Before
• Office John Ryan is a white cop working for the LAPD. In his first scene
(the telephone call with Shaniqua) we straight away are faced with a short
tempered and racist man. Haggis uses lighting in this scene with cold and
dark colour’s of Ryan to warm yellows in Shaniqua’s office.
• In the scene when Ryan pulls over Cameron and Christine, the viewers
realise that Ryan misuses his position and obviously is a lonely man.
• In the first scenes with Ryan, Haggis uses mid shots to convey how trapped
Ryan is in his life. This relates back to the key theme of entrapment.
• Close up shots of Ryan’s facial expressions show he is tied and very
stressed.
After
• In the Crash scene we see Ryan in slow motion P.O.V shots. This symbolises
a heroic figure and relates back to films such as The Terminator where the
main, heroic character is always presented in slow motion shots.
• We see several shots through the broken windscreen of the car while Ryan
is rescuing Christine. This symbolises the racist bonds breaking in Ryan's
life and the beginning of a new person.
• In the closing scenes with Ryan and his father, Ryan is presented in white
clothes to emphasise his change in to a heroic figure and thoughtful and
more compassionate towards his father.