She and a boy leave the safety of the party, and run
towards the water. The guitar and other noises from the safety of the beach can’t be heard anymore and the darkness of the night along with the new and eerie silence are used to create an almost lonely and chilling atmosphere as the pair reach the shore. Leaving her friend collapsed on the beach, the girl disappears worryingly under the water for a few seconds, before resurfacing near the camera. Spielberg points the camera at the shore, showing the audience how far away and helpless she would be if anything were to happen. There is no music at this point, just the sound of her splashing. She calls out to the boy but he is too far away to hear her or even to help her.
The next shot is of her legs kicking below the surface,
and the music connected with the shark begins, slowly, giving the first indication that something is wrong. The camera jumps between her face, which is calm and unaware of any impending danger, and her kicking legs looming closer and closer to the camera as whatever is in the water homes in on her.
The music stops, we don’t see the shark reach her, only her expression changes and then she is pulled down under the water. After the attack, the surface is completely calm and there is silence again in contrast, except for the bell on the nearby buoy clanging unsettlingly, as if to mark the death of the animal’s first victim.
The next attack, is during a warm summer day on a busy, crowded beach, which doesn’t feel as threatening as the first one at night. The camera follows on a track as a young boy walks up the beach to his mother. He is wearing shorts which are red, the first clue as red indicates danger and is the colour of blood. He asks his mother if he can stay in the water a little longer, and she speaks his name when she answers, showing that she cares about him and brings the audience closer to the victim.
Brody’s face is anxious as he watches the water. His expression remains anxious as he sits watching the water. A radio plays in the background and the beach is packed with people laughing and having fun. The camera zooms in on different people on the beach, giving a choice of possible victims and keeping the viewers on edge whilst following them. The boy enters the sea and swims out on his yellow lilo, and a dog is shown swimming with a stick. Brody continues to watch the water. From his point of view, the camera shows a long shot of a woman floating on her back; a dark shape approaches her in the water and Brody’s expression changes. People walk in front of the camera, making it difficult to see what the shadow is, but it turns out to only be a man in a black hat. Another man comes to talk to Brody, blocking his view of the sea, and a woman in the water screams, putting the audience on edge as something is expected to happen.
The attacking of the young boy on his lilo is seen in the distance, and not very clearly. A lot of splashing water is visible, and a nearby group of boys seeing the water turn red begin to shout and swim for the shore. As Brody realises what is happening, the camera zooms in on his face, which is frozen in an expression of alarm. Suddenly everybody is running out of the water and there is a lot of panicking. Mothers run to fetch their children, but the mother of the victim is left shouting her boy’s name in vain. Then the panic is over and there is silence in contrast to the previous scene, and what remains of the yellow lilo is washed up on the sand.
When the shark makes it’s next appearance, it is again on a crowded beach with plenty of people, and a carousel playing happy music. There is a shot of people’s legs underneath the water, then panic begins to break out as a fin appears. There is no music this time, and it is soon revealed to be a hoax by two boys, so the audience connects the theme music with the arrival of the shark. Just as things begin to calm down, a woman shouts that a shark is in the pool. It takes a while to register with people as they think it is still a hoax, but then it dawns on Brody and he realises his son is in the pool, so he rushes to save him. This makes the audience tense as they know the boy is in danger and the fact that it is Brody’s son makes it personal.
The music starts, the shark is shown approaching a man’s boat which is painted red, and destroys it together with the man. Showing the damage the shark can do is successful in building up the audience’s fear of the animal, as it gives an impression of its size and strength, as though nothing can stand in its way, without actually revealing the shark. Brody’s son lands in the water and swims for safety, while the shark is only a few metres away.
Towards the end of the film, Brody, Cooper, and an experienced shark catcher head out in a boat to kill the shark. Brody tips blood into the water to attract the shark. The fishing line begins to twitch and the fisherman prepares himself. There is complete silence, and then Brody shouts out and the line goes, which makes the audience jump. The shark disappears under the boat, but then rears up out of the water at Brody as he throws more bait in. This also makes the audience jump as there is silence instead of the music connected with the shark which usually gives warning of when it’s coming. The theme music only starts afterwards, as the men prepare their equipment again, and shoot the shark with a harpoon attached to a yellow barrel. The men chase the shark in their boat, and a lighter, more relaxing music kicks in.
Then night falls and the men go inside the boat. They
are laughing drunkenly and completely at ease. The oldest one begins to tell his story, and silence falls as the other two listen. When he is finished, the atmosphere is tense and uneasy, which reflects on the viewers. Whale noises add to the eeriness, and suddenly the camera is showing the outside of the boat, and a yellow barrel skimming across the water slowly towards it. The music starts, and without warning, the shark attacks the boat, and their lamp is knocked over, sending them into darkness.
The next day, the men are fixing the boat. The barrel floats nearby and as Cooper leans over to it, the shark pops up, startling viewers. There is more light music as the men chase the shark, and the audience feel at ease. As the fish passes the boat, we are shown for the first time just how big it is, almost as big as the boat. After failing so far, Cooper decides to go down into the water in a shark-cage, which is destroyed by the animal when it turns up out of the blue suddenly and smashes into the metal bars.
On board the boat, the two men pull up what’s left of the cage, thinking their friend is dead. The shark crushes the boat, and drags the experienced shark hunter under water, in this moment the audience are shown a close up of the shark and can see it’s head and mouth in detail. Brody is supposedly the only one left and anger seems to prevail over his fear, he successfully and finally kills the shark by blowing it up. Cooper resurfaces and they both head back to the beach, joking as seagulls fly overhead and the sea remain calm.
