Limehouse Blues and Taking Lives

INDIVIDUAL FILM ANALYSIS

Lime House Blues Analysis

By: Tamra Barlow

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

CAST
Director -Alexander Hall
Harry Young -George Raft
Toni -Jean Parker
Tu Tuan -Anna May Wong
Eric Benton -Kent Taylor
Pug Talbot -Montagu Love
Smokey -John Rogers
Police Chief -Robert Loraine


Analyzing the Film
-How is the story told? Linear
-Give details for your choice(s):
The movie is told chronologically one event leads to another. There is no point in the movie where a character experiences a flash back or fast forward. For these reasons, it is evident that the movie is told in a linear story line.

Plot
The movie opens with a shot of the street of Limehouse. It focuses on the police entering the harbor and the Governor retreating from the boat. When he enters the bar, Tu Tuan is performing entertainment in the form of a dance. When he walks in, he is looking for Harry, the bar owner. When he enters his office, the officer is suspicious of him and they have an interesting conversation with many hidden messages. They refer to the cat and how they are smart to stay away from the water. They go into the description of the pinky finger to Chinese and how it is a symbol of wealth and class. Also the officer asks if he knows what happens to smugglers in America, Harry knows they are shot. This conversation between the two of them has much foreshadowing.
In the next scene Toni is introduced. She has been caught pick pocketing and she relies on Harry to create her alibi. After a quick search, the officer leaves her. Harry offers her a job and she declines because she doesn’t want to upset Pug (her stepfather). She hopes for Smokey not tell anyone but even though he says he won’t, he does. Because of this, Pug is angry and goes to pay Harry a visit. In Toni’s conversation with Maggie, the first issue of race comes into the conversation about Harry.
In the next scene, Harry is walking through the streets of Limehouse when Toni warns him not to go down to the water that night. Harry is confused by this, but heads out anyways. Smokey tells Pug that Harry got by the police because he was tipped off. Pug knows that it was Toni and therefore beats her. When Harry returns from the lake, he hears that Toni has been beaten. He hands a key over to his partner and tells him “you know what to say”. He then goes to Pug and proposes a business deal with him and arranges a meeting at Harry’s place, he gives him the key. Pug brags to Toni and shows her the key.
The following night when Harry is performing with Tu Tuan, Pug makes his way upstairs to Harry’s apartment expecting a meeting. It is there that he is stabbed and dies while the show continues downstairs. Pugs body is placed on the street where a woman finds him. It is in this scene that the key is secretly passed back to Harry. There is a detailed investigation of Pug’s murder. They blackmail/threaten Smokey to lie and Toni tells them that Pug had a slight argument with Harry Young the night before.
After this, Harry knows he must speak to Toni. Harry again offers her a job, to be the eyes, ears and remember everything she sees at the club. Harry offers her a room in his apartment next to Tu Tuan’s. This storage room is filled with old Chinese statues and monuments. These monuments make Toni uncomfortable and when she expresses her feelings to Tu Tuan, she is very offended and jealous. As Toni begins the job at the bar, she realizes just how many people are planted by the police in his bar. She has also been taking messages for him from people from the lake. When a man hits on Toni, rumors begin flowing about him liking Toni. Tu Tuan is very upset and is very rude to Toni.
Tu Tuan hires a man to follow Toni everywhere she goes. The following day he spots Toni in Piccadilly. It is on this trip that she meets Eric when his puppies escape from his shop. While looking through the store, she finds a mutt and yet again the interracial issue is brought up. After their first meeting, Eric and Toni begin spending more time together. When Toni returns, Harry is questioning her about her whereabouts. In this argument, Harry accidentally scratches her with his nail, after she leaves he cuts it off. Once Eric and Toni begin seeing each other regularly, Harry continues to try and receive her attention, he follows her, redoes her room and makes it impossible for her to get a job. It is in a conversation in her room that she sees Harry with the key that Pug had.
As Eric and Toni fall in love, Harry becomes obsessed. This makes Tu Tuan very mad and she quits. Harry is invited to a New Year’s dinner and asks Toni to come as his guest. He then makes plans to remove Eric from Toni’s life. Eric arrives at Harry’s bar to take Toni. It is here that Harry invites Eric up to his flat to discuss the situation and gives him the key.
Tu Tuan informs the police of the time and place that Harry will be on his boat to pick up the stuff. The police offer to send her back to China but instead she kills herself.

