Portals-sense of enigma and mystery.
The film Portals does not contain any dialogue, so there are no hints as to why or how the main character found herself in prison in the first place. This leaves us in the dark and creates a sense of mystery surrounding the whole plot. The fact that it is a In-Media res, meaning the film started half way through also throws the audience of as we have no idea what happened in the first half of the story. We can see she has been there for a long time as her muscular arms shows she has been working out a lot, along with the lines on the wall representing the days she has been in there.
There are a few things put into the film that makes the audience question the true nature of what is really going on in the prison. When a portal gun suddenly materialises out of no where viewers begin to wonder whether the main character is in some kind of simulation or video game. Not knowing who she is and where she is makes her an enigma with the viewers, shrouding the film in more mystery. When she finally makes an escape using the portal gun to throw herself onto another building we think the film is done, she looks out onto the freedom that is now hers. A fairytale ending. However as she nears closer to what appears to be a land of freedom the film throws us a shocking curveball, as what looks like freedom suddenly turns into a wall, with a realistic screen of the world. The camera then pans to behind the wall, where a grim grey tunnel with machinery powering her false freedom reveals itself. This adds another layer of mystery to an already confusing plot. Is there a never ending maze, every time she escapes one, and thinks she's free, it just turns out to be another false reality? Who knows. The camera angles are often also changing and it isn't just a similar short each time. There may be an action shot at one point, with lots of movement, but then it might change to a still shot focused on one thing in the next scene. This leaves the audience unsure as to what may come next.
An excellent description of your reactions to the film Rufus- well done!
ReplyDeleteCan you add the following and republish:
-Is there anything the filmmaker does to add an air of mystery? Think of specific elements such as setting, props, music, camera angles, editing, etc