This is from the film John Wick, which is my favorite action and thriller film. I selected this one out of a fun interest in analyzing these scenes for dramatic analysis. My paper will not be on John Wick rather, V for Vendetta.
This scene is early on in the film where we are starting to understand John Wick’s characteristics and backstory. I will break down into the five elements: Act, Agents, Agency, Scene, Purpose/Motive.
Act
John Wick is a professional hitman for Viggo Tarasov. Who is the face seen telling his foolish son Iosef for stealing John Wick’s car and killing his dog. Viggo and Iosef are part of the Russian mafia.
Agents
John Wick hunting Viggo and Iosef for revenge is not a lawful action to take. Especially for stealing a car and killing his dog. Viggo and Iosef being part of mafia which commits organized crimes is against the law as well. These people are not heroes, in some lights, they are all villains. However, John Wick is a neutral karma in my point of view. He is doing something that we would all want to do if someone stole our car and kill your best friend on the same day.
Agency
Viggo and Iosef use their criminal connections to cover nefarious tracks. Hence when Viggo is not upset when Iosef mentions he stole a car. However, what Viggo is upset is that John Wick holds a grudge and will not give up until he eliminates his targets.
John Wick’s greatest tools are stealth and intimidation. In addition, he has 1960’s Mustang he drives during the films. His weapons are a Heckler and Kock P30 9mm pistol. This is not shown during these clips, however, it is seen during the later fight scene. John is also able to use any firearm available due to being a hitman and a former US Marine.
Scene
The clip begins with Aurelio’s garage, this is where cars get worked and repaired. This is where John Wick’s stolen car is about to get sold. However, Aurelio is Wick’s friend and he would not sell his friend’s car. When Aurelio asks about whose car is it, he strikes Iosef due to messing with his friend and killing his dog. However, as it progresses we see more of Viggo, he is calm and calculated. When he calls Aurelio, he is holding back anger you can tell by the musical score and the tone of his voice. However, upon hearing about his son’s actions, his disappointment is reflected in “Oh”.
This transitions to my favorite scene of the Baba Yaga or John Wick’s backstory. What helps is the music and the side by side scenes of Viggo telling the story and John Wick recovering his gear. Notice where his gear is stored, it’s in concrete representing trying to bury his past. However, John using a sledgehammer represents his anger and thirst for revenge tears down the constructed walls he built. Despite hearing this story, Ioself claims he can take down John Wick. The emotions are felt thanks to the amazing acting and slow movements of the actors.
Purpose/Motive
Although no clear purpose for Viggo and Ioself. It is loosely mentioned by Viggo that they do what they do is for power and money. While John Wick tries to kill them, out of revenge, for Ioself destroying everything he cared about.
I agree with James that you should expand on transcendence, mortification, and victimage. I am not familiar with the movie so it would be nice to have more insight on the “revenge plot” and how that is structured within the film.
Good break down of dramatistic perspective, but I would like to see you talk about how John justify getting revenge by using transcendence, mortification, and victimage. You could use transcendence because he is doing it out of love for his wife that he lost and the only thing he had left to remember her was the dog.