Preliminary Research: Interrogation Scenes

The film concept we have created so far falls into the crime genre. As part of the opening, we wanted to include an interrogation scene to make the crime genre of the film evident. However, I have never attempted creating a scene like this before and my exposure to these types of scenes was very limited. I would be editing a scene like this and possibly acting in it, so I needed to do more digging. The one I can remember watching most clearly was the one in The Dark Knight, but I felt as though it didn't match the vision of our movie. Upon further browsing, I decided to analyze the interrogation scene in American Psycho.

Office interrogation scene from American Psycho (2000)

Patrick Bateman is responsible for the murder of Paul Allen and a detective comes in to question him as they are work associates. Patrick, as the interrogatee, doesn't want to have to deal with this confrontation as it can get him caught. He seems nervous and uncalculated, something that completely goes against the view Patrick has of himself. The interrogator, Detective Donald Kimball, shows a wide range of emotions from friendly banter to deeply suspicious questioning. 

Patrick, as the interrogatee, doesn't want to have to deal with this confrontation as it can get him caught. He seems nervous and uncalculated, something that completely goes against the view Patrick has of himself. Kimball, as the interrogator, is trying to find any information he can about Bateman and see what relation he has with the case. 

The cinematography of the scene emphasizes the dynamic between these characters. At the start, as soon as the detective sits down and it cuts, the characters rarely share the same shot. When they do, it is Patrick Bateman who is taking up a majority of the frame. To me, I understood this as the characters not having any meaningful interactions just yet as they have just met each other and Bateman is feeling in control of the situation. This all changes as soon as the questioning starts, a reverse shot now paints the detective as the one in control as he takes up the majority of the frame with Bateman looking small. There is a change in balance and control that we usually don't see with Bateman as he is usually very controlling, evident by his dismissal of the detective's wishes to not have something to drink and the way he treats his assistant.  The interrogation puts pressure on him however, and even powerful characters don't have more control than the interrogators in these situations. 

Shot from before the questions start where Patrick Bateman fills up most of the shot

Shot from when the questions first start with Donald Kimball filling up most of the shot

The character's actions are the key thing that stands out in this scene. The interrogatee, in this instance Patrick, is trying his hardest to maintain an emotionless expression and flat tone even when asking questions himself to gain the information he shouldn't previously know without seeming suspicious. He is trying his hardest to not expose what he does and doesn't know. He only breaks when he was complemented and when he had the urge to place a coaster showing how obsessive he is with his high view of himself which becomes evident to the detective. The interrogator on the other hand is full of different facial expressions and various ways of asking questions. At times he's smiling and being more polite while at other times he seems more stern and like he's trying to dig deeper. Although acting completely different, he is also not trying to give away what he knows to the potential suspect while also trying to see any reactions he has to his questions which is why he changes the way he says them and how he reacts to different pieces of information. Both also sometimes take pauses before they speak as if they were absorbing what was just said or are wondering how they should respond, it is more seen in Patrick Bateman.

The editing was also something I wasn't used to. Normally with scenes like this where characters are speaking across from each other, there is a cut made the moment someone starts talking in order to put the focus on them. Instead, in this scene, shots linger for longer than I would have expected. The other person will start talking but it will hold on to the person that last talked and show how they react to what is being said momentarily until the perspective finally switches. It gives the audience a feeling that the characters are actually taking in the formation that is being said and not just transitioning from one point to another. What is being discussed is of importance and it should be perceived that way. 

Watching this scene mostly taught me that interrogation scenes should be seen as moments of simultaneous balance and unbalance as the characters are trying to figure each other out. There should be somewhat of a flow of information without each character giving away too much as the characters are trying to fight for the gain in knowledge which results in a balance by the end. There should also be an established dynamic between the interrogator and interrogatee where the interrogator should be the main one in control. The suspect/interrogatee can be calculated, meticulous, and good at hiding their emotions and thoughts but they shouldn't be the ones in control of the situation, just responding to it. A good way to show these aspects is through how the scene is edited. I learned that delaying the time a cut happens compared to an auditory switch allows the viewer to see reactions to information which is what the key point of these scenes is, seeing how the other person reacts to what you say or know. There is no real tension being created unless the truth is closer to being discovered so cuts can be spaced apart until those moments come when the editing becomes tighter to signify how a character would feel. Time to think about what's happening is limited and the experience can feel too much to handle.