Boomerang, 1992, Reginald Hudlin
A player who’s about to be played. Directed by Reginald Hudlin, this film is a romantic comedy starring Eddie Murphy, a womanizing businessman who finds it hard to adjust to life when the tables are turned and meets a woman who is an even bigger philanderer. The film begins with several full shots that follow Marcus (Eddie Murphy) on his way to his office, which establish both his position as a high ranking businessman, as well as the flirtatious relationship he has with each woman he passes – setting him up to be a womanizer.
It is apparent for most of the film that the audience is partially seeing the story through Marcus’s perspective. Now, Marcus is a very smooth-talking, quick thinking character, but he is detached from the people around him – this can be seen mainly in the lack of variety in camera angles. For example, in the beginning when he is sitting with his friends around a table discussing the ways to seduce women, each character is shown either in a medium close-up shot or as part of a three-shot. As a result, when Marcus is talking, the camera doesn’t really acknowledge his friends until Marcus finishes speaking and we see the friends’ reaction in the three shot. Similarly, when Marcus is on a date, both he and the women he’s with are shown alone on screen talking or together in a two-shot. To make the scene more intimate and create a sense of closeness between the characters, Hudlin could have used close-ups and over-the-shoulder shots – since he didn’t, it could suggest that it is a subconscious reflection of Marcus’s detachment.
Once Marcus and Jacqueline (Robin Givens) start to work together, and he tries to seduce her, more two-shots start to appear in the camera sequence. For example, when Marcus invites Jacqueline over for dinner under the pretenses of discussing business, more of the conversation takes place in a two-shot rather than alternating medium close-up shots. This may suggest that there is going to be a change in Marcus’s usual routine of going through women. Moreover, over-the-shoulder shots are used while the two are sitting down to dinner, which makes their relationship seem closer to the audience.
The use of camera angles to indicate status is used effectively at different parts of the film: most of the time Marcus is shown to be the most authoritative, as the audience either looks at him from a low shot or a level shot, but this starts to change when Jacqueline gains more power in their relationship. For example, when Marcus is in her office and they’re discussing their “fling” in New Orleans, the low and high shots are much less drastic – only slightly off a level shot. Of course, we still look slightly down at Jacqueline sitting in her chair, and slightly up at Marcus standing in front of her, but there is a tension in the scene that signals a change in power between the characters. In later scenes, we see Jacqueline from a low shot, giving her greater presence.
Angela, while a secondary character for the first half of the film, gives Marcus the most direct behavior wake-up call in the whole film, and its importance is highlighted because it’s an over-the-shoulder shot. It recognizes both people involved. This resonates with Marcus because he begins to show his friends more affection. For example, when the three men are standing on a rooftop, discussing their friendship and appreciating each other, medium close-up shots are used and over-the-shoulder shots to demonstrate their closeness. Moreover, at the end of the film, he finally validates Angela’s importance in his life and shows that he – unlike Jacqueline – has evolved from the womanizing man he used to be.
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