Presumed
Innocent is a film that shows Harrison Ford’s struggle to prove his
innocence in a case that accuses him of murdering a coworker of his. The
meaning of presumed innocence is that a person charged with a crime is innocent
until the court finds that they are actually guilty.
There are a
few different examples in the movie that show characters questioning Rusty’s
(Ford’s) innocence and this in part makes the audience also question whether or
not he is innocent.
The first
example is when Rusty is in the office and he is being treated as if he were
guilty. Rusty doesn’t handle the finger pointing well at all. He becomes
extremely angry and even yells at the one accusing him. We see this as a
weakness because we would like to think that if he were truly innocent than he
wouldn’t have to scream and shout to defend his innocence. If he would just let
the truth speak for itself he would seem much more likely to be innocent. This
makes the audience question his sanity and innocence a bit. Unfortunately, acting
out in that way makes him look guilty even though we should consider that he is
being blamed of murder.
We also see
that one of his close friends keeps a cup of Rusty’s. This makes us as an
audience see that even his friend is questioning his innocence. Dan keeps that
cup so it could be finger printed. Dan obviously doubts Rusty’s innocence which
makes the audience also doubt him. Dan kept it a secret until he was at the
trial that he had taken the cup and he obviously intended to find out is Rusty
was the killer or not when he took that cup.
We also see
Rusty ask that his phone calls with Carolyn be kept private. This inevitably
makes his innocence questionable because anytime he wants something kept secret
everyone wants to know why. The audience wonders what he wants kept hidden
about those phone calls. It seems like he is hiding something and we know that
people that are guilty usually try and hide things. It doesn’t help that the
phone calls are on the night of the murder.
One element
of mise-en-scene that I noticed was proxemics. The space that is kept between
Rusty and others shows a sense of separation from them. Especially in the
office scene where he is being accused and assumed guilty there is a noticeable
space between him and the others. This shows that he isn’t with them. He is on
his own and they are grouped together against him.
John Hoo
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the scenes that you chose to analyze. There are many scenes in the film in which Rusty makes himself sound guilty. This is a device used by the filmmakers in order to make the audience question whether he is in fact innocent or guilty. This adds suspense for the entirety of the film. The first scene that you chose does a good job of demonstrating the ambiguity of Rusty’s status of either guilty or innocent. In reference to the first scene that you cite, is it intuitive that someone is probably guilty if they react the way that Rusty did when he was confronted. When confronted with something like guilt, if someone reacts with anger and shouting it is an indication that they are losing their cool and are probably guilty of the act by which the accuser is accusing them. In the frame that you provide, Rusty seems to be accusing the man of something. He is clearly the dominant and is literally pointing his finger at him. Also, there is a lack of light on Rusty’s face while there is light on the other man’s face. This could be an indication that the man is good while Rusty can be considered evil.
Very well written response. The scenes you analyze are important in understanding Rusty's innocence. Rusty's colleagues and close friends do not stand by him, and are quick to turn their back on him when they suspect he may have murdered Carolyn. Rusty's actions are shady and he makes himself seem guilty on several instances. I too noted in my blog that his attempt to cover up the phone calls made between him and Carolyn makes his innocence questionable. Also, when Rusty is first accused of committing the murder by prosecutor Tony Mollo, he storms out of the office in a fit of rage. Rusty is familiar with the justice system and should know that he is in a vulnerable position and the prosecution team will be carefully observing his every move. Because of this, Rusty should remain calm and not become angered when he is accused of the crime. Rusty innocence is only undermined as a result of his suspicious behavior, drawing attention to him and Carolyn's romantic relationship.
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