Exercise: Using images to tell a story

I found the Coen Brothers Blood Simple (1984) to be a very interesting and psychologically difficult film to watch.   The film weaves its way to a very harrowing scene in which the protagonist, Ray, discovers the body of his lover’s husband Marty in the bar and eventually buries him alive.  It was interesting to note that throughout this entire section, which is around 15 minutes in length, there is no dialogue from the protagonist, only noises from the victim once it is realised that he is still alive and small bursts of dialogue from secondary characters in the background.    What struck me most about this section was the lack of a score.  Almost the entire section, until music is heard from his car radio, contains no sound except the noises of creaking doors and footsteps.   This only helps in building the tension of the scene sequence.  However, when the music does play from his radio, it provides a stark dramatic contrast to the silence, denoting a change of pace.  

Abby’s gun plays a very significant role throughout this sequence.  Initially it provides the motive for Ray’s action in moving the body and burying Marty alive once he realises he was not dead.  Towards the end of the sequence, when Ray takes the gun from Marty, I felt that it provided a sense of balance and acceptance, perhaps mutual respect between the two men.

In addition to the imagery used above, many other scenes in this sequence rely entirely on the use of imagery and audio input.  The long road stretching in front of Ray as he drives the body shows a new, endless path ahead.  The camera also dwells on the shots of the fire outside the bar as Ray drives away, perhaps this is to give the audience the impression of both an ending and a new beginning; a kind of ‘rebirth’ for Ray’s character.