Torres - Devil's Own

There are several scenes that indicate how important O'Meara's family is to him in this film. When he is discussing retirement he clearly states that he values his wife and children over everything else. He is willing to get violent with an old friend who he thinks may have knowingly put his family in this dangerous situation. The scene that shows the most how essential his family is to his survival is when he and his wife walk into what appears to be a robbery in progress. In the beginning the couple makes a good team and are successfully defending themselves, but when more attackers show up things get confusing and his wife gets taken hostage. The fear in her eyes is mirrored by the fear in his and in that moment the viewer can feel the fear and then relief when they are safely together again.

Torres - Patriot Games

Families play an important role in the movie Patriot Games (1992), as family loyalty and the fear of losing family are main themes. There are several families within the movie; some are traditional families including blood relatives only, others are non-traditional families that include friends who are integrated into the family although they have no blood ties, and some are organizational families that are composed of coworkers or a group of people fighting for the same cause. Examples of traditional families include the Ryan family (Jack, Caroline, Sally), the Miller family (Sean and his brother), the Holmes family (Lord William, his wife and son and, on a broader scale, the rest of the Royal Family), and the Jackson family (Lt. Cmdr. Robby and his wife). The Holmes family also includes a non-traditional member in the form of Lord William's private secretary, who is trusted and treated like family, thus making his betrayal more meaningful. Examples of organizational families that appear in the film include the CIA, the IRA, the IRA subgroup, and the Naval Academy.These families are paramount in the plot development of the film. The Ryan family and the Miller family, especially Sean Miller, is responsible for several plot points that push the story forward. In the inciting incident of the film, the IRA subgroup's terrorist plot is foiled when Jack Ryan steps in and kills Sean's brother. If it weren't for this interaction, none of the events that followed would have taken place. In plot point one, Sean Miller escapes from police custody with the intent to seek revenge on Ryan for his brother's death. The IRA subgroup is an important part of this plot point because their sense of loyalty to the family that is their subgroup is what brought them to rescue Sean. The mid-act climax is when things begin to get complicated. Because of their relationship to Sean, the IRA subgroup assists Sean in his revenge attempt on Ryan's family, successfully injuring his wife and daughter. However, after he learns that the wife and daughter are still alive a conflict of interest begins to develop between Sean and the rest of the group. Sean's true loyalties lie with avenging his brother (blood relative) and not with his fellow IRA subgroup members. At plot piont two, the Ryans have a welcome home party for their daughter that Lord William is invited to, thus enticing the IRA subgroup to make another attempt at his life. There is a lot of family interactions and developments in Act 3. We discover that the royal secretary is the traitor who is the IRA subgroup's informant, that betraying the royal family. We also see that when Sean is forced to choose between remaining loyal to the IRA subgroup and remaining loyal to his brother, he chose his brother and killed the members of the IRA subgroup in order to pursue Jack. These series of interactions, disturbances, and threats against the family structure are the main theme of the film, designed to inspire terror at the thought of one's family being in jeopardy.

Torres - Frantic

In the movie Frantic Harrison Ford plays Dr. Richard Walker, a rather successful American doctor who has been thrown into a very noir nightmare. The movie is a psychological thriller that contains several noir elements, including moral ambiguity, fear, anxiety, paranoia, violence, sexual tension, and the feelings of entrapment, helplessness, and isolation. The use of a femme fatal figure, Michelle, supplies the moral ambiguity and sexual tension. Although Dr. Walker loves his wife and is desperate to find her, he is forced to keep the company of a young woman who cares more about having fun and getting her money than anything else. Because she refuses to leave his side, Michelle provides a source of psychological entrapment by forcing Dr. Walker to deal with her antics and the sexual tension her presence creates, which doesn't exactly make finding his wife any easier. A sense of betrayal (especially by authority figures) provides the film with paranoia, fear and anxiety. Dr. Walker feels let down by the police force's lack of seriousness about his situation, and even the American embassy is unable to sufficiently help him. He is let down by everyone and forced to do the investigating himself. This feeling of having no one to turn to for help certainly contributes to the feeling of psychological entrapment. Also, being in Paris and unable to speak or understand French puts Dr. Walker at a serious disadvantage, as well as supplies the film with anxiety and a sense of isolation and helplessness. Being unable to understand people on the street or ask them questions is enough to make anyone feel isolated and trapped.

This scene exemplifies the entrapment felt be Dr. Walker. For the most part, the lighting is low key, except for a harsh highlight at the top of the frame. This shows the dismal situation that he is in; knowing that his wife has been kidnapped, that the police won't take him seriously or help him, not knowing how to contact the kidnappers after the first failed attempt at an exchange, etc. The framing is tight, as Dr. Walker's own body works as a barricade, taking up about 1/3 of the frame. He is both trapped in the frame and in the mirror, with only a very small possible escape route to the right. This greatly emphasizes the psychological aspect of the entrapment as he is literally confronting himself in this situation. This scene also shows that Dr. Walker is not entirely blameless in this situation. Just as he is blocking himself from escaping in this scene, he has also hindered himself in his situation by not learning French before going to a French speaking country (or at least carrying a pocket dictionary) and by ignoring his wife while he was taking a shower. The camera proxemics are personal, revealing just his face and upper torso. This reiterates the confrontation he is having with himself as well as shows the viewer his seriousness and emotions by making the focus his face. The camera proxemics also help to box him into the frame, further emphasizing his entrapment.

