A Brief Analysis

Here is my analysis of the opening fifteen minutes of the Spielberg-Cruise, sci-fi epic; Minority Report.

This was written for my sci-fi module at uni.

For those of you who have not seen Minority Report or need your mind refreshing the opening sequence can be seen on youtube in two parts:

Part One can be seen here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5Eh4qjOopb0

Part Two is here:




Minority Report opening sequence

The main purpose of Minority Report’s opening fifteen minute sequence is to provide the viewer with a first hand experience into how the precrime precog system operates and the uncertainty that comes with it. With a lack of direct information viewers are instantly immersed in this world. The events which develop here work to establish the type of system John (Tom Cruise) will be evading throughout the rest of the film.

As the 20th Century Fox logo fills the screen it is given this pale blue almost colourless, metallic, yet submerged appearance. Instead of containing the bright vibrant colours we are used to Spielberg challenges our expectations by taking the one familiar element of the film and immediately stripping it of all its visual trademarks. This unfamiliarity provides a sense of mystery yet intrigue to the viewer and a minor state of unease as the usual warm reassuring logo now feels cold and distant.

The first images we see are unclear. A series of broken and disorientated flashbacks they are meant to unsettle and perhaps horrify us. Frequently in and out of focus and not having any linear progression the only thing the viewer can make sense of is a violent stabbing. We then see a close up of precog for the first time who is eerily talking, then a red ball rolls down a tube with the word ‘victim’ being the first letters on screen. These events do not make sense but they nevertheless work as Spielberg provides us with an unnerving atmosphere that signifies that there cannot be a positive outcome.

We are then given an establishing shot of the vastly spacious infrastructure of a blue police station full of busy staff all milling about with the words ‘department of precrime’ and ‘the year 2054’. We immediately know this is a technologically advanced future.

As John approaches his super computer opera music begins to play. He has an audience watching him and the long shot behind him emphasises his grandeur gestures. We therefore compare his actions with that of a musical conductor or artist. As his movements are directly replicated on the screen it is as if he and the technology are as one. He interacts in a language only he is skilled enough to understand. The fact he is wearing gloves that are connected to his computer suggest that the technology is a part of him. He his doing this to decode the first images we saw into logistic sense as well as introducing to the viewer the advanced software used in the future which is far more physically and mentally demanding than what we use today.

The film then cuts to a suburban setting. Again we are given an establishing shot with vast space but here this space is used to emphasise the bright green grass. The music also stops playing and we only here the diegetic natural sounds such as the swings and the water sprinkler. This scene acts as a calming equivalent to the unnatural precrime department. This visual emphasis on green space also suggests there is still hope for freedom from technology in the future. However for a relatively calming scene, due to the fact we recognise one of these characters previously committing murder, there is an underlying sense of unease and awkwardness between the husband and wife. Although we have a vague idea of what will happen an audience is intrigued to know how events will develop through this ‘show, don’t tell’ screenwriting.

As John is about to leave the station he is called back due to a ‘location problem’ which leads to the introduction of the Danny Witwer character. Unfamiliar with the system Danny is a plot device to help us to understand events, as they progress they are explained to him as well as us. As Danny offers to shake John’s hand this distracts him and ruins the placement of his on screen documents and files. This suggests how Danny is there with the possible intention of causing John difficulty and trouble. Danny’s smarmy grin facial expression juxtaposed against John’s stern seriousness and concentration demonstrates a personality clash which may well heighten later on.

Proceeding to observe John from a distance, Danny has a brief word with one of John’s officers. This conversation is extremely relevant as Danny is informed how crimes of passion show up late on the system thus questioning its plausibility. Danny is informed how ‘we rarely see anything with premeditation anymore’ to which he responds ‘people have got the message’. This hints to us how the precrime department has too much control over civilians and their personal lives. With no true crimes left to focus on they have now become obsessed with persecuting people for their simple crimes of passion.

It is also significant how the majority of close ups of John’s face are shot through the partially see-through computer screen. Partly distorted through the onscreen images this suggests how John’s life is superficially blinded by such technology. He is hypnotised by it. This is his only window into the outside world as he spends most of his days in this dark office.

The police’s arrival in suburbia emphasises how if it were not for their presence there would be nothing futuristic about this setting and it could be easily mistaken for being set in the current day. These uniforms and flying vehicles seem imposed upon our real world and are obtrusive in our freedom. The arrival of the spaceship blocks out the sunlight and the image of police officers in helmets dropping from the sky are severely out of place as it is not the most reassuring of sights, and feels like an invasion of privacy.

As John surveys the houses he becomes panicked. Emphasised by the fast POV pan of the front doors, he does not know which one to enter. To him all the houses are the same, he is essentially lost in suburbia and has lost touch with the simple ways of life. He relies on technology to get him out of this problem by communicating back to the office and is constantly looking at his watch as he is running against the clock The crosscutting scenes between the police force and family now quicken to heighten the tension and suspense. As John sprints to the door and up the stairs the camera’s fast tracking cannot even keep up with him. Along with fast cutting and high tempo music this furthers the suspense. As John enters the bedroom he directly intervenes in the murder and it is due to his hand on Mark’s arm that a crime never in fact actually takes place. Again his first reaction is to look at his watch as he is a slave to time constraint.

As the remaining officers crash in through the ceiling this rough apprehension echoes a similar scene in Brazil where a man called Buttle is wrongly arrested instead of a man named Tuttle due to a small administration error. There has just been something discomforting about the sequence of events. As well as creating suspense this hardly seems like a reassuring police force and method of law enforcement. The word oppressive comes to mind. This is emphasised in particular when a full body shot of Marks is framed by the close up of a headset in one of the officer’s hands. We know it will entrap and restrict him in some way. As he pleads and the officers follow him there is no escape. As he is taken away we are inclined to sympathise with him more. This was not a conscious decision to murder and the didactic police force has not given him the right to a fair trial. The inefficient and oppression of the police is not perhaps as overtly apparent as Brazil but there is an underlying satirical tone to their methods.