Richard: Patriot Games and Devil's Own

Patriot Games and The Devil’s Own are two interesting films in the way they shape the audience’s understanding of different cultures.  The relationships between the protagonist and the antagonist in both films give the audience a sense of the culture during that time.  In Patriot Games, I thought it was interesting how the antagonist was so passionate about killing Harrison Ford’s character after he killed his brother.  I found this interesting because the Irish were in the wrong and you cannot be in the business of murder and not expect a risk of getting murdered yourself.  I probably did not think the antagonist’s attitude and hatred would be that strong after they were just trying to take someone else’s life.

In the Devil’s Own, we began to feel compassion for the antagonist because he does not entirely seem like one.  We see that he has feelings after his partner was killed at the beginning.  This made the audience feel sad for him and made it appear as though he was not just a killing machine but was a human being as well.  Towards the end of the film when he was escaping on the boat, he just wanted to get back home.  He did not want to do harm but just wanted to get back home and deliver what needed to be delivered. 

At the end of Devil’s Own, Brad Pitt’s character says, “It’s not an American story…It’s an Irish one.”  This is significant because it lets the audience know that happy endings do not always exist.  In the typical “American Story” Harrison Ford probably would have pulled him to shore and got medical help and everyone would have survived.  It’s an Irish one, and he is saying they don’t always have happy endings like what would be expected. 

In this scene, we see the framing is being used here.  There is not much room for the characters to go because they were both in a closed area.  They are also holding on to each other.  We see the detail of the arms and the watch and the camera zooms in to both characters’ faces.  This gives the audience the full reaction of the characters.  We see that both characters are expressing too different emotions.  One is hopeless and one is hopeful.  This shows the juxtaposition of the two characters and their different backgrounds.

In Patriot Games the scene where Harrison Ford kills the Irish man’s brother uses angle as a way to portray a deeper meaning of the scene.  The Irish man is looking up towards the camera because Harrison Ford is standing up.  It almost gives the scene a sense of superiority on the hands of Harrison Ford.  When you usually stand up, the character is usually in charge.  This scene does that.  This shows the superiority that maybe Americans may portray and maybe the anger that some Irish people may have portrayed.