Torres - Presumed Innocent

Throughout Presumed Innocent there is ambiguity as to who is guilty. Guilt takes on an interesting role in the film, as in the end it shows that although Rusty is not guilty of murder, he is still guilty. After Rusty was acquitted of the murder, he is at home working outside when he comes across a small hatchet with blood and hair fibers on it and realizes that they are Carolyn Polhemus's. When he confronts his wife she appears somewhat demented, referring to herself in the third person (similar to the way Rusty would reenact criminal motives and events in the courtroom). Barbara confesses that, following his affair, she fell into a state of depression and even considered suicide before deciding that it would be better to "destroy the destroyer," Polhemus. She tells him why she felt that she had to kill Carolyn and how she did it. She had bought glasses similar to some Carolyn had and got Rusty's fingerprints on them and saved his sperm in a freezer after they had had sex. After killing Carolyn , Barbara set up other evidence in order to make it look like a man attacked and raped her, making it seem as though someone who she had put away had come back for revenge. She claims that she did not actually intend to frame her husband and did not anticipate he would be charged with the murder; she assumed that he would realize it was her and file it under unsolved cases. After hearing this, Rusty cannot bring himself to turn her in; he cannot bring himself to separate his son from his mother. In a final voice-over he says that the murder of Carolyn Polhemus has been written off as unsolved, though he still feels guilt over his role in causing her death. Although he did not murder Carolyn , it was his affair with her that caused his wife to murder her. This final scene is very important to the movie because it explains to the audience why Rusty has been displaying so much guilt throughout the film; he knew that having an affair was wrong and he regrets it, but now he is forced to live with the fact that his mistake led his wife to murder.

Torres - Witness and Mosquito Coast

The development of the child character is very similar in both Witness and Mosquito Coast. Both children are brought up in situations quite different from the world around them. Samuel is brought up in an Amish community that separates itself from city life. Charlie is raised in a household where the patriarch is an inventor with a disdain for American society, much unlike the typical American household. Both of these children start out as innocent but over the course of the film are forced to redefine their world view.

In Samuel's household Eli Ladd is the patriarch who does his best to make sure the Amish ways are followed. Unfortunately, after Samuel witnesses a murder in the city his innocence is lost and his worldview is changed. In the scene where Eli is trying to explain to Samuel that guns are unclean and not allowed in Amish society we are shown just how much his experience has changed him. The character proxemics are personal to show that this issue is important and a serious matter. Eli is the dominant, emphasizing his authority, but the gun on the table provides subsidiary contrast and emphasizes the damage that violence can do, even within this peaceful community. Samuel challenges his grandfather's insistence on nonviolence and is driven to get rid of "bad men," like those he witnessed murder another man. This goes against the Amish beliefs and emphasizes how drastic a change Samuel has experienced.

In the beginning of Mosquito Coast Charlie idolizes his father Allie Fox. He considers him a genius who can do no wrong. Eventually Charlie realizes that his father can, in fact, 'do wrong' as Allie's obsession with inventing and specifically gaining recognition escalates. While Allie and the others are attempting to deliver ice to an isolated tribe everything begins to go downhill: the ice melts before they get there, his villagers leave with the Reverend, and three unfriendly armed men follow them back to the village. Allie tries to dispose of them by freezing them, but unlike Allie's prediction, instead of lying down the men open fire, destroying the machine and the entire village by proxy. This is a huge miscalculation on Allie's part that shows just how different his mind works. While the machine is burning, Charlie gives Allie a look that distinctly tells the viewer that his perception of his father has changed. Although the two are usually shown in rather personal character proxemics, in this scene Charlie is so distanced from Allie that he is in a different frame altogether. Allie's eyes and open mouth are dominant in his frame, making him look particularly monstrous. Charlie's face is dominant in his frame, emphasizing his expression and disappointment in his father. This scene begins Charlie's gradual distancing from his father and his father's beliefs.

Torres - Princess Leia's role in Return of the Jedi

In the movie Return of the Jedi Leia takes on some rather complex roles. At some points in the movie she takes on the role of the hero, which up until now has usually been played by Han and Luke. Leia sneaks into Jabba's base disguised as a bounty hunter with the intent to save Han. Later in the film she singlehandedly kills Jabba, rescuing them all from the possibility of being perused by him and his people upon their escape. She also holds her ground against attacking storm troopers in the forest on Endor. Overall Leia's character has expanded a lot in this movie, but the two main roles that she plays in regards to Campbell's analysis of the hero's journey is that of the goddess and the temptress.

According to Campbell, the goddess represents the point in the adventure when the hero experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love that a fortunate infant may experience with his or her mother. This is a very important step in the process and is often represented by the person finding the other person that he or she loves most completely. The goddess figure motivates the hero to be a better person and complete his journey. In other words, she gives the hero something to fight for. Leia takes on this role for both Luke and Han. At this point in the trilogy Luke no longer has feels the attraction towards Leia that initially started his journey; he views her as a friend. When Luke realizes that Leia is his twin sister he gains a new love for her that helps to motivate him to finish his journey. For Han, Leia has developed into a romantic partner; He loves her. Leia motivates Han to be a better person and to fulfill his role as civic hero.

The 'Woman as Temptress' is about those temptations that may lead the hero to abandon or stray from his or her quest, which as with the 'Meeting with the Goddess' does not necessarily have to be represented by a woman. For Campbell, however, woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life, since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey. Leia embodies this role when she is discovered by Jabba and forced to be his eye candy. She is made to wear a golden bikini and is chained to his platform/throne. Replacing the previous female figure who was in the same situation and forced to dance provocatively for Jabba's entertainment, Leia is being cast as a type of love slave and shown as an object of temptation and lust to the audience. Later in the movie Leia tries to persuade Luke not to face Darth Vader and instead to flee with her. She does not realize that facing his father is something that he needs to do to complete his journey, so she tempts him not to go in the hopes of saving his life.