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Le Chiffre is threatened

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This establishing shot of the scene sets the location which is a hallway of some sort of hotel. There are lots ofuses of gold in the furniture, paintings, lift and even the lights as this connotes the richness of the hotel andreflects onto Le Chiffre. The position of the camera is at a low angle however therefore connoting that this

success may come at a price and representing it in a negative way. This may also be the use of voyeurism(looking in on someone else's life) as it meets the spy genre and style. The diagetic sound enhances this as thesound of walking and the ding of the lift makes us feel like we are not there, the fact there is no music makesthe audience feel slightly at ease and comfortable to watch him.

The camera also panns to the right following Le Chiffre into his room as if the camera/ audience ispeering into his life.

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We have aconflict of lightin this scene. Thecontrast reflectsboth in his

personality butalso in the scenethat is about tohappen.

Our character has entered and hisbody language suggest that hewalks in darkness, this is through hisclothing and the direction he isabout to walk into.

The wide angle establishing shot lets the audience view aluxury suite. This is shown to emphasis his money, greed andstatus. There are scattered pieces of furniture which reflecthis life style and his state of mind.

Levi-Struass theory of binaryoppositions reflects the storyline,in this case the lights reflect good

vs. evil within Le Chiffres fate.

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The next shot is of Valenka. The long shot createsa distance between the audience and thecharacter whilst the netting gives theconnotation of mystery as we cannot fully seeher and therefore do not trust her. There is also abreeze blowing creating an unease about herwhich is a convention of the spy genre becausethe audience is always on edge with continuoustwists and turns in the storyline as alliances

change and the line between friend and foe blur.

The camera then pans to the left following LeChiffres movement onto the balcony. The

audience can now also see that he hasmoved away from the lights into thedarkness therefore choosing his fate.

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The camera then rapidly tracks into aclose up of Valenka and Le Chiffre as theyembrace and kiss. There are clearconventions of a spy/ mystery genre aswe see Le Chiffre in a silhouette and thedramatic action on screen is emphasisedby the atmospheric music.

The silhouette is one of the mostfamous conventions of the spy/mysterygenre. The imagery suggests that wedo not know this person and that weshall be entering a world where there

are lurking shadows and therefore wemust look out for every character.Therefore when the director used it inthis shot we are reminded of the genreand the likelihood of what mighthappen.

Just when we are at ease from the diagetic sound, suddenly thereis an eruption of sound to make the audience feel like the dramaon screen will be consequential to the plot and is a warning sign toworry.

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Le Chiffre is then grabbed from behind bysomeone out of shot, this is done so theaudience is shocked and is taken off guard. He is

pulled away out of shot, the enigma code (cliff-hangers) makes the audience worried about hisfate.

The next shot is from within the hotel room. Wesee Le Chiffre dragged through and lifted up as

the camera rapidly tracks into a close up again justlike we previously saw outside with Valenka. Thisis repeated to show the contrast in situation likean equilibrium. To aid this intense situation thevolume of the music rises just like his bloodpressure and the seriousness of the situation

Beginning Equilibrium

Problem/ Disequilibrium

Resolution

New Equilibrium

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Here we cut to another scene with Bond and Vesper approaching the front desk, the music has changeddrastically to a low melody that plays just under the dialogue but slowly builds to a more frantic beat

before the pair walk away at the end of the scene. The camera tracks in and to the right as they round thecorner and walk to the desk. There is a two shot to represent their close friendship and the irrelevance ofthe woman at the desk as she is out of focus in the depth of field. The contrast in light from the previousscene emphasises how in the dark Le Chiffre is into his situation as they are well lit. However the use ofpalm trees behind them reminds the audience that both couples are in the same location and thereforesuggesting that they could walk in on the danger.

The reason behind the fast cut to the

opposing couple is so that suspenseis building as the audiences focus ison Le Chiffre. The pace resembles aspy layout as there are two sceneshappening at once and the audienceis trying to connect them togethersome how.

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There is a slight sound bridge between the two scenes of Valenkas cry as she is spun around this is done so that

the audience know the previous scene is not forgotten and it means the two couples are linked. The cameraquickly pans across in mid action of Valenka being whipped around, this adds speed and tension to the scene andthe situation. The camera then settles on Le Chiffre and the Villain threatening him. The position of the men is inthe centre third so is the main action and also central to the scene and the reason behind the ambush. Thedirection that Valenka has been turned away from is the light and into the dark just like there is little light facing LeChiffre, this connotes a negative representation of their future and therefore the audience will presume there willbe a disastrous end for them both. The movement and the editing between shots has become more rapidconnoting the situation is getting worse and contrasts heavily from the beginning of the scene where there were

long sweeping panning and wide shots.

