A Freeze Frame from 'Snatch'
... However; at this moment in the movie, the freeze frame captures the change from scared to confused to understanding, all in a split second. The Explanation combined with what we have already seen in the movie lets the viewer go threw the same emotions as those seen in the freeze frame. The revenge of the ‘pikes’ we finally understand and learn about with Turkish and Tommy. Mickey however knew and planned out the attack on Brick Top and his men as well as betting on himself in the fight On top of this we understand that Tommy and Turkish expected to die because Mickey didn’t throw the fight. But rather the big boss Brick Top was shot and killed instead of them. This is where the freeze frame comes in, capturing the transition and allowing for a reorganizing of facts and events. The freeze frame lets us see the reaction not expected from any of the three characters. Mickey already knew the outcome of Block Top’s actions, he had already arranged his death. However, it was Tommy and Turkish (and us) who expected the out come to be their deaths, not Brick Top’s. So their faces showed fear, and confusion at the same time. The composition of the shot has Mickey, Tommy and Turkish facing the action, which is were the camera happens to be. With Tommy and Turkish in the front our focus is on their face, centered in the frame. If it hadn’t been for the freeze frame and comments by Turkish, we might have missed the lack of expression on Mickey’s face. In this key frame our focus is allowed to shift from the scared and confused faces of Tommy and Turkish to the expressionless face of Mickey. The face that was fearless, and more importantly, exp...