At the New Year’s celebration, the cops finally witness the smuggling and Toni pretends that she does not care about Eric until she realizes that Harry’s chain no longer has the key attached. It is here that she realizes the plans to kill Eric. She desperately begs him to stop the plans and Harry realizes she will never love him. He then quickly decides to spare Eric’s life. He makes a dash back to shore with the smuggled goods in the boat. The police follow them shooting. A bullet hits Harry but he is just wounded. They arrive just in time to save Eric. However, when the police arrive seconds after, Harry falls and dies because of the bullet wound he has endured. In the end, Toni and Eric drive off together overcoming the barriers of social class.

Conflict Resolution
There are many different conflicting situations throughout this movie: Harry’s side job of importing smuggled goods is not only wrong but unethical; this business has lead him to kill people who get in his way, Toni is struggling to decipher the feelings she has for Eric as well as Harry and Eric has fallen in love with Toni but she acts distant and secretive. Although all of these situations are undesirable and conflicting, they are not the main area of conflict throughout the movie.
This movies main focus is the conflicting situation of social and ethnic class. This issue arises multiple times throughout the plot of the show. It is first seen when Harry first mentions his love for Toni. He is told that the first issue is that he is half Chinese and Toni is not. Also, Harry is of higher class and Toni is merely a pickpocket, not in the same class as Harry. This conflict is focused on again when Toni first meets Eric. In Eric’s pet store, Toni discovers a small puppy in his own cage. She is curious as to why he is left along with no other dogs. Eric explains that he is a mutt and even pure bread dogs know the difference and will not associate with him. This issue is shown for a third time between Toni and Eric. When Eric professes his love for Toni, she tells him that she is a pickpocket and not good for him. She is convinced that he will stop loving her instantly because she is of a lower social class than him. However, this is not what ends up happening. Eric tells Toni that her past means nothing to him and it is this bold statement that proves social class and race does not have to be an issue. Eric helped to resolve the situation with his strong love and strong opinions. In the end, the conflict is abolished and Toni and Eric are able to overcome the difference in their social class.

Viewers
Since this is an older movie, it may not cause the same reactions for people watching today as it did in 1934. Aspects such as the music, editing and camera movement is not as believable as modern movies. Although, the sounds and editing still evoke emotion in the viewers, it is not as deep or detailed as new movies. For example, the music that is played when Pug is killed was specifically incorporated to evoke tension in the viewer. Although it does this, a new movie with more modern music, would make these feelings more evident to the viewer. The music, camera angles and editing was specifically chosen, placed and tested in order to cue these reactions because it makes the movie more believable and enjoyable for the viewer.

Setting
The setting of Lime House Blues is realistic. This is because it is based and set in the lime house district. Lime House is an actual area of London, by the shore. Although this movie was not filmed in London, they attempt to capture the look of London in their sets. Not only are the buildings symbolic to those in London, many of the background characters speak in English accents in order to capture the image of London.

Characters
Throughout the movie, there are many different clothing styles that are evident between the characters. Tu Tuan wears very different clothing than Toni, although they are roughly the same age, same gender and live in the same place. The characters race and social standing seem to determine how they present themselves. Tu Tuan is a higher class Chinese woman whereas Toni is a white, lower class pickpocket. These aspects of their history can be seen in their clothes. These two characters are just one example of how costumes can reveal information about their social standing, ethnicity, gender and age. Harry dresses differently than Pug, and Eric is different from Harry. It is interesting to see that even though Lime House Blues was filmed in 1934, the situation is not any different today.


Shots
The movie opens with a shot of the streets of Lime House. There was no pan shot or establishing shot used, I found this interesting. However, there were a few interesting shots that I noticed. The first was during Harry and the Officer’s conversation in Harry’s office. The shot used for this conversation was the medium shot. In this shot, the two characters are shot from the waist up with very little in the background. This helps the viewer to focus on the two of them and listen closely to the dialogue.
The most common shot distance that is used often throughout the movie is the close up shot. When the camera first closes in on the ‘key’, the viewer knows that it is important but they are unsure why. This shot distance is used multiple times throughout the movie because it is commonly used to show importance and show what the character is looking at. In the case of Lime House Blues, this shot distance technique works well.

Camera Angles
Camera angles are the best way to grab the viewer’s attention and guide them to a desired focal point. In the movie Lime House Blues, the camera angles are well done and show entire profiles of the characters, objects and settings in the movie. When Toni is first shown her bedroom, the camera films at a high angle to show all of the contents in the room, this was useful because the viewer did not focus on one specific ornament.
Another useful camera angle that was used occurs near the end of the film when Tu Tuan tells the police of Harry’s last journey out onto the water. At first I was unsure of what was happening in the shadows after the officer left her. It is an interesting way for them to film a suicide. This is a very effective way to show the suicide without showing all the details.

