Camera Angles in Lucy (2014)

When choosing a movie to watch and review for specific and emotion inducing camera angles, I chose the movie Lucy. I've watched the movie awhile ago, so I knew there would be a lot of interesting angles and shots throughout the movie. Lucy is a thriller/action movie, that might also be considered sci-fi. The main basis of the plot, which will be important to know in order to understand the camera angles, is about a young woman who is forced to carry a newly synthesized drug in her stomach. While carrying it back to the U.S. to be resold on the black market, the bag ruptures inside of her and the effects of the drug allow her to gain more and more control of her brain, giving her extreme intelligence, the ability to read minds, move objects, and eventually, control time.

The first shot I chose, as seen below, is an eye-level shot. The shot introduces the antagonist of the film, the drug lord who forces Lucy into service. This shot was likely chosen as it is the first thing you see of the character and the first time Lucy sees him as well. It is if you are meeting the character. The shot is chill-inducing as he is covered in blood. It makes you feel threatened by what he has done, Lucy likely feels the same.

The second shot I chose was a close up shot. In the shot, Lucy is being forced to open up a case that contains something unknown. No one in the room knows if what is in the case is dangerous, so the suspense is very high. By using a close-up shot, you are drawn into the case and very intent to see what is inside.

The next shot I chose was an extreme close-up of Lucy's eye. In this shot, Lucy's head is covered with a bag and she is very afraid. She doesn't know where she is, or where she is going. The shot does a good job of conveying what Lucy is feeling to the viewer. By the closeness to her eye, you feel as if you know her. The darkness of the shot translates to what Lucy would be seeing at the moment. It also translates the fear and panic Lucy is experiencing. What you can't see in the still shot was how Lucy's eyes were moving rapidly during the shot, further translating panic.

The next shot is a cameo shot. It is a character's face with a black background. This shot takes place when Lucy calls a professor who specializes and theorizes in the ability for a human to use all of their brain's capacity, or what Lucy is beginning to experience. The shot creates a feeling of suspense and intensity. It makes the scene feel dark and mysterious. You don't know where Lucy is, or what will come next. The professor is realizing his years worth of theories are actually true, so it is a very intense, personal moment. By using a dark cameo shot as an un-distracing shot allowing you to truly focus on the character, all of this is translated.

The final shot I chose is a close-up. The shot occurs when Lucy travels back in time to see the first ever human. The movie focuses a lot on humanity and how primitive human brains are. The moment of Lucy, a human who is a the full capacity of human brain activity, meeting the first human at the very first step of capacity, is an awe-inspiring shot and a cumulative shot for the movie and all it attempts to translate. The shot shows their fingers touching, (actually touching just seconds after the still shot was taken) showing the connection of humans over time. It is also a shot alluding to a very popular painting done by Micheal Angelo in the Sistine Chapel of the man close to, but not quite, touching the hand of God. This shot likely posed the hands in the same way on purpose, to show the metaphorical nature of Lucy and the first human, Lucy being almost God-like in all of her knowledge.