This weekend I went to the theater to see End of Watch, a film directed by David Ayer and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena. I haven't been to see a movie in theaters since summer ended, so that alone was a treat. Movies are so much more powerful when seen on a large screen with excellent sound, and I enjoy being in an environment where everyone focuses on the film instead of multitasking.
End of Watch tells the story of two officers in the LAPD. The movie focuses on their professional lives dealing with money, drugs, guns, and criminals but occasionally steps back from the intensity of crime to show moments with the officers' families, and the times they spend just talking to each other. While the film as a whole revolves around action, guns, and gangs, it was refreshing to see these lighthearted clips of a quinceanera, or Gyllenhall and Pena blabbing in their cop car.
The cinematic style of this movie certainly varied from the norm. As a side element in the movie's plot, many characters carry around video cameras. As a result, the majority of the film is captured from hand held cameras, some of which are portrayed as the characters' own cameras and some of which are merely echoing a documentary style. At first I found this shaky quality of the film to be rather disorientating, but I soon became accustomed to the wobbly images and began to enjoy seeing what the characters where seeing. There was also one really beautiful shot in the film where the cop car is driving towards the city at dusk, and the LA skyline and sunset are reflected in the hood of the car. The double image that is created transformed a more cliche photograph into an intriguing kaleidoscope-aesthetic.
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