This is the scene that I chose to analyze.
Richard
Kimble, a successful, Chicago-based surgeon, returns home one night to find
that his wife has been brutally murdered.
Despite having seen the killer flee the scene, Kimble is the one
convicted of his wife’s murder. It
seems as though Kimble will in fact receive punishment for a crime he did not
commit. However, as Kimble and
other inmates were being transported to the prison, an opportunity arises that
allows Kimble to escape. One of
the prisoners fakes a seizure in order to stab one of the guards. Chaos ensues which results in the bus
driver being killed. As the bus
crashes through the guardrails and the bus tumbles down a hill, it finally
comes to rest on a set of train tracks.
As the other guard attempts to assess the damage, he tosses the keys
Kimble in order for him to help the injured guard. It is only then do the men hear the whistle of the oncoming
freight train that is barreling towards them.
Throughout
all of this chaos, Kimble is the only one who stops and attempts to help anyone. When the men hear the train, the
uninjured guard and another inmate, Copeland, save themselves without a second
thought. Although Kimble asks the
two of them to assist in saving the injured guard, both of the men abandon the
bus to save themselves. Kimble
manages to pull him self out just before the freight train hits. Rather than just saving himself, Kimble
pulls the injured guard out as well.
I
think that this is the biggest reinforcement that Kimble is in fact
innocent. It would have been very easy
for Kimble to saved just himself and leave the guard to die as the other two
men did. However his choice to
save him is a testament of his character and innocence. The guard is one of the men who can and
would have detained him once more.
Considering that Kimble is a doctor, it makes sense that saving people
is in his nature. This fact is
also what makes his conviction so implausible. This crash is his ticket to
freedom and an opportunity to reveal the truth. Kimble jeopardized this possibility and opportunity by
saving the guard. We constantly
see Kimble doing things like this throughout the movie. He jeopardizes his own freedom and
chance to clear his name in order to save other.
Kimble’s
actions after the crash can be juxtaposed against Copeland’s actions. Whereas Kimble sets out on a quest to
prove his innocence, Copeland uses this opportunity to hide out from the
authorities. Later in the film,
Copeland is found “shacked up” at his girlfriend’s house. This is further proof of the respective
inmates motives, goals, and ultimately, their innocence. It is in this way that the audience can
also realize Kimble’s innocence. The audience, “instantly feels a sympathy for
his character, which is essential in such an emotional story. We have to feel Kimble’s frustration, fears, and anguish
so that his final triumph is all the more satisfying.” (Pfeiffer, 212). I don’t think this feeling would
translate had the audience felt that Kimble actually did kill his wife
I love what you did by mashing up Kimble’s actions to Copeland’s. By doing this you brought some new perspective on the crash scene. You essentially highlighted the patternistic nature of the character’s tendencies that is a byproduct of their deeper selves. I agree that Kimble’s actions at the crash site are only part of his entire envelope of comparable actions. I think it is very interesting how the later actions of the characters can be traced back to the train wreck. It’s almost as if their later actions were predictable.
ReplyDeleteWhat would have happened if Kimble never stopped to help anyone throughout the course of the film? It would have changed the entire outcome of the movie. For instance, he may have been accused of some sort of foul play in the crash instance if he did not handle to situation with chivalry. This is one of the reasons why I think the crash scene is so important. It sets up the later action of the film. Without it, nothing would have happened the way it did. Because of the fact that Kimble handled it with moral values, I can say that I believe the scene’s influence had a positive effect.