Camera Movements
Camera movements function to establish a scene or to show the viewer something specific. The camera movements in Lime House Blues are not as smooth as modern movies but for the time period they are very well done. I noticed this in one particular type of scene, the boat scenes. They must have used a dolly shot, also known as a tracking shot. This is where the camera is placed on a movie vehicle to follow the action. This technique works well because it makes the scene believable. They may have filmed these scenes on a set instead of in the actual water. If this is the case, they did a very good job with the angles to make the boat look as if it was moving.
Camera movements were also involved in the detail involving the ‘key’. They guide the viewers’ eyes to the key to ensure that the viewer has grasped the importance of it.

Music
The purpose of the music in this film is to convey the emotions evoked from the characters. For example, in the high tension scenes such as when Pug is murdered, the music is specifically used to cause the viewer to feel tension. If the viewer is not watching attentively, they will not see the man in the shadows. However, the moment the tension filled music starts to play, they know something bad is about to occur. This shapes our interpretation of the image before anything happens, one just expects it because of the music.

External Conditions
Industrial, social and economic issues can greatly affect a film. For example, in the case of Lime House Blues, the budget for movies in the 30’s was much less than they are today. Although the technology was not as advanced as it is today, they still could have used better effects if their budget was larger. The time period also affected the relationships within the movie. Since it was filmed so long ago, interracial couples were not as common as they are now. This is why the thought of Toni and Harry together was such a big deal. It may have become a controversial movie if the two of them were to end up together. This may have been why the writers and directors chose the ending that they did.

Ideology/Cultural Tensions
As previously stated, cultural tension is a large part of this movie. Not only is this shown through the characters, but they also show it in the dogs in the pet store. This means that it has followed the dominant ideologies of its time.

Final Reflections
I was very surprised by this movie. I screened the movie three times and my reaction after each viewing was different. The first time I viewed this movie I judged it before it even began. It was old and black/white, different than I was used to. I found it hard to follow the first time. When I watched it the second time, I was surprised that I actually understood what was happening. It was during this viewing that I formulated my plot analysis. On my third time screening the movie, I actually enjoyed it and more points fell into place. I was surprised when I realized what a long nail on the last finger meant. Information like this interested me. Screening and analyzing this movie has taught me to appreciate older films because they can be just as interesting as modern day cinema.

Taking Lives Analysis

CAST
Director -DJ Caruso
Ileana -Angelina Jolie
Costa -Ethan Hawk
Clark -Kiefer Sutherland
Mrs. Asher -Gena Rowlands
Douval -Jean-Hugues Anglade

Analyzing the Film
-How is the story told? Linear
-Give details for your choice(s):
Much like Lime House Blues The movie is told chronologically one event leads to another. Although there is one point, at the end of the movie, where the character experiences a series of flash backs, these do not change the chronology or outcome of the story. Since the movie remains in the same chronological fashion it is evident that the movie is told in a linear story line.

