The Final Scene of "Remember Me"

I think the final scenes in “Remember Me” portray very well how the three basic shots work and what kind of connotations they evoke.  It is a film about the 9/11 tragedy and its effect on Tyler Hawkins’s family, and more importantly on the thousands of other families affected. However the tragic date is not revealed until the final scenes, when you see Tyler waiting for his father in his office in the World Trade Center.

The scene begins as Tyler looks upon the seemingly beautiful day through the window of the building and sighs. There, the director uses a close up of Tyler’s face.

As stated in Professor Ramirez-Berg’s lecture, the close up shot evokes feelings and emotions, which is exactly what is stirred up when I see this shot. It seems as though all of Tyler’s recent struggles and grievances that have gotten him to this point can be summed up into this one shot, this one look out of the window.

The scene then shifts to Tyler’s little sister, and a close up of Caroline in class. Then a medium shot is used to show the teacher walk past the board.

This shot for me was the most climatic shot of the scene, because it reveals the date: September 11, 2001. According to our lecture, the medium shot is used to reveal information, which is exactly what this shot has done.

The scene continues with a pan out, and long shot of Tyler Hawkins and his location in the World Trade Center.

This shot reveals that Tyler is in the World Trade Center. Long shots are supposed to evoke sadness, loneliness, and isolation. This is especially true in this shot, because the film has just confirmed that Tyler is in the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks.

I think that the three types of shots are used very well in this scene, perfectly capturing the historical tragic event.

Here is the full scene of the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAGZIHLngbw