The Matrix - Opening scenes analysis

The Matrix

Opening scenes analysis

By Paul Davidson 10x

Movies are wonderful things; they can inspire, spark debate, and even make you believe in what you are seeing. Virtual Reality is a creation of a highly interactive computer-based multimedia environment in which the user becomes a participant with the computer in a “virtually real” world. This is what the Matrix really is.

In the opening scenes we are introduced to only a few of The Matrix’s main characters. Firstly, we overhear 2 mysterious, secretive voices, male and female.

“Morpheus believes he is the one.”

“Do you?”

“It doesn’t matter what I think.”

We do not know who they are at this point however, later it becomes clear that it was Trinity and Cypher on the phone, and that the phone was being tapped by the agents, who learn of Trinity’s whereabouts and seek her out. The first character we visually see is Trinity, sitting at a computer, wearing a tight black latex cat suit, little does she know that there are policemen gathering outside the door to her hotel room. The police kick the door down and Trinity doesn’t move. As one policeman advances to arrest Trinity, the action begins and we see Trinity as highly trained in the martial arts. She knocks the policemen to the floor, either dead or unconscious and the scene ends. We now think of trinity as some kind of Fugitive. There are some special effects in this scene, which I shall look at later.

Trinity means "a group of three". The character is part of the Neo-Trinity-Morpheus group, and also part of the Neo-Trinity-Cypher love triangle. The name could also refer to the Christian Trinity (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

You can tell that the Agents are the “baddies” instantly. They seem robotic, and powerful and very stereotypical, they wear black suits and dark sunglasses. Do they have something to hide? They walk and do things in unison with each other, this perhaps shows that they are robots and are controlled as a unit? Agent Smith is obviously the leader, as he gives out the commands; the other two agents that we see him with in the first scenes obey without question. All the agents wear earpieces and receive messages through these. Are they being told what to do by someone else? Or are they being told what to do by the Matrix? Agent Smith - the name of the main Agent in the movie. Like Anderson, this is a "generic" sounding name, representing conformity, and the faceless nature of the Agents. Morpheus asks the agent who he is. The agent replies "Agent Smith." Morpheus responds with "You all look the same to me."

Cypher is the unknown voice on the other end of the phone to Trinity right at the beginning of the Matrix. We don’t know anything about Cypher until later on apart from the fact that he talks about killing someone and that he works with Trinity. We do not know his name until later on in the film, however the phone call conversation gets the viewers wondering what the film is about.

One meaning for the word Cypher is "zero." This is funny, because if Neo is "the one" (1), then that makes Cypher "the zero" (0). Together, Cypher and Neo are 0 and 1, the two digits in the binary number system used by computers. The two of them are opposing values in the movie, because they are working towards opposite ends. This number reference continues with Trinity as the "3".

Therefore there also ought to be a character who is symbolically the "2", but who is it? Maybe it is Thomas Anderson, Neo’s name inside the Matrix. Thomas means ...

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Therefore there also ought to be a character who is symbolically the "2", but who is it? Maybe it is Thomas Anderson, Neo’s name inside the Matrix. Thomas means twin. The whole movie is all about dual existence, in reality and in the Matrix.

Another meaning of "Cypher" is a cryptographic system in which symbols are transposed or substituted. Symbolically, this name shows that Cypher is concealing something.

Morpheus is first heard on the phone to Trinity’s mobile. He sounds powerful and in control, he speaks calmly and slowly. He reassures Trinity and tells her to get out to the phone box outside, in which she can get out of the Matrix.

The Matrix uses colour themes, where a single colour dominates many scenes in the movie. Some other movies I've seen that use this visual technique are The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, and Temptation of a Monk, to name just two. The three main colours (other than black) in the movie, in order of how often they occur are Green, Blue, and Red.

The whole of the first scene is very dark, because it is set at night. The lighting gives a very tense, dangerous feeling and leaves the viewers on the edge of their seats. Spotlights are used a lot in the first scene, whilst following the policemen; the only lighting given off is from their torches. The viewers can only see what the policemen can see; therefore it makes them feel part of the action. In the real world, there is usually a blue tint on everything, whereas in the matrix, they use green tints. The green colour theme starts at the very beginning of the movie, and it is the most often used theme. The green-on-black theme may be a reference to old monochrome computer monitors, which often displayed green on a black background.

The green inside the Matrix symbolises computers and artificial intelligence. It makes everything look quite creepy and unreal. The opening scene, which is very dark creates a sense of foreboding and uneasiness.

I think you can say that RED would be the colour that represents sacrifice for freedom. (RED usually indicates blood, which is usually a requirement for freedom)

Red pill = freedom

Red woman = by longing for the woman in red Neo risks his freedom in taking a second look and almost getting shot by an Agent

Red blood = end of the movie, when he bleeds and becomes freed from his mind and becomes "The One"

Red "pod" = when he wakes up and sees the red stuff around him, he becomes freed from the enslavement of the Matrix.

Sound is a major issue in The Matrix. There are many sounds in the first scene that set the mood of the film. Computer bleeps, keyboard tapping etc. Many of the sounds we hear are voices. The voices of Trinity and Cypher on the phone, and Morpheus’ cool and reassuring voice, when he talks to trinity on her mobile. There are also a whole range of sound effects and music. These are what I shall concentrate on.

There are a lot of diegetic sounds in the first scenes of The Matrix. Gunshots, the sound of feet running, footsteps, the Agent’s car pulling up to the hotel etc. All of these sounds add to the realistic atmosphere of the film. Most of the diegetic sounds in the film are quite quiet, as they must not overrule the attention of the viewers, as that would not be realistic.