Plot
The movie Taking Lives was released in 2004 and was filmed throughout different areas of Quebec. It follows the Quebec police department in their search to uncover a serial killer. The movie opens with a shot of a young Martin Asher’s reflection in a mirror at a bus station. On the bus, Martin meets a young man named Matt, also running away from home. When their bus breaks down, they both decide to buy a car and hit the road on their own. When their car gets a flat tire, something comes over Martin and everything changes. As Matt is changing the tire, Martin kicks him into the path of an oncoming car. Once dead, Martin takes all of his information and casually walks away, on his way to starting his new life.
Twenty years later, a body is found in a construction site. The Montreal Police immediately begin investigating the murder, Ileana Scott (Angelina Jolie); a FBI profiler is brought in to help them with the case. During the current investigation, another man is killed. However, this time there was a witness, James Costa. When his DNA turns up clean, James Costa (Ethan Hawk) becomes a key element to their investigation. As the investigation continues, Ileana realizes it could be a man by the name of Martin Asher. The man’s mother tells police she saw her dead son on the ferry, the same son that she thought died so many years ago. She explains to the police just how dangerous he is. When she is questioned, Ileana discovers that Martin also had a twin who died when he was 14, after that he became violent. Once the situation was investigated, they realize that it was not Martin Asher that died all those years ago. They realize that it is the real Martin Asher that is killing these people. After her visit with Mrs. Asher, Ileana realizes Martin is killing these people and living their lives so he does not have to live his own.
Following this discovery, James Costa’s gallery is broken into. When the cops search for evidence, they discover that he has a meeting with a man name Clark Edwards (Asher’s current disguise, played by Canadian Kiefer Sutherland). The police decide it is best to go along with the meeting but Clark never shows. Throughout the investigation Ileana and James grow close, Ileana knows that this is inappropriate and attempts to leave the case. Instead, she decides to ignore her feelings and carry on. Clark Edwards attends James’ art show and this leads to a foot chase through the streets of Quebec. In the end, Edwards is lost in the crowd and escapes the police. Since Clark is on the run, they decide to fly James to Toronto for safety. On the day he is to depart, Clark shows up at James’ apartment and attacks him. Shots are fired and an officer is killed. Ileana arrives in time to see Clark’s car leaving the scene. This leads to a high speed chase which ultimately ends in a crash and the death of Clark Edwards. When his DNA is matched with the DNA found on the latest victim, the investigation is over.
Since they no longer need to hide their feelings, James comes to Ileana’s hotel room that night. In the morning, they return to the hospital to repair James’ stitches. At the same time, Mrs. Asher is in the hospital to identify her son’s body and she is certain that it is not him. When she is leaving, she and Costa are in the elevator together and it is revealed that he is the real Martin Asher. Martin escapes from the police, and they are on the hunt, yet again. When Ileana returns to her hotel room, she has flashbacks that include their moments together and the clues/evidence that she missed. Ileana is disturbed by the situation and she is asked to leave the police force.
Seven months later, Ileana moves back to the country and is pregnant with twins. Martin breaks into her home in an attempt to kill her and their unborn babies. A physical fight breaks out between the two of them. When Martin stabs her pregnant stomach, she stabs him back in the chest. When he begins to die, she removes her fake pregnant belly. She planned this situation with the police, knowing that he would return. They have finally found him and the chase is over.
Conflict Resolution
What is the conflict in the Plot? A serial killer who has been in action for twenty years in on the loose and it is impossible to tell what his name is, who he is or even what he looks like.
How is it resolved? After many twists and turns, the killer is discovered and the main character is safe from harm.

Viewers
Similar to Lime House Blues this film is a high action film that draws the viewer in and out several times. The sound is used to do this multiple times throughout the movie. One very evident scene is when they are searching the hotel room after the second murder. As the officer is approaching the running shower, the tension in the music grows as it beats faster and faster. At this point the reader is drawn in and they feel the tension. When the officer finally opens the shower curtain, the music completely stops and there is nothing in the shower. Since there is no longer any music, the viewer is immediately brought back to reality. At this point the music has cued the exact reaction the producers are looking for.
This is also used with camera shots when Clark Edwards is first spotted in the gallery. The camera rapidly moves from character to character, showing each of their reactions. These fast passed camera clips, combined with the energy filled music, prepares the viewer for the intense chase scene that follows. These techniques work very well to cue viewer’s emotions when used properly.

Setting
The setting of this movie is very realistic. It was filmed in Quebec, the province in which the movie takes place. Although at times the atmosphere is very dramatic, the plot is also believable. The police deal with finding serial killers every day. Investigations are intense and false leads are always an issue. Overall, the movie is more dramatic and glamorous than a real life investigation would be but serial killers are a real issue and they are a real problem in today’s society.
The setting of this movie generally instills fear and adventure in the viewer. At times there is also sadness, excitement and any movie that involves murder and car chases is guaranteed to excite the viewer. However, in the end it suggests happiness because the killer is caught and Ileana can finally find peace. Overall, throughout the entire movie, the viewer is taken on an emotional rollercoaster.

Characters
Since the film is not a multicultural film and most of the characters are white Canadians, the clothing they wear is nothing out of the ordinary. However, one distinction that can be made is between Ileana and the other women in the movie. She is a young woman who is very focused on her carrier, she dresses business like and professional at all times. It is interesting seeing her clothing change at the end of the movie when she is no longer an FBI profiler. It proves that a business woman dresses and is portrayed differently than a mother or housewife. Although none of the clothing is specific to ethnicity or social class, the characters clothing does help portray the personality of the character. For example, Costa is suppose to be a up and coming artist, you can see this in his modern, hip yet laid back clothing.

