That which exists in our imagination often times originates from our experiences with a film. In our imagination, we are able to dream, fantasize, and project. Montage is a process or technique of selecting, editing, and piecing together separate sections of film to form a continuous whole. This process is designed to elicit feelings and strong emotions from the filmgoer. examine the way in which montage is used in film. A review of the film Drive, along with the works of Sergei Eisenstein, theorist Andre Bazin, and German author Rudolph Arnheim, an ideal example of montage is revealed. The vivid imagery of the film invites the spectator to a place where they are free to immerse themselves entirely in the action; to feel the action, to empathize with the characters, and to engage in their own conscious thought processes.
Drive uses imagery to highlight strong emotion for the spectator. Consider the image of the mask. When Driver puts on the mask, the audience can feel the wretchedness. “The traces of human strivings are as visible on inanimate objects as they are on the body itself”, explained Bazin. Arnheim, the German author, in his essay, “Film as Art”, explores the concept of sensory knowledge and how a film uses not only the actor’s language, but also other inanimate objects and situations to demonstrate an actor’s state of mind – a montage of sorts. No words are spoken, and no facial expressions can be seen through the mask, but there is a clear demarcation of “before and after”. After the mask is put on, the audience feels a transformation is about to happen; it’s a descent into a world of depravity. The use of the mask to provoke sensory knowledge is the montage explored by Eisenstein. “Our imagination is trained to respond” to the image presented. The image of the mask constructed the way a filmgoer will perceive it. Actor presence also is another way to present imagery in the viewer’s mind.
The protagonist in Drive uses his presence to invoke montage. “Good actors and directors have shown that the best effects are almost always achieved by “acting” as little as possible. The great actors work with very slight expenditure of muscular energy, they achieve a substantial effect by their very presence”. The Driver reflects this, as he is an ambiguous character that speaks very little. There is very little in the way of actual dialogue, but there is no doubt that his very presence and persona speaks louder than his words ever could. Consider the scorpion jacket worn by the Driver. It is completely menacing and horrifying on its own. The scorpion –dangerous and terrifying with its claws and stingers - does not speak, yet it’s a very real and dangerous threat. Drive is a work of art, as it arranged “images in the feelings and mind of the spectator” . Both images and setting create spectacular montage.
Drive also uses historical and geographical settings to invoke montage. In his essay, Bazin explained how the historical and geographical setting of a film are also elements of montage. In movies relating to the Wild West, there are looming landscapes and frontiers that provide a visual backdrop against which the filmgoer will delve into their consciousness and deepest feelings. The hero in the western seeks to protect the land and to provide justice. But this is not justice in the absolute sense. Bazin states: “The sheriff is not always a better person than the man he hangs. There is often little moral difference between the outlaw and the man who operates within the law” . The same came be said of the protagonist in Drive. The Driver himself is not much different than the criminals he drives. In our conscious, as filmgoers, we are left with a feeling that Driver himself walks a thin line between good and evil – much in the way that the sheriff is not always a better person than the person he hangs. The Driver’s “Wild West” is the downtown streets of Los Angeles, complete with neon lights and the grittiness of the city. The Driver is perhaps intended to exemplify the hero of the West, but this is subject to the filmgoer’s individual interpretation. The fact that the Driver himself has no real identity plays into our consciousness and our own individual need for a sense of understanding the protagonist of the film. Drive also uses the symbolism of the Wild West to reflect the concept of good and evil. The preservation of law and order is demonstrated in the classic Western. “The Western was born of an encounter between a mythology and a means of expression, that existed before the cinema . The end of a Western movie concludes with the taming of the “Wild West” and the assurance that “the West has been won”. The viewer imagines that the frontier town of the Western is a central home; a place of warmth and love away from the untamed wilderness where bandits and drifters run free. In Drive, the protagonist drives with the criminals in the shadows at night against a backdrop of neon lights and dark shadows. The scene is being represented by “material objects and physical happenings”, which according to Arnhein is an effective means of presenting montage. This masterful montage puts together a drive that is thrilling from the perspective of the audience – speeding, dodging, going in reverse, parking. “The sum of the parts is somehow more than the sum of one shot plus another shot. It is in fact a creation” .
It is often said that life mirrors art and what is seen on the screen is many times a “reproduction” of life itself. Throughout the film Drive, the individual filmgoer is on a journey. We are looking for answers to questions, specifically clarification into the mind of the Driver – what makes him tick, and why he does the things he does. We wonder how he came to be this Driver and commit such terrible acts. The audience is forced to explore the inner workings of Driver and how this fits into their own beliefs and conscious reality. Drive serves the spectator with an array strong intense feelings and thus, is a masterful display of montage.
References
Arnheim, Rudolph. "The Content of Film." Arnheiim, Rudolph. Film As Art. Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California, 1957.
Bazin, Andre. "The Western: or the American Film Par Excellence." Bazin, Andre. What is Cinema? Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California, 1971. 140-148.
Eisenstien, Sergei. The Film Sense. New York: Hartcourt, 1947.
