typically interpreted as safe not ominous. But director David Bruckner turned that on its head and that “sameness" became part and parcel to the terror and dread the audience now shared with the characters who slowly realize they are hopelessly lost. The underlying thought being “It all looks the same, there’s no way to tell which way is out! “. Akira Kurosawa was a definitive master at allowing the most basic elements to provide not only the mood but an obstacle to be overcome, from the Heat and Rain in Rashomon to wind in Yojimbo. This technique also has the effect of grounding us to the reality of the situation. Kathryn Bigelow takes a simple residential setting and turns the mundane existence of fences, wading pools, swings, sliding doors, housewives, children, garbage truck men, and even dogs, into thrills, obstacles to be negotiated, broken, maneuvered around or through. Now anything, and anyone appears as an impediment to the possibility of our charming Zen Bank robber getting away, or our cool cop catching his man. I don’t know that anyone will ever see a neighborhood as ominous, or dangerous because of this film (As they did the ocean after Jaws), but there is instead a continued subtext of the story of these men who refuse to live in the margins of uniformity. The neighborhood one of the prime mental indicators of civility, and docility, – whether true or not – is a friend to neither Johnny nor the thrill seeking Bodi, and both have no problem breaking the rules, but while Bodi is willing to destroy it if need be, Johnny is adamant about its protection- despite his disdain for them- all of this is present in the physical action.
Bodhi/Patrick Swayze surprises and throws down a woman watering her grass while on the run. Johnny jumps over her.
Johnny/Keanu Reeves does however grab a potted plant to break the window of a locked sliding door… another obstacle in his pursuit of The Robber. Telling of his willingness to break the rules , but not to the damage of people or living things
Bodhi throws a full grown pit bull at Johnny. Notice it is Bodhi creating a lot of the obstacles for Johnny, a typical trait of villainy that would further inform the audience (beyond the mask) of who the intended bad guy is.