The Minority Report

The Smart film and High concept film are common terms used in Hollywood. According to Jeffery Sconce, not only can smart cinema be thought of as a ‘wing’ or an ‘arm’ of indie cinema and has many of the features of the indie aesthetic, but smart cinema also has it’s own specific stylistic, narrative and tonal features. In addition, the smart film explicitly positions itself in opposition to mainstream Hollywood cinema while also remaining a part of it. On the other hand, high concept film is a term used in the late 70’s and has been described as a film whose theme or concept is easily identifiable, has universal appeal, yet is novel.” In addition, the essence of the high concept film was embodied in a quote by Steven Spielberg that says, “I

Generally, in a high concept film, all the elements that make up a film such as Mise en Scene, sound and lighting, are manipulated to highlight the concept of the film. The Minority report plays on the concept of the future, which is not only demonstrated through the focus placed on the “precogs” and their ability to know when a crime is going to occur, but also through the ways in which this knowledge is used by the pre cops to prevent this crime from happening. In addition, the concept of the future is further illustrated through the various elements of Mise En Scene such as the the set and props. For example, the set of the location where the “precogs” are, was designed to look technologically advanced and incorporated props such as devices that are non-existent or even possible in this day and age. Moreover, when using this set the filmmakers made use of high lighting. This is especially seen at the beginning of the movie in the scene where John is trying to get the location of a crime. The use of high lighting in this scene places a focus on the devices that John and his team are using and therefore highlight the concept of the future as brighter and better. These examples have illustrated how the high concept film places a central emphasis on the concept of the

Many high concept film’s place an emphasis on the character’s journey and the many obstacles faced on this journey. This can be seen in the Minority report as most of the film is created around Chief John Anderton and his journey of escaping from the pre cops. In order to portray John Anderton’s journey, the film makers use the cross cutting technique when John is escaping from the pre cops. For example, in one of the chase scenes at the beginning of the film, the camera shows John escaping from the pre cops and then cuts back to the pre cops catching up to John. The effect of this technique is not only that it creates feelings of tension in the audience, but it also causes the audience to empathise with John and hope that he escapes successfully. In addition, the audience is also drawn to the mystery behind John Anderton because as well as placing a high focus on John escaping from the pre cops, they also place an emphasis on the mystery behind why John committed the crime, which John is also trying to find out; therefore placing his character as the centre of attention. These examples have demonstrated the ways in which the audiences’ attention is drawn to the main character John Anderton,