Critique Of Planes, Trains And Automobiles. "Going The Wrong Way" Scene.

 Planes, Trains And Automobiles is a classic comedy film staring John Candy and Steve Martin. The film was released to the public view in November the 25th 1987 and the scene where they drive between two lorries while going down the wrong side of the freeway is definitely one of my favorite scenes as a kid due to the comedy between the two characters facing a near death situation.

The scene starts of with several different medium close ups that quickly swap between John Candy and Steve Martin as they react to the couple in the car shouting at them from across the freeway. The couple also feature a different shot as they both have share multiple medium close ups and one medium long shot.

As the they begin to approach the lorries ahead of them, the camera switches to a long shot of the lorries hurtling towards them with only the lights visible. The camera is actually slightly lower then the characters would see the lorries. This technique in films is to make the target, either a person or object, look more menacing and dangerous. It is also used to convey a sense of fear and shock to the audience.

As the scene progresses so quickly the next shots also increase in pace as the shots become more rapid and varied to help convey the characters fear(as shown in the Gif. above). The shots being used in this rapid sequence of events are mainly close ups and extreme close ups to focus mainly on the faces as they convey the most emotion when scared and portray the horror of the situation better then a medium shot would. The shots work very well and do portray the emotion in a way that's clear and easy to understand.

The music here is a very key part of the scene as the tempo of the music increases to match the scene. speeding up to signal the impending crisis of the trucks reaching the car and then the music drops to allow for the sound of the metal scraping and John Candys manic screams then laughter to dominate the sounds-cape. This adds a real sense of slapstick horror to the characters as John Candy changes into the devil to show how dire the situation is.