2 Guns
Directed by Baltasar
Kormakur
I just happened upon
this film. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it had many elements of a
neo-noir; 15/16 In a way, it kind of reminded me a bit of a classic Tarantino
film mixed with Breaking Bad. It's the story of an
undercover DEA agent who is partnered with an undercover Navy officer
(unbeknownst to each other) to infiltrate a drug cartel. They stake out and rob
a bank expecting only $3 million only to find that the total take was over $43
million. It sets in motion a wild chase where four-five different groups are
after the funds. The film is also peppered with witty, comedic elements.
1. Chiaroscuro for
black and white films, intense or muted color in movies filmed in color (In
either black and white or color, the technique is used to enhance the mood
and/or the emotional content.)
Yes. It's a color film
but there is definitely some muted colors that create the chiaroscuro. I've
also noticed the heavy use of dark brown/white.
2. Flashbacks
Yes. There is a scene
where we are at the present, yet it does flash back to a few weeks earlier.
Afterward, the film remains linear.
3. Unusual narration
Yes. The plot is
multi-faceted showing different perspectives and granting equal screen time to
each perspective.
4. Crime/planning a
crime (usually—but not always—murder)
Lots of crime and lots
of murder. It starts off with a drug deal, followed by a bank heist. Four
different groups are after the money claiming their rightful ownership of the
funds and the body count increases.
5. Femme fatale and/or
homme fatale
Yes on both. One
former girlfriend and double-crossing friends
6. The instrument of
fate
Yes. The bank
heist was supposed to be a collection of a mere $3million but they end up with
$43.125 million much to their surprise and confusion. Also, our protagonist has
a chance encounter with his ex-girlfriend at a hotel. We learn, later, that it
answers all the questions near the film's end.
7. Angst (for
example, guilt, fear, self-doubt, confusion, and so on; in other words,
anything that contributes to angst)
Yes for two main
protagonists. They have a heightened distrust of each other and for good
reason.
8. Violence or the
threat of violence
Yes. Russian Roulette.
Blackmail. Bank Heist. Mexican Standoffs. People getting shot (including
innocents).
9. Urban and
nighttime settings
Yes and no. Lots of nighttime
settings but not urban. Most of the action is either the Sonoran desert or Texas.
10. Allusion to
post–World War II (or any postwar) themes (optional)
n/a
11. Philosophical
themes (existentialism in particular) involving alienation, loneliness
This sort of relates
to question 7. The two protagonists often engage in discussion about trust,
friendship and brotherhood.
12. Psychology
(hypnosis, brainwashing, manipulation, amnesia)
Yes.
Manipulation.
13. Greed
Definitely Yes. Four
different groups are after the $43.125 million; the DEA, the Navy, the CIA and
the Mexican drug lord.
14. Betrayal
Yes. We have not only
double crossing but also triple and quadruple crossing.
15. No stark
contrast between “good” and “evil” (characters, forces, emotion, and so on)
None whatsoever. The
good are bad and the bad are evil.
16. Expertise
triumphs, perhaps rather than “good”
Indeed it does. It all
boils down to who has the greater forethought and expertise to whoever
ultimately walks away with the cash.