The Plot.

The film begins with the murder of a middle aged man. His head gets smashed into a car window by an unknown person. We noticed that this unknown man

takes the briefcase of the dead man in the next shot.

The opening sequence follows with credits on bits of paper which might be related to the gambling flashback later on in the film. We can also hear racetrack/betting sounds

as this plays. Halfway through the title sequence, it cuts to an office. In this part, a man murders two (possible) henchmen and the supposed boss. We then see the rest

of the title sequence.

The Plot.

The Plot.

In the flashback, we see a man named Max betting on a horse which has been given some kind of injection which is meant to make him win. Max bets $20,000 on this horse after being told it was a sure thing. The horse dies before the end

of the race and Max realises he is suddenly in a lot of debt.

We see two men talking in what looks like a bus station or hospital perhaps. The older of the two tells a story which leads to us being shown a flashback.

The Plot.

We see him run out to the car park to find his car and his son gone. We then see Max get knocked out by some men who are after the money he bet. Finally, we

see him and his wife get killed along with his son.

There are many lines of actions throughout the beginning of the film. One showing a dead guy, and some more dead

guys, one showing two people having a conversation in an almost empty building,

and one about Max.

Multiple Lines of Action

A lot of things are hidden from us, for example, why the objects are needed,

what they are needed for, and why people had to die. The items however, we do know, and they are a log book,

a laptop type thing, and a body.

Narrative Retardation

Flashbacks are used to give the audience extra information and also to reveal plot points and twists as the story continues. There are also

flashbacks within other flashbacks, and although seemingly irrelevant at this point in the story, they become very relevant later on.

Flashbacks

During the first few minutes we see examples of what we can only guess are innocent victims. This

is shown by four men being murdered and the

audience not knowing who has killed them or why. We

know these murderers must be criminals and can

only guess at possible back stories. 

We meet a family of three during the flashback. A young man named Max, his wife and his son Henry. Max gambles on a race and ends up in a lot of debt. This results in his son being kidnapped (and it is heavily hinted that his son is dead although we never actually see the body) and the death of Max and his

wife.

We are introduced to a few characters during the

opening. One character we meet is telling a story of a

flashback. After the flashback, he murders the

man he is talking to and we can tell he has a motive rather than being just a

psychotic individual by the way he speaks of needing a

body.

characters

Technical aspects.

The use of a close up here means we can

properly see how the two character react to

each other.

We can see the emotion on max’s face because of the use

of an extreme close up.

The use of chiaroscuro here in

the title credits to give it an eerie feeling.

Some technical aspects that this filmed used was over exposed colour at the airport, dramatic angles, flashback in a flashback, a dramatic low angle just going

into the first scene and exaggerated sound.

It also makes the audience work. It makes them ask who are these people? why have they killed them? what are they talking about?