The Elevator Scene: Pros and Cons
PROS:
This is a scene that I wish I could witness for the first time once more. After you witness this scene, you won't forget the impression it leaves on you. The scene starts with Gosling and Mulligan waiting for an elevator to go down to the lower parking garage. The elevator doors open, and a man motions to step out. He sees the two standing in the hallway and says, "wrong floor" and steps back inside the elevator. Gosling and Mulligan step inside the elevator. When Gosling reaches to push the button, he glances at the man. We then see a gun inside the man's jacket, and it seemingly becomes apparent to Gosling that the man is there to kill him.
[CUE SLOW MOTION & IRONICALLY DREAMY MUSIC]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It4WxQ6dnn0
As the film transitions to slow motion, he guides her over to the corner, as far from the gunman as possible. Steps towards her and kisses her delicately. The suspense builds up while riding on two very different themes - romance and violence. All crammed into one small elevator for one short ride.
The combination of romance and violence truly sets up a beautiful scene as we all know what is coming next. This dramatic moment leaves you in suspense wondering if this may just be the moment where the girl dies by mistake. When I first saw the film I was certain that Gosling was not going to die, but I couldn't say the same for the girl. She seemed expendable given the whole movie was feeling like a tragedy unfolding. I also thought for certain she was going to die being Gosling and her son seemed to have bonded, which would have been an interesting dynamic. The cowboy and the orphan.
All of these ideas caused by such perfect elements of cinematography. The music, the character development, the slow frame rate, and the crush red elevator walls. It couldn't have been anymore of a perfect buildup.
[DING]
[FRAME RATE RETURNS TO FULL SPEED & IRONICALLY DREAMY MUSIC STOPS PLAYING]
The gunman reaches for his pistol, and Gosling slams his face on the elevator wall, then knocking the man to the ground. Gossling then holds the handrail of the elevator to gain more leverage as he proceeds to fully stomp on the man's head. Not once - not twice - not three times. To be fair, I have no idea how many times he did stomp the man's skull in, but I can tell you that once I saw the gunman's face cavitate in from Gossling's boot, I had goosebumps.
The sheer defensive rage Gossling projects in this film is palpable. You can see an intense look in his eye as he's ending the gunman's life as he defends his girl. There are too few movies that show this sort of content, and I genuinely value the bravery of the producers of this film. This scene is borderline "too much". But no - I say it was just enough.
Slow motion kiss on elevator rapidly transitions into man getting skull caved in by Gossling's boot.
After this entire scene unfolds, we are then left with a new kind of tragedy - an "innocence lost" sort of feel. It's at this moment, when Gossling looks to his girl to ensure she's ok, to see nothing but a look of terror in her face. I truly felt at that moment he understood that she would never look at him the same again. It was that moment he realized that was their last kiss.
Like I said - so many powerful moments in this scene and all squeezed into one small elevator. This film set a standard for my appreciation of cinema forever.
What were your thoughts on the scene? Sorry for spelling it all out, but it was almost fun typing it out and rethinking the moment.
You can watch the scene on YouTube at this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5ufgkJ-uVE
CONS:
Oh wait...