Pitch Black Heist (Maclean, 2012)
Liam and Michael are professional safe crackers who meet on a simple job to relieve an office safe from its contents. The catch is a light activated alarm system impelling the men to embark on a pitch-black heist.
Cinematography:
Maclean uses an array of shots throughout the Pitch Black Heist, but specifically uses a large number of wide-angle shots so he is able to frame both Michael & Liam, Maclean does this to convey a connection between the two men (and possibly foreshadowing the twist at the end with the reveal of their relationship) despite their opposite personalities. Often in these wide frames, the two men are shown with some space separating the two to further convey their differences. This is further enhanced by Fassbender’s & Cunningham’s performances. The perfect shot to convey this relationship is the shot in the pub where the two men sit with one another. Cunningham’s character is pictured on the left, laid back and relaxed. This is the opposite to Fassbender’s character, who is sat forward and clearly quite tense. This shot suggests apprehension, and hints at the opposites between the characters.
During the actual heist scenes, cinematography becomes irrelevant as Maclean chooses to make the audience blind as well as the characters. This rapidly increases the tension in the heist scenes as spectators are left relying fully on sound. Spectators can’t sit back and relax, they must listen intently and wait in anticipation to see if the heist will be successful. When Michael lights his cigarette, the shot showing Michael’s face hidden behind the cigarette is dark and sinister, reinforcing the idea of Michael’s darkness. This contrasts to the shot of Liam in the torchlight, helplessly scrambling into the surrounding furniture. Maclean uses lighting in other scenes to help reflect the dark sides of both men. In the scene in the bar, both Liam & Michael have half their face shrouded in darkness, reflecting their dark criminal past. Macleans directorial choice to film in black & white reflects the battle between light & dark or good & bad that the characters battle subconsciously due to them being thieves. If the film was vibrant and colourful, the impending darkness would not be as daunting as the black-and-white effect which means there is continuously darkness in the film, whether that comes through the dark clothing they wear, or the shady areas the thieves occupy during the film.
Narrative:
Pitch Black Heist is a simple linear narrative, which keeps spectators engaged and gripped until the final credits. This is especially true during the twist is revealed at the end in which it is revealed that Liam is in fact Michael’s father. This twist makes coherent sense within the narrative dialogue had only really discussed Michaels family past and not much else about him. Even with in the narrative Liam says to Michael: “2 whole days we’ve been rehearsing the only thing I know about you is you’re called Michael.”. This reflects how little we know about both characters, especially Michael. John Maclean reveals the twist perfectly, as the structure almost hints at it, but also makes it completely unexpected.
Mise-en-Scene:
The props used in Pitch Black Heist are useful indications within the plot as to what is happening or what is going to happen. For example, the heist genre is immediately established in the opening shot. As the camera pans through the makeshift floor plan, it reaches a box with the word safe on it, indicating the main goal of the heist. Other props throughout the film are key hints towards the end of the film. An example of this is when Liam and Michael are practicing walking through the safe, the first shot begins with them walking towards the camera on the wall behind clearly shows a large sign reading “no smoking”. Audiences are unaware at this point, but Michael will betray Liam during the heist and set of the alarm by lighting a cigarette. This is Maclean using every item in frame to suggest something to spectators. This sign is also subtle foreshadowing, which is a good easter egg to those who notice it on first viewing or on a rewatch.
Sound:
The film opens with a classical score with an old timey feel. Non diegetic drums build up tension as violins screech when the film’s title appears on screen. This then cuts to the old timey classical score with light twinkling piano, almost romantic. Is this Maclean romanticizing crime or the criminal lifestyle. After this opening scene the film has no further non-diegetic sounds. When it cuts outside, we hear sounds of the city, birds and police sirens. These diegetic sounds continue until around the 6:20 minute point in which Michael turns on a jukebox inside the pub - ‘If there are stars in my eyes’ by Teresa Brewer begins to play. Michael frolics about the pub as Liam begins to sing the song along with him. This song further links the two characters and conveys their subtle connection. The lyrics in this song may also be a slight tongue & cheek joke by director Maclean as they discuss themes of light and dark with the mention of stars – however, this may be a stretch. This scene lasts around 1 minute and then we are left like before. Sound becomes its most important during the actual heist scene as it is shot in the dark and spectators are left with only the sound. Spectators hear the deep shaky breath of the two men as they count steps & pass tools to one another. Then suddenly then sound of a match being lit and the alarm sounding. Michael has betrayed Liam (his father). Maclean uses sound in these scenes to drive tension & suspense.
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