The Bourne Supremacy: Scene by Scene
As Bourne leaves for Berlin, Greengrass uses another flashback to reveal more of Bourne’s memories. As he’s driving, Bourne looks down at a map, a point of view shot tracking unsteadily across the page until his eyes rest on Berlin. There is another point of view shot through the windshield of the car, lights glaring in his eyes. The words ‘this is not a drill’ can be heard with a slight reverb, helping to convey that it’s a memory. There is a sharp non-diegetic sound, almost like a clap of thunder, followed by a series of flashbacks. There are eerie non-diegetic sounds and a tightly edited montage of images: Conklin in the passenger seat of a car, the photograph of a family, a figure moving in the darkness, a road sign with the word ‘Berlin’. As the flashback proceeds, the anguished cries of a woman gradually increase in intensity. Bourne wakes suddenly. In addition to demonstrating how filmmakers can manipulate time, the use of flashbacks in The Bourne Supremacy is highly subjective, encouraging the audience to identify with Bourne’s confusion and grief and giving an insight into his mind.
In the following scene, Landy meets with Nicky (Julia Stiles) to discuss Operation Treadstone. Here, dialogue contributes to the audience’s understanding of Jason Bourne. Nicky reveals that, while she was working for Operation Treadstone, the subjects were “prone to a variety of problems” including depression, anger and compulsive behaviours.
Shortly thereafter, Bourne arrives in Berlin. According to Greengrass, Berlin was an interesting setting for the film because it reflects the character of Jason Bourne. “It’s a city with a legacy of division,” he says in the commentary. “It’s a city with a dark past and a bright future. And, in that sense, it was a great city for Bourne’s next chapter to be played out because he’s a character with a dark past and a bright future.”
After the fight with another Treadstone agent, Greengrass uses a combination of acting and music to convey Bourne’s regret and his commitment to tracking down Marie’s murderer. “Matt is quite brilliant here,” says Greengrass in his commentary for the film. “The look of revulsion,like a man who’s fallen off the wagon. After two years he’s killed again.” The camera lingers on Bourne’s face as he strangles the other Treadstone agent. There is a moment of shock, a sharp breath, as he stands up quickly. Greengrass uses a high angle shot, followed by an overshot to convey the character’s vulnerability. There is another close up of Bourne, again from a high angle, as he catches his breath and stares grimly at the body. Greengrass uses a combination of music and parallel editing to engage the audience as Bourne flees. After killing the Treadstone operative, there is a sudden cut to Bourne opening the gas main. Greengrass cuts away to a car speeding along the highway, engine roaring. The urgent music continues as he cuts to a series of shots of Bourne putting a magazine in a toaster, picking up his pistol and leaves the house. Greengrass cuts back to the car as it screams around a corner, its occupants loading automatic weapons and back to Bourne as he emerges from the house. Cutting back to the car, several men emerge with automatic weapons and head for the building. Greengrass then cuts to a shot of the burning magazine. The pace of editing increases to show Bourne leaving and the men closing in on the house. There is a sudden explosion. Greengrass cuts to a point of view shot as Bourne drives away. The camera pans to reveal a close up of Bourne. “Time again for another little look at Bourne,” Greengrass says in his commentary. “Always trying to bring us closer to what he thinks and feels about it.” In the next scene, there is a disconcerting series of jump cuts as Bourne washes his hands. Greengrass tilts to reveal a close up of Bourne’s face. He stares intently at his hands, scrubbing vigorously. The camera dollies in on his expression as he stares at himself in the mirror. “The level of detail is magnificent here,” says Greengrass in the commentary. “The timing of when to look up, the way that hand is being scrubbed, you can tell there’s nerves there and that he knows he’s got to look. This is a look that says, ‘I will do it, whatever it takes.’” He turns, throws the paper fowl aggressively into the rubbish bin and leaves. Here, the use of camera, acting and editing all contribute to the sense that Bourne has resolved to find Marie’s killer no matter what it takes.
To create a sense of urgency, Greengrass intercuts the scene in the Berlin office with Bourne ascends a nearby building. In the commentary for the film, he talks about how this scene a crucial moment in Bourne’s character development. “Have you forgotten what happened in Berlin?” Landy asks. “You killed two people, Bourne.” There is a slight echo as Landy delivers the line and another series of flashbacks: street signs, a figure in the darkness and the photograph of a family. The words ‘Vladimir Neski’ can be heard softly. This use of editing and sound helps to reveal further detail about what happened in Berlin. “He realises in this scene that something else is going on,” says Greengrass, “he needs more answers.”
The end of this scene is also particularly engaging for the audience, who take pleasure in Bourne outsmarting the CIA. He requests that Nicky meets him at Alexander Strasse in thirty minutes. When Landy asks what happens if they can’t find her, Bourne says, “It’s easy. She’s standing right next to you.” There is a sudden, non-diegetic impact and the camera whip pans to the top of the nearby building where Bourne was hiding.
In terms of narrative development, this is the moment that the narrative starts to push relentless towards a resolution as the CIA closes in and Bourne comes to closer to discovering what happened in Berlin. “I always feel this is the point in the film where it’s won or lost,” says Greengrass in the commentary. “Somewhere in this next ten minutes, the film reaches a new level of intensity. It starts to unfold in real time. And that was what I wanted. I’m interested in films when they become kinetic, when they are no longer boulders that you’ve got to push uphill, but they seem to roll downhill, they seem to unfold of their own accord. And that only happens when you’ve assembled the pieces in the right way, and that’s often hard and painful, particularly in the cutting room, because it’s about judging pace and what’s really relevant and letting go of things that you like that work in isolation and just creating a coiled spring. That’s basically what it is, a motor mechanism, a story mechanism that’s going to drive on and propel your characters through. I think at this point, this set piece is where you really feel that this story is starting to take on a life of its own, that it’s happening right in front of you.”