Gilliams 12 Monkeys Film Techniques

Terry Gilliam like a majority of film directors uses a range of film techniques in order to ask serious questions and critique modern society.Gilliams 12 Monkeys (1995) is a film which follows James Cole a prisoner from (2035) and his time travel quest to find out more about a virus which killed 5 billion people in 1996. I believe the scene i chose shows how Gilliam communicates with the audience and shows his opinion on modern society. The scene i choose is When Railly meets Cole for the first time.

Gilliam expertly uses the setting of a prison which is dark and full with yelling prisoners in this scene to create a feeling of unsettlement that the audience can pick up on instantly. Using this technique and making the audience undergone this unsettlement creates intensity and suspense , this means

This technique of showing the power by not showing physical force is a unique way of showing superiority , it can also be a metaphor of Cole being at his lowest point and needing someone of higher power to help him achieve what he needs to. An example of this is when Railly goes into the cell where Cole is being contained and stands over him while he is restrained to the floor ,we see this through a high angle shot which is usually associated with power , this immediately gives off the dominance that Railly has. Gilliam uses this to show how the stereotype of men being superior and having the power in relationships is wrong and that the power can go either way , this clearly shown when Railly looks down on Cole while he is restrained. This also relates with how in modern society there are disputes over men believing that they are superior as well as woman being displayed as weak or not as useful. So Gilliam using this equality of power creates a powerful message of how power should and can be equal between men and