Visual Look
There are some great camera shots in this film, in keeping with the theme of undercover narcotics and secretive actions. The use of quite a few handhelds, high angles, and wide shots, give the appearance that the characters are being spied on. These types of shots reminded me of a scene in Frank Oz’s movie, The Score. He purposely set the camera further away from the actors, to allow tree branches and extras to cross in front of the camera. This briefly obscured the action and created a very surreptitious feel to the scene. When a camera is moved far away from the action, zooming in is generally considered a no-no, as it can lead to focus and shake issues. This is one rule that can be broken for the sake of setting a mood, and they accomplished it very well.
There were also a series of “flashbacks” throughout the movie. When Matt is voicing his frustrations and fears to a veteran cop, there are several cutaways to a scene where he and Danny made a deal that could have easily gone very bad. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but as Matt runs over the possible scenarios in his mind, visuals show an alternate outcome that could have occurred. This is a nice touch – hindsight is 20-20, after all, and especially in a job where a wrong move could cost both your and your partner’s life.
During the gunfight scene, the camera moves appear to be mostly handheld, and at times add a bit too much shake to them. However, it is not a big deal, as it serves to add to the panicked feeling of the whole gun battle. The special effects of the muzzle flashes were very well done. I am not certain whether these were a result of the blanks in the gun, or added later on in post-production. Either way, they looked very realistic.
My only concern would be with some of the nighttime scenes, as there were a few very under-lit shots. Lighting at night is always difficult, especially when you cannot “cheat” and put your character near or under a streetlight. These characters are obviously trying to stay in the shadows, but it would be worth some experimentation to get some better-lit nighttime shots.
Use of Audio
I really loved the score in the film. It had some very tragic tones that fit in with the pensive and introspective feel of the movie, as well as some great suspense-filled moments that fit well with the action on screen.
I did not really notice any audio issues at all – the dialogue was mostly clear (except for a couple of very brief instances), the voice-over narration was well done, and–perhaps most notably–the gunshot sound effects were very realistic.
