Man on Fire: How Sound Tells the Story

Man on Fire: How Sound Tells the Story

“I’m the sheep that got lost, Madre.” And so goes the description John W. Greasy offers of himself in Tony Scott’s Man on Fire (2003). John Greasy (Denzel Washington) is a lost soul trying to find his way back to the light, back to living. He is a man seeking redemption for the atrocities he committed in the past as a black ops agent for the government. His light comes in the form of Lupita Ramos (Dakota Fanning) the young charge he is set to protect. As he slowly finds his way again, finds a reason for living, it is suddenly and violently lost to him as a heinous kidnapping plot goes array and the young girl is ripped away from him. Scott’s use of sound acts as a way to document Greasy’s evolution through the film and highlights major turning points in the movie.

Scott’s use of auditory flashbacks as Creasy tries to commit suicide early in the movie, shows how isolated and desperate he is and the level of guilt he has regarding his former occupation. As the scene beings we see shots of Creasy drinking and crying for seemingly no reason at all. We see him praying and reading his bible but toying with his gun as well. Soon we begin to hear pieces of past conversations that Creasy has had with other characters in the movie: “I’m the sheep that got lost,” and “Do you think God will forgive us,” and “I couldn’t guard a corpse.” Each of these phrases plays over and over again as the scene escalates and Creasy becomes more and more drunk and isolated from his surroundings.

Hearing these thoughts play again and again allow us to know what is going on inside Creasy’s head. We understand that the man is fighting his demons and that he has extensive guilt for the atrocities he has committed in the past, ones he does not believe he can be forgiven for. These sound flashbacks are just as effective as images of his past deeds would have been because they allow us to understand what could bring him to kill himself. As the scene ends and he puts the gun to his head and pulls the trigger it isn’t a surprise.

As the film continues Creasy’s friendship with Pita gives him a new lease on life. Where he was looking to kill himself before and did not think he was able to guard anyone, he had managed to form a loving relationship with the young girl he was protecting. Nothing illustrated that relationship more then the sound bridge used as a transition from Pita’s music lessons to her kidnapping. Pita wanted to get out of her music lessons and Creasy told her all she had to do was burp periodically throughout the lesson and her instructor would be offended and never agree to see her again.

As Pita begins her lessons Creasy waits outside for her to finish. As he’s waiting the kidnappers converge on their location and soon a firefight ensues. Throughout this sequence what we hear is Pita taking her lessons and burping in regular intervals as her instructor continuously admonishes her.

Hearing Pita follow Creasy’s advice shows how far he had come since the beginning of the movie. Before he couldn’t find a reason to live and didn’t think himself capable of the job he had of protecting Pita; now the relationship between the two of them is so strong that she trusts his advice to get her out of an unwanted situation.

Hearing the lessons playing over the kidnapping attempt underscores how devastating losing her was to Creasy because his ability to live again was wrapped up in his relationship with Pita.

Scott continues to use sound as a way to document Creasy’s evolution throughout the film when he uses the song Pita was playing when she was kidnapped as the music for the scene when Creasy finds out she has been killed. From the moment he he’s told Pita is dead through to his decision to stay in Mexico and hunt down her kidnappers we here that song.

Using the song is significant becomes it serves as foreshadowing for Creasy’s decision to exact revenge for Pita’s murder. It is as if the song is a representation of his thought process, so when we learn of his intentions to go after the kidnappers it isn’t a surprise. It also serves as the final turning point for Greasy in the film: first he was alone and desperate, then he’s found his way again with his relationship with Pita, and now he’s back to being the man he’s tried to forget, except this time he was killing to right a wrong instead of it being his job.

Once Creasy was told that Pita’s missing, Scott uses the sound of Pita screaming his name as she was being kidnapped as a way to mark Creasy’s progress on his revenge mission. Using her screaming repeatedly throughout the film served as a reminder as to why he was after her kidnappers.

As he uncovered more and more about the kidnapping plot the flashback of Pita screaming was used more frequently as a way of escalating the action that was taking place. As the movie came to an end we hear that same scream, except this time Pita is being released by her rescuers and running to Creasy. Hearing the same scream used to mark her missing and then used as a way of harking her return offers closure for Creasy.

He has completed what he set out to do and his road to redemption is complete. So, as we watch Creasy die at the end of the movie, there isn’t a sense of regret but that the troubled man we meat early in the film is finally at peace.

Scott’s use of Sound in Man on Fire offers insight into the mind of its lead character, John Creasy and helps to represent his evolution throughout the film as well as major plot twists.

Tamika Johnson is a freelance writer and owner of PrologueReviews.com. To read more reviews by Tamika or to have your book, music or film reviewed visit http://prologuereviews.com