Why this scene in “10 Cloverfield Lane” is one of my favourite scenes in film.
Spoiler Alert: If you don’t want any spoilers, read this after you’ve seen the film.
The scene I’m talking about can also be partially seen within the first 30 seconds or so of the trailer so here’s a link for that (bearing in mind it is not the whole scene).
As a film, “10 Cloverfield Lane” is amazing. An astounding piece of art and a prime example of how to produce tension within a film (congratulations Dan Trachtenberg, you’ve made Alfred Hitchcock proud). However, I’m not here to talk about the film as a whole, but I’m here to talk about one scene in particular.
The scene I’m talking about is the ‘family’ type scene that occurs around half way through the film.
The Music.
Firstly, let me start with the music choice. Pure genius. As the scene is used partially within the trailer, we are already being given hints from the song choice about how the film is to play out and yet it hadn’t even been released yet!
The song is called:
A timeless song regardless of whether you like it or not. Now, where the magic comes is within its many hidden meanings. The song is so perfect it almost feels as though it was made for the film. Firstly, the title “I Think We’re Alone Now” is a subtle hint referring to the motives of the character Howard (played by John Goodman) and his desire to be isolated with just himself and Michelle (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead). He even exclaims this once the blockage between him and Michelle is taken care of (Emit) as he tries to comfort Michelle and whispers into her ear “It’s just you and me now”… in other words … “I think we’re alone now”.
The lyrics of the song refer to other scenes and concepts within the film, for example:
The above is another line from the song. This matches perfectly as to be referring to the idea that, within the film, Emit and Michelle are devising a plan and designing a hazmat suit in an attempt to escape the bunker. Whenever Howard’s footsteps are heard, the characters (mainly Michelle) franticly scurry in order to hide the designs and cloth used to make the suit in fear of what Howard may do to them if he finds it.
These subtle little hints within the song from one short scene really complete this film. It allows the audience to realise that, even with a happy undertone to the scene, there is still the underlying struggle of ambiguity and the feeling of being terrified for the characters. It poses as a tombstone, a constant reminder of the fear they have been and will be in.
The Stability.
One of the other factors that makes this scene so effective is this; it is the first and only scene within the film whereby you get a sense of consistence and stability — emotionally.
The film is a literal rollercoaster ride. It throws you from side to side; up to down and it does it again and again. This is one of the things that makes it so great however, it wouldn’t be so effective without this scene.
If we are constantly kept on edge, then the tension can become monotonous and we can lose our sense of interest. What this scene provided was a rock in a storm; something to hang on to that allowed the audience to feel safe for a minute, not to feel on edge but to feel secure. This meant that, as soon as that tension came back, it made it much harder to trust our own judgement on what was going to happen and therefore you stay on the edge of your seat.…the whole remainder of the film.
The film did an immensely successful job of getting the audience to question which characters to trust; I was swung between being 100% behind Michelle, giving full consent to any action she took to suddenly feeling sorry and apologetic towards Howard, thinking that perhaps Michelle was too harsh. This went on all the way up until this scene. This scene was once again the first and only time we get to feel safe as the audience. It was the first time I trusted all of the characters. Despite the terrible situation they were all in, this scene made me wish I was there, part of this cozy little “family”, playing board games, listening to music and eating cereal at night.
The Turn.
The stability that I talked about above is then directly opposed by the next scene. This is why it is so important that the “family” scene was executed as perfectly as it was. The fact that it is contrasted with the next scene means that, if you were never really on-board with the whole “family” thing, then it wouldn’t really matter that this all changed, it would just be another bit of tension.
But it wasn’t. It was executed so unbelievably well that I can guarantee almost everyone was on-board with the “family” idea, everyone thought that they would all get along and everyone thought that it might just turn out alright.
Of course, we know what really happened.
The Calm Before The Storm.
So essentially, this scene alone is only mediocre. If I took this scene and showed it to someone without them knowing anything about the rest of the film, they would probably think I was crazy. Sure it’s entertaining and jolly, but nothing more than that. But the beauty of it is that, once combined seamlessly with the scenes surrounding it, with the beautiful composure of the music, providing a moment of calm just after the first storm, letting you know that the second is coming, it becomes one of the most effective scenes within film.
But thats just my thoughts, let me know what you think with a response!
