Vantage Point” review: a small and innovative suspense thriller

Vantage Point” is a 2008 suspense thriller film made by renowned director Peter Travis, the film is not expensive to create a Hollywood-style commercial blockbuster view, the film director clever use of non-linear narrative shooting techniques to build a frightening assassination framework. The screenplay is innovative and experimental in meeting market demand and audience preferences, and the innovative and interesting camera language makes the film a typical commercial genre film with a small and large production.

The director made a big change in the structure of the script, breaking up the simple linear narrative into multiple fragments of detailed flashbacks, making the whole film with a natural sense of participation in the uncovering and voyeurism, director Peter Travis fully use the flashback technique, repeatedly replaying the details of the assassination plot, and each time the details of the flashbacks become the trigger to advance the conflict of the script.

Because of this, in the seemingly lengthy story shooting is not too much to make people feel tired and tired of repetition, it can be said that “Vantage Point” with excellent narrative and play structure, this suspense thriller genre dramatic tension and conflict to the extreme, but also makes the film shows a strong sense of reality.

On the other hand, the story is wonderful due to the creator’s reasonable control of the overall pace of the film, in terms of camera scheduling, the film uses more close-ups and alternating medium and close up shots, which well create a good character and the suspects as if they are linked, thus leading the audience to actively think about the changes in the plot, this vicarious experience allows director Peter Travis to intersperse the story with one ambush and climax point after another at will.

The first contrast in the character and identity of some of the characters also creates a sense of surprise and shock from a certain point of view. The director uses the DV perspective of ordinary passersby and the presidential bodyguard to drive the rhythm of the whole film, supplemented by sophisticated sound effects and camera push and pull, to make the whole simple story exquisite.

For the film itself, the overall special formal framework supports the watchability of the film’s storyline, while the director’s clever setup and scheduling of Howard Lewis makes the play itself a touch more human. It must be said that Howard Lewis, with his sophisticated and calm acting skills, portrayed a seemingly bystander character in an incisive and flesh-and-blood manner.

His performance makes the whole role not only play a role in supporting and promoting the development of the plot, but also in its internal characterization, injecting the film with a warm and touching atmosphere, although for the suspense thriller, there is not much room to play, but Howard Lewis still put the small man in the big event of the multi-layered emotions intertwined with a sense of powerlessness, determination, courage and kindness to show the best, and became the biggest help outside the main line of the film.

To a large extent, it can be said that “Vantage Point” is a good example of a small budget commercial genre film, and this kind of smart creation is slightly different from the well-known small budget film “Coherence”. Vantage Point” is more script-based, relying on excellent editing and flashbacks to guide the audience’s emotions, the director will be appropriately used in the car chase, explosions and other scenes, with the “four two pound” approach to create a highly perceptive suspense thriller commercial genre films, it can be said that the film’s subject matter greatly satisfied the audience’s curiosity, the play both from the story and the picture, are worth watching the genre classic masterpiece The film’s subject matter greatly satisfies the curiosity of the audience, and the drama, both in terms of story and picture, is a genre classic worth watching.