I love this scene because the tension is built so creatively. We don't even know the background to the story (who these people are where they come from) but as the story progesses it's like we've been watching the movie for almost am hour.
we see Vincent, a gangster, is looking for something very important. In fact what he is looking for has rimmed his face in gold letting the viewer know it's something valuable.
As it cuts to his partner we see Samuel L Jackson is the only person in the room standing upright. He is in the position of power. Non verbal plays a pretty big role here, because at this present moment, there are no guns.
Vincent walks around the counter.
The Camera Follows him to add visual interest and style.
Again we see Jackson the only person standing. But the guy in the blue shirt seems to think he can talk his way out of his situation and begins to feel powerful. I also like the smoke in the upper left to remind us that Vincent is still here even though he's not in the frame.
As the guy in the blue shirt stands he challenges Jackson's power. But Jackson is not phased, Jackson simply motions his had for the young man to si back down. (without a gun)
The guy in the blue shirt sits. The framing of this wide shot gives the audience a calm feeling.
Nothing too intense should happen in a ws right? Wrong! All of a sudden the calmness is disrupted and the tension starts to build as Jackson shoots the man on the couch.
As the scene grows more intense we start to see more medium shots and the expressions of each person's face.
The medium shots add to the tension of the scene. But then we strt to see close ups which add even more intensity.
There is brief conversation over the next few frames, but the fact that Jackson is towering over the man in blue is scary and suspenseful.
When the tension is reaching a peak we move back out o a wide shot to remind us of where we are.
Also, the framing is intense, we know that Jackson is the biggest in the frame so he is definitely the most powerful.
Now we see Vincent's pov and Vincent looks oddly calm adding to the fact that they do this quite often. Also this shot gives some visually relief from the back and forth cu shots
The back to the intensity. The lighting is dark but even, I like that there are no hard shadows...it adds to the reality of the situation.
Here we don't even need to see Jackson, the gun is enough to frighten the audience and build suspense. It's also a little funny that Vincent is in the background calmer than ever.
Here in these next few frames the intensity builds up again from the MCU to a CU
Now we see more tension. The shot seems as if it were canted but it's not. Here we know again who the dominant power is.
The guy in blue gets shot. It is important that we see Vincent is not phased. It's a great element of story telling that all Vincent does is put out his cigarette, while the guy in blue is panicked.
Again, the tension build with a MS
Jackson is standing in the middle of the floor the only person upright in the frame. No one is taller than him (not even the guy in the background)
Here we know that this is the climax because we atrt to see ECUs
The intensity has built
Now we see Jackson's target...more tension building
And finally we watch Jackson pull the trigger. I like that we stay of Jackson instead of the guy in blue, because the we understand who's story it is. Jackson is doing the action and is the person the viewer is supposed to be watching and connecting with
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