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This low angle of the couple reinstates that they arethe power couple in this situation. The proximitybetween the two characters represents howattached they now are to each other which shows a

massive contrast to the previous couple. The musichas not faded but chooses a different melodyleaving out the brass bass and has a more technicalsound to it.

The close up shot here of Vesper is used forher reaction as it should reflect what theaudience looks like and feels as Bond replaceshis earpiece and pulls out a gun.

The gun is out of focus whilst in the same shotof Vesper. The director has chosen to do thisas violence and crime are forever featured inBond films and play an underlying tone to thefilm and the audience as well the charactersmust get used to it.

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The music has now drastically lowered in volumeand now focuses on Le Chiffres breathing. Thishas been done because the audience are now

aware of the situation and the stakes havechanged since he has been released. Here theuse of a high angle shot connotes the little powerthat he possesses. Even the audience is lookingdown upon Le Chiffre as if he should be ashamedof himself.

There is then a series of close ups for reactionshots. This is done to slow down the action andcreate suspense just like a spy/mystery ought todo. This is a convention as it lets the audience takein what already has happened and let them formtheir own decisions of the situation.

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There are a series of close ups used in the next scene with Vesper and Bond. The first focuses on

the technology and gadgets that he uses. The use of special effects on the screen lead to a locationand this is then acknowledged by Bond pressing number 4 on the lift panel. This sequences is usedso the audience know that they are aiming for a location and sets in the enigma code; where arethey going? What are they doing? The use of cliff-hangers and encouraged questions makes theaudience active rather than passive. Which is exactly what the audience should be doing watchingthis genre of a film.

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When referring to Le Chiffre the director choseto continue to use this high angle shot as hehas no influence anymore. This is a contrast to

the beginning of the scene when he walked in.The director is letting the audience know thatthe outcome is already decided and he will justhave to sit and wait for it.

In the rule of thirds, the knife is pulling focus by being

whipped across the screen into the centre third. Thisforeshadows what will happen as we can see her in thebackground as the knife goes across her.The camera then pans around him so we can witnesswhat he will do with the knife. To emphasis the fear ofthe knife the quieter scene makes it easier to hear theecho of the knife being drawn and have this reoccurringthought that the scene will revolve around this object

and has the same effect as cocking a gun.

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The mise-en-scene is the same hallway in the beginning of the scene to reinstate the situation. Bond andVesper then walk out of the lift and enter the same location as where Le Chiffre is. The repetition of the shotis another convention of the spy genre as location is key in order to solve the missions however the camera

is now positioned in a high angle in the camera like CCTV.

This time we are made aware of the stairway sign as if the audience need to know escape roots, this isemphasised by the fact that the mise-en-scene is all in focus. This is once again foreshadowing what mayhappen to the characters.

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Vesper is positioned far behind Bond asif he is protecting her. After he realisesthat something is wrong he turns andthe cameras depth of field goes deep

and is pulled focus upon her. In thecentre third we can also see that the liftis still open therefore an escape root.This is another convention as we nowcan see where someone can go andwhat they should do.

This close up of Bond is used for areaction shot, he is the hero andeven he is alarmed. This then makesthe audience feel the same way andlets them know that they are in closeproximity of Le Chiffre and Valenka.

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The wide shot puts everything into proportion, every character within the room can be seen even Le Chiffre on

the floor. This is so there is a big dramatic build up to him swinging backwards and striking down upon her armwhilst the atmospheric music builds. The camera then cuts to a close up of the knife hovering above her arm asthe music also cuts and all that is heard is her breathing irregularly as she realises that he has not cut off her arm.This has been done purposefully as it should reflect the reaction of the audience who are practically holding theirbreath waiting for the outcome.

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Bond is positioned so that his reflection is onthe sign Presidential Suite connoting that he isthe president in this situation or in other wordshe is top in the hierarchy.

Once again the wide angle establishing shot is repeated and now there is even more focus on the stairwaysign as both characters are looking at it. The colour green is also associated with the action of GO andsuddenly they lunge to go towards the stairway. The design in the carpet also encourages this action as itleads towards the camera and out of the situation.