Shots
The beginning of this movie uses very effective camera shots to grab the viewer’s attention. The movie opens with a close up of a reflection of Martin Asher in a bus station mirror. Not only is this an interesting shot to use, it is also foreshadowing. It is used again twenty years later when Asher fleas from the police. It is important to begin a movie with an attention getting device and this shot is an interesting way to do this
Also at the beginning of the movie, the credits are shown in a very unique way. Quick, extreme close ups are used for effect as well as to focus the reader on the changes he has gone through over the last twenty years. Images such as hair cutting, newspaper clippings, removing finger prints and using contacts are all characteristics that he had to change about himself. Instead of putting this at the beginning of the movie, they were able to strategically intertwine these aspects to make them viewer friendly.
The shot that is used most effectively throughout this movie, much like the ones used in Lime House Blues, is the extreme close up shot. This is used for the key in the previous movie and is used often in Taking Lives. The scene where it is most noticeable is when Ileana is questioning James. As she asks him the questions, it is apparent where she is looking and why she is looking there. This helps focus the viewer’s attention on what is important.

Camera Angles
There are two interesting camera angles used that caught my attention. The first was from the beginning of the movie when young Martin and Matt are traveling in the car that they have just bought. The angle that their conversation is filmed from is the back seat. This is an interesting technique that is not used often; however it was useful because it captures both characters as well as the road ahead. The second camera angle that caught my attention was the angle at which James’ questioning was filmed. The shot did not last a long time but at one point it seemed as if the camera was on the ceiling. This is called a high angle shot and this is used to make objects seem smaller. This angle allowed the officer and James as well as the room around them to be captured in one shot.

Camera Movements
After Martin kills Matt and he is walking away through the field, the camera moves in a combination of unique ways. A tracking shot is used to follow him as he walks away singing, yet the camera also pans around him. At first it seems unnecessary but I realized that it establishes the setting because you can see all around Martin while still focusing on him in the center.
The most common and most noticeable shot in this movie, but was barley used in Lime House Blues, is the Tracking shot. There are multiple chase scenes throughout this movie and the tracking shot is the most effective for them. For example, the scene that it worked best for was the chase that took place on foot through the big crowd. The image of people quickly passing gave the illusion that they were running much faster than they were. This helped keep the action and energy high, during a chase that is much slower than a vehicle chase.

How do camera movements function?
What information do they provide about characters, objects, and spaces?
Do they guide the viewer’s eye toward particular details?
Do they align the viewer’s perspective with that of a character?

Music
The music and sound in this film has been done exceptionally well. I noticed that when a scene was not as action packed as the ones previous, the music helped maintain the feelings. Even scenes that were not meant to be scary, I still felt nervous that something bad was going to happen because the music chosen held the feeling.
At times the music chosen was also a tease to the viewer. In Angelina Jolie’s first scene, it is completely dark, and she is lying in a grave with her eyes closed. The music is intense and it seems as if something dramatic is going to happen. When the other detectives arrive, she simply gets up and begins a conversation with them. If the music was not there to intensify the situation, it would have seemed as if she was lying on the ground.

External Conditions
In Canadian films there are rules and regulations that the producers and directors must follow. Movies cannot be too vulgar and grotesque for an average person to watch. These become social issues; movies that are too violent or graphic are not socially acceptable in North American society. Also there are guidelines in the rating system. Since this movie is rated 18A in Canada, there are words, scenes and situations that cannot be shown. For a movie such as this, depicting the life of a serial killer, they are limited as to how much detail they can include.

Ideology/Cultural Tensions
Although there are no apparent cultural tensions throughout the film, there is an issue of sexism that is not as apparent as the cultural issues throughout Lime House Blues. Ileana is a female who has proven multiple times that she is very good at what she does. Yet, her two male partners still crack jokes and think she is incapable because she is a female. When it is discovered that Costa was the real Martin, they immediately blame her and her lack of judgment as a woman. These judgments by the men create a tension much like the cultural tension in Lime House Blues.

Final Reflections
The first time I watched this movie, I watched it for my own enjoyment. I was so intrigued by the sharp visual style that the movie was filmed in. The quick shots, camera angles and music grabbed my attention. I thought it would be an interesting movie to analyze and I was not disappointed. Once I actually focused on the techniques that were used, it was intriguing for me to discover exactly why each shot was used and what details were important. Since completing this project, I now have a new found perspective on film. Even when I am watching television, I find myself looking closely at the shots and camera angles used. Understanding why these elements are used makes watching film more enjoyable.