Monday, February 17, 2014
Rush #5
When Lawrence shoots Gasim, the frame has only Lawrence's face in a close-up. This indicated a pivotal moment as it did throughout the film. The film is focused on the physical and internal battles of one man, Lawrence, and it is made increasingly clear that this individual focus is incredibly important. As Lawrence becomes increasingly relied upon by more men and seen as a leader, it is important for him to follow through with what he says and set an example of decisiveness and courage. He decides without knowing the identity of the man that he will carry out the law, and decides to follow through with that decision even after realizing the man's identity. If he had wavered in this decision in any way, he would be putting himself and his men in danger.
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You make two especially important points here: First, as you say, this scene marks a major turning point (in that Lawrence is here presented with a choice between two undesirable paths, either one of which will leave him transformed. (He takes the path that will preserve the peace he's facilitated--but he becomes a killer in the process.) Second, the film's camera framing changes in significant ways here (in correlation with the segment's ramifications for Lawrence's character arc). It's illuminating to push this latter point further. Despite the tight framing, the shots in this segment function to link and/or juxtapose Lawrence with the surrounding Arabs in very interesting ways (shedding light on the film's engagement of broader questions of civic and/or national sovereignty).
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CS