Throughout Jaws, Steven Spielberg is able to blend the tension of a horror film with the entertainment of an adventure film. The “Get Out of the Water” scene has become iconic, and exhibits Spielberg’s mastery at keeping his audience on the edge of their seats.
The scene opens with Police Chief Brody talking to a townsperson. While the local resident complains about parking problems, Brody is staring past him, seemingly ignoring him.
Spielberg visually shows this disconnect with this great split-diopter shot. We see Brody’s focus “blurring away” from the man to the water. The framing of this shot emphasizes Brody’s conflict. He’s split between his fear of the ocean and the shark and his responsibilities to the town, much like how this shot is split down the middle between the man and the ocean.
A rule you’ll hear again and again in cinema is “show, don’t tell.” Instead of hearing Brody talk about his paranoia, Spielberg shows it to us visually. When he hears a scream in the water, Brody jumps to his feet, but it turns out just to be a young couple playing around in the water. Contrasting the alarm from the previous shot and the lightheartedness in this shot further builds Brody’s sense of indecision and paranoia.
In another visually striking shot, we see Brody split three ways. One third of the shot is him, one third of the shot is his wife, and one third of the shot is a group of kids about to go swimming. Closing down the aperture of the camera, Spielberg intentionally leaves all three sections in focus, leading to a lack of visual unity. This chaotic frame visually exemplifies Brody’s inner conflict.
Yet again, Spielberg uses framing to create conflict. Brody’s eyeline is looking past the townsperson, into the ocean. This staging choice emphasizes how Brody is obsessed with the ocean and the shark, and that the townspeople are in his way, both visually and literally.
The composition of this shot hammers in the conflict even more. Brody’s wife massages his shoulders, showing us that he’s stressed and uptight. Even as his wife tries to get him to relax, his eyeline is still looking at the water. This proves his obsessive focus and worry about the shark during this scene. Also, the leading lines of the deck and wall behind Brody bring the visual focus of the frame towards Brody, creating a visually pleasing composition.
This shot creates a sense of foreboding for the audience. We see a cluster of kids in the ocean, splashing around and laughing. Yet, somewhere in the water, we know that there is a shark. The shot has an odd composition, with the bottom two thirds of the frame empty. This visual choice is unusual, giving the shot an unsettling feeling. Also, with the way the shot is framed, it may be Brody’s POV. This would further play into his paranoia and obsession with the shark.
“Pippen! Pippen! Pippen!” As this young man calls for his dog, wondering where he is, we begin to assume the worst. This is another clever example of “show, don’t tell.” The framing of the ocean against the young man gives the water a feeling of dominance in the frame, suggesting the power and threat of the shark.
This classic shot brings the tension to a breaking point. From the shark’s POV, we see numerous dangling legs as John Williams’ iconic theme plays. Filming underwater gives an eery feel to the shot, and the slow, smooth camera movement puts the audience on the edge of their seats.
The influence of this shot can be seen in nearly every “shark attack” scene since Jaws.
From top to bottom: The Shallows, Unbroken, The Reef, The Meg
As blood bursts from the kid, the scene reaches its climax. The shark that Brody, and us as the audience, have been anxiously dreading has arrived. Spielberg’s framing creates an impactful visual contrast between the death and gore in the background and the fun and laughs in the foreground.
In one of the most iconic shots in film history, we see Brody’s world warp around him as the shark attacks. The warping motion is known as the “vertigo effect,” and is used to create a sense of shock and unease. Taken from Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Vertigo, the effect climatically shows Brody’s sense of fear and failure.
The tense feeling of calm throughout the scene has transformed into chaos. People are running across the screen in a frenzy, as Brody screams “Get out of the water!” Helped by a stress inducing score, Spielberg has transformed the picturesque beach into a battleground.
And, in a few seconds, the chaos has died down. Nearly everyone has returned to the beach, and John Williams’ score has quieted down. The water is now a barrier, and almost everyone has run for safety on the beach. Brody stares into the ocean with the people of the town behind him, foreshadowing his mortal conflict with the shark.
Our false sense of security is shattered when a lone mother anxiously walks forward. Spielberg masterfully plays the tension within this scene, creating a cathartic climax with the shark attack and then introducing the falling action of the mother searching for her child. The shock from the shark attack is quickly turned into pity, as the loving mother searches for her son.
Knowing his young audience, Spielberg makes the choice not to show the bloody remains of the child’s body. Instead, he shows a bloody tatter from the child’s raft. By implying instead of explicitly showing the child’s death, Spielberg prevents the violence from becoming gratuitous.
That’s all for my breakdown. If you haven’t seen this movie, I highly recommend it. It’s available on Amazon Prime with a free trial of Cinemax. Thanks for reading!
Comments