Mystery Train

“It seems like we've been on this train forever.“ Every time I watch a Jim Jarmusch film my face hurts from smiling so much by the end. There is something so thoroughly enjoyable and beautifully authentic about his naturalistic filmmaking that I really connect with. The writing feels incredibly realistic and grounded yet still so stylised, similar in some ways to some of Tarantino’s dialogue, especially earlier in his career. The film’s atmosphere is so hazy and dreamy, it is utterly entrancing, and it is only made more hypnotic by the gorgeous photography from my favourite cinematographer Robbie Müller.  I had to write about the use of sound in a film scene of my choosing for an assignment this week, and I decided to write about the recurring gunshot that closes out each chapter of the movie. That specific plot device is used in such a satisfying way, utilising the film’s structure to its fullest. I’ll include what I wrote below just for fun, bare in mind I didn’t proofread it though. The setting is a derelict hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, run by the two men at the reception desk. In room 27, a young Japanese couple - who are visiting Elvis’ hometown from their home in Yokohama - awake from their sleep and begin to pack their bags, ready to leave the establishment. In another room, an Italian tourist and a woman who just broke up with her English boyfriend are also gathering their belongings. A gunshot from one of the other rooms rings out over the quivering noise of the radio, startling the occupants of the hotel.  Unbeknownst to both groups of people, there are three drunk men staying in the dilapidated room 22. The first is Johnny, nicknamed Elvis by his peers at the bar, is the English boyfriend of the woman previously mentioned, the second is his brother-in-law Charlie, and the third and final man is his friend Will Robinson. The previous night, after the breakup, Johnny went down to his favourite bar and got drunk, where he started waving a gun around haphazardly. The men at the bar called Will to de-escalate the situation, who in turn brought along Charlie to help him. The three men drive to a liquor store where Johnny, in a spur-of-the-moment drunken decision, shoots the clerk. Will and Charlie, both shocked by the sudden incident, drag Johnny out of the shop and drive around the quiet town until they seek shelter in the Arcade hotel, where the rest of the film’s primary cast are staying as well.  After some drunken conversation, the three men go to sleep. Just like the other guests, the men are woken by the gravelly murmurings of the radio DJ cutting through the hazy quietude, as he introduces the next song. The diegetic dialogue and music coming from the tinny hotel radio further grounds the film, heightening the calm sense of naturalism and the still, small-town atmosphere. As the men awake, their drunken ramblings and arguments continue, until Johnny takes his revolver and puts it to his own head. Charlie and Will both hear the subtle metallic click of the gun cocking, quickly swivelling their heads and running to their friend to wrestle the gun out of his grip. In the mayhem, the trigger is accidentally pulled by Johnny, shooting his brother-in-law in the leg. The shot reverberates around the room, cutting through the sound of the scuffle, turning the room silent. The shot is heard throughout the hotel, interrupting the stillness and quiet of the run down establishment in the desolate town.  Sound is used throughout Mystery Train to intrigue the audience. We hear the gunshot from the point of view of the characters we are following. Once from the perspective of the Japanese couple and once from the perspective of the two women. Just like the characters of the movie, we don’t know where the gunshot came from or who fired it, but hearing it twice makes the audience desire an answer. In the third and final section of the film, we are given that answer, and the stories of these three unlikely groups come full circle, as we have all three perspectives of the morning’s events.