Trailer Analysis - 12 Monkeys

The 3rd and final trailer that I will be analysing is the 1995 science-fiction/time-travel film "12 Monkeys" Directed by Terry Gilliam. The reason why I have chosen this is because while Looper is my inspiration for the style of my film, 12 Monkeys is the inspiration for the substance, as it has a lot of similar elements, a man is sent back in time by the government in order help the greater good of the future, however, as soon as he arrives in the past, he begins to question his morals and his mission.

(12 Monkeys, 1995, Dir. Terry Gilliam)

 

The trailer starts off by setting up the world that they live in, the Earth is now desolate and humanity have been forced underground, they then send out protagonist James (Played by Bruce Willis) and is sent back in time to prevent the disaster from happening. They then introduce all of the supporting cast while bringing up philosophical questions, as well as showing the situations James experience as soon as going back in time, including been sent to an insane asylum. Near the end of the trailer, others begin to believe James, while he himself begins to question himself and maybe he is insane.

 

What stands out about the cinematography of this film is the use of wide angles, which can be highly annoying, however here it is justified. As the use of wide-angle is supposed to create discomfort and make things seem more unusual and irregular than normal, which fits for the theme of the film. Things aren't in balance or how they should be, especially during the asylum scenes surrounded by insane people, there is a strong use of wide-angles for it is a very irregular and uncomfortable place to be. As well as this, they use a lot of dutch angles, which helps to enforce this idea of discomfort. While the editing of the film is slow, it likes to take its time and focuses mostly on the characters by having shots linger on them for a very long time.

 

The audience of this film is very hard to define, as everyone involved in it is doing different from what they're famous for. Bruce Willis is known for being an action star, and this film is very slow paced and focuses more on philosophy than action (Even though the trailer shows him fighting several people at once). And Brad Pitt who at the time was a big draw for a female audience as eye candy, but here he plays a crazy man with mental issues. And even though it is a sci-fi/time travel film, it is very bleak and slow paced, unlike most sci-fi films, especially for it's time of release. So it's hard to pinpoint the specific audience who this is for, as all three main draws to the film aren't the target audience for it. So it's really aimed at those who like more art-house films, as it is slow paced and goes against regular conventions of the genre and cast. And focuses on the philosophy and conspiracies of the film. So really it's not going to completley please everyone in these 4 audiences, but it is likely that they will be pleased enough by it.