Welcome back everyone and if you're new here my name is Robert Macfarlane and I take your favorite
film and tv and I analyze it to tell you just how the filmmakers do it grab a cup of coffee
sit back relax we're gonna take a look at the best dinner scene ever
today is a banger episode for you we're gonna be taking a look at the dinner scene from Black
Mass the brilliant fantastic dinner scene that was actually released before the movie was released
because it was just so good I mean wow the drama in this moment alone is worth watching
this movie so if you haven't gone to see Black Mass just just go watch it now it's so worth it
so without further ado grab your coffee let's get to it
pause we're on a wide shot it's actually quite an unusual wide but let's find out why
you'll see it's kind of strangely weighted most wide shots are made to be quite symmetrical or
feel to be quite evenly weighted yet we get a really distinct feeling that there's a reason
for the unusual waiting at this table you see FBI agent number one as I will dub him
in the center of the frame you see FBI agent number two is on the right hand side of the frame
and then Jamie Bulger played by the enigmatic Johnny Depp on the left hand side of frame
and then you also see one of Jamie Bulger's henchmen on the leftmost edge of the frame in fact
he's kind of cut off by the edge of the frame this is a really strange setup
but it does a few things dramatically straight away first of all FBI agents one and two believe
that they are in control believe that they have power so they take up the majority of this image
Jamie Bulger on the other hand is cornered his henchmen is off the edge of frame now this again
is actually more about the FBI's perspective of this situation than it is about how Jamie
Bulger feels about this situation and at the end of this analysis I'm going to reveal the purpose
of this entire scene and why all of these creative elements come together to create a whole meaning
stevie what's the matter with you you're quiet tonight huh
you got a problem with people keeping the mouth shut you'll notice that this scene has
zero composing until the very end so therefore it has to rely on incredibly strong acting scripting
framing and editing to really pull out the most dramatic scene possible and my gosh it does
oh
then we cut to another wide shot this is really unusual because normally
most scenes aren't covered by multiple wide shots because they're actually quite impersonal
we don't really get to see the performance of each character but there's a really good reason
we have a second wide shot at this table this one actually submerges Jamie Bulger and his henchmen
in darkness they are silhouetted by the light at the dinner table whereas we see the two FBI
agents clear as day fully lit this is a really really nice touch because this lets us know
the two sides of what will be this dinner but it also lets us know another thing the FBI
are known quantities we understand who they are and we understand that they're corrupt
but we don't fully understand Jamie Bulger and his henchmen and more importantly the FBI don't
understand who Jamie Bulger really is so even though the FBI think that they have this gangster
under control this scene is about to let us know otherwise I I hate to bring this up I had a social
dinner but uh there's this detective in Florida that keeps calling us about Kelly-Anne asking questions
and uh so now we move to the meat and veg of this scene pun intended because they're eating
so we're still on the wide shot from behind and FBI agent number one starts to raise
a new topic he has an agenda he wants to talk about business of some sort but instead of cutting
to look at that FBI agent as he talks we first cut to FBI agent number two
now his reaction is very interesting it seems as though talking about business was not what
he expected at this table he seems to be less interested in talking business and more
about enjoying the company of these people at his table so he seems to be a little disappointed he
he just won't leave it alone and I have to handle it asking his particular favor we see that he's
relatively nervous we then cut to a slightly wider shot on Jamie Bulger I have to handle it
it's an hour you'll notice here Jamie Bulger is looking down he's not really that concerned
with this request in fact he ends up throwing this request straight back in his face
they start to realize just what type of fox they let into the chicken house by Jamie Bulger telling
him to deal with his own problem he lets them know that he isn't there to serve them as much as they
thought that he was on their leash we're starting to understand that that maybe isn't the case
Jamie Bulger now takes control of this dinner scene in one of the most twisted
psychological journeys I have ever seen first of all he opens with what seems to be
a thinly veiled threat and Maurice
you and I gotta have a little sit down here
and then just like any good gaslighter totally disarms the entire situation what the [ __ ] did
you marinate this steak because it's out as well you're killing me with it to show this
cut in tension we cut away from the close-up shots where everything is super intense and we cut to
the reverse shot where we see Jamie Bulger and his henchmen in the darkness you're killing me
it's a family secret now although this feels less intense it's no less unnerving because
again they're still in darkness we can't see what they're doing we can't see how they look so their
body language what they're saying with their face in their expression we can't see and this
actually makes us feel uncomfortable most other movies would have cut instinctually to the wide
shot at the end of the table where we could see all the characters interacting with each other
i think however this is a more interesting and slightly more effective cutting choice
I got a knife oh come on come on again disarming the two FBI agents
he's now disarmed them twice in a row they realize that maybe he's just having fun with them the
fact what's the family secret recipe it's great it's ground garlic a little bit of soy that's it
yeah that's it this is the moment we get the reveal of the family secret recipe for this steak
however what this also lets us see is the body language of both jamie bulger
and FBI agent number two FBI agent number two seems to relax off whereas Jamie bulger doesn't
we then cut to a tight over-the-shoulder shot on the fb agent from Jamie Bulger's
perspective this is him watching this FBI agent acutely I thought it was a family secret
this completely subverts our expectations because we're not expecting a family recipe
to elicit an incredibly dangerous response it's a recipe no no
you said to me this is a family secret the cutting here is impeccable when we're on the FBI agent
it's kind of loose sloppy wide it's a long shot mimicking that the fba agent is
scrambling to find something but he's just lost for words it's a recipe no but then when we cut
back to jaime bulger the cutting is reflecting his state of mind he is absolutely laser focused on
what he is trying to achieve in this moment don't look to John cause he's not gonna [ __ ] help you
more than any other moment up until this point lets us know that he is in control of this
situation can I just say that all three actors in this scene are incredible and absolutely nail it
look at this [ __ ] thing hey i'm [ __ ] with you again just like a gaslighter
he then says how he was joking this is actually a really subtle mirroring
of the beginning of this scene you got a problem with people keeping the mouth shut
I'm breaking your balls it's almost as if Jamie Bulger is doing the same thing back to them
coffee time thank you so much for making it this far in the episode don't forget
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i'm [ __ ] with you i'm [ __ ] with you it's a recipe couldn't give a [ __ ] tastes great
and so Jamie Bulger convinces the two FBI agents at the table that he's just ribbing
with them he's just joking and it means nothing or does it you got me too I want to make a toast
to success Jamie Bulger runs rings around these two FBI agents he twists them three times in this
scene letting them know psychologically telling them that he is completely out of their control
and he has completely asserted his dominance
in the scene which is exactly what he wanted to do from the very beginning just getting started
now at the end of the scene Jamie Bulger leaves the table now instead of cutting to the next scene
we hold on the two FBI agents faces we don't meet the henchman's face
no we look at the two men who have been utterly defeated Jimmy she's sick she's she's was fine
this scene in Black Mass is for good reason
so worthy of analysis and it really is just utterly laced with brilliant creative choices
and cinematic language so if you're a budding filmmaker check out my link above and down
below to my cinematic language 101 course to help you master your cinematic language