Steve McQueen

Deadpan (1997)

Steve McQueens trademark has become his use of extreme and unexpected camera angles. This video is reminiscent of a typical Buster Keaton mise-en-scene, McQueen stages a scene where the gable end of a barn is crashing down over him; the open window of the barn wall falls around him, with him able to walk away unscathed. The different angles focussing on different parts of his body: his face which does not flinch as the barn(world) collapses around him. At the end is the dramatic shot of the bottom half of his legs, which is shot as the shadow of the wall descends; and at the end of the impact is a little raised cloud of dust which then falls again. Even though I have not seen the film in person I really like the sound of it, how the clever camera angles make it look very dramatic but simple. You would expect at the end to be a loud crashing sound however there is just a little cloud of dust is formed and raised slightly of the ground. This is unexcepted and I think it is what makes the scene so dramatic.