Some of the diegetic sounds must be loud and intrusive like the phones ringing. This is sharp and sudden, and it is a very clever way of drawing attention to a certain object, in this case a phone. When the phone rings in the phone box outside the hotel, it triggers two events. Trinity runs to it in attempt to escape and the other is that the driver in the lorry driving past turns into an agent and drives straight towards Trinity’s only means of escape. This is a good example of how diegetic sound can be used to trigger events in a film and also a good way of linking scenes and events together.

In the opening scenes Extra-Diegetic sound is used quite a lot. At the beginning, the music is quite similar to the noises that a computer makes when it is busy. When the camera zooms through the number 0 in the tracking device the music gets gradually louder, or “crescendos” This prepares the viewers for the first scene and lets them know when something special is about to start. The music in the first scene is very peculiar and mysterious. It creates an air of suspense, which is good as the first scene has a lot of action in it. The music adds character to the scene, if it wasn’t there, the movie would be lifeless. This shows that extra diegetic sound is a vital part of any film.

There are many said themes that can be related to The Matrix. The first of which is the second coming of Jesus. Neo, who is “The One” symbolises Jesus, coming to save the world again. He is the one who will set the people free and let them see the truth. Cypher represents Lucifer, a fallen angel and the rest of the crew on the Nebuchadnezzar are Jesus’ disciples.

Another theme of the film is a stereotypical Man against Machine story. Man is afraid of machine and technology, yet it is man that creates it. The machines that have taken over the world and are blinding the people of the world from the truth are opposed to the crew aboard the Nebuchadnezzar who are trying to set the people free.

The love story in The Matrix is very subtle, the first time I watched the movie I barely noticed it. In fact, at the end when Trinity declares her love for Neo, I was a little surprised. But after repeated viewings, I've come to appreciate the understated way the relationship is shown. Trinity's feelings for Neo are communicated almost entirely through body language, and the meaning is very obvious once you know to look for it.

It makes a lot of sense when you consider that both Neo and Trinity are programmers. They are not the type of people who would spend a lot of time talking about their feelings.

Also, Trinity has heard the Oracle's prophecy that she will meet a man, fall in love, and the man will be the One. So the relationship's development is complicated by the fact that Trinity already knows what is going to happen. The "vase is going to break" theme (where it is ambiguous whether someone's knowledge of the Oracle's prediction may have caused the prediction to come true) is repeated, not only in Neo's choice between Morpheus and himself, but also in Trinity's relationship with Neo. If the Oracle hadn't told her that she would fall in love with The One, and if Morpheus hadn't told Trinity that Neo was the one, she probably wouldn't have even considered him romantically.

At the end of the movie, when Trinity kisses Neo and he then returns to life, one interpretation is that her kiss "awakens" or "revives" him. This is a restatement of the Sleeping Beauty myth, though with the genders reversed. Symbolically, Trinity's kiss and declaration of love resurrects Neo and transforms him into the One.

Trinity: "Neo, I'm not afraid any more. The Oracle told me that I would fall in love and that man, the man that I loved, would be the One. So you see, you can't be dead. You can't be. Because I love you. You hear me? I love you.”

The Oracle had told Neo, "you got the gift, but it looks like you're waiting for something." In The Matrix as love story, it is Trinity that he was waiting for. She enables him to use his gift.

The positioning of the Camera is vital to make a good film. It determines what the audience can see and what they cannot, therefore the camera can hide certain things that the director wants to keep a mystery or they can reveal things that the characters in the film cannot see, therefore giving the audience an advantage over the actual character, this however can make things very predictable for the audience. In the first scene of The Matrix there are many different styles of camera shots, some which are completely unique to The Matrix and have never been used before in any film. A lot of the shots track one certain character, although there are still often montages of many different shots. When the camera tracks a certain character, it is a good way to show how fast they can go, or where they are going. This is shown in The Matrix when the Agent is running after Trinity along the roofs of some warehouses. This scene shows just how fast and stable that the two characters are, and how close they are to each other. Also, this is shown when Trinity and the Agent in the lorry are both heading for the phone box. It shows how close it was to trinity getting killed.

In some parts of The Matrix, the special effects team have slowed everything down immensely, even to show the bullets moving through the air. This effect is called bullet time, and it is unique to one film. The Matrix. Bullet time is used during the special fighting moves and for camera effects throughout the film. It is one of the special effects that made The Matrix one of the most famous films in history. The effect is used to aesthetically please the audience and it links in with the films genre, sci-fi because it usually slows down action scenes where the actors are doing something inhumanely possible, showing that the characters are different in some way. Bullet time is first used during the opening scene, when Trinity jumps up to kick a policeman. The camera spins 360 degrees around Trinity, and then speeds up to real-time just in time for her to kick the policeman in his face. Bullet time is used for the viewers to appreciate just how fast these action characters can move, it is also a way of saying “Hey! Look at our special effects.” Using this special effect early on suggests that the film with be packed with them. Which, of course… it is.

The Matrix is a film about knowledge and truth, which are two of the most sought after materials in the world. As long as one of them is still in the Matrix, people will still seek for them. By taking the Red Pill, the possibility of finding both of these things is present. Being given such great possibilities, who would even think “Why oh why didn’t I take the blue pill?” Yes there are greater responsibilities involved, but who could turn down the opportunity to know the truth about reality, life, and the world. The red pill is the only way to go. Perhaps ignorance is bliss for some, but a vast majority of people would like to know the answers to life’s most asked questions, and being outside of the Matrix is the only way to get them.