Review of Jaws (1975) by Emily K — 29 May 2017

A pioneer for modern suspense techniques, Steven Spielberg's film Jaws, remains the greatest and uncontested summer beach blockbuster of all time. Even those who have not had the pleasure of watching it know of the famous theme song as the shark slices through the water to reach the next victim. Even more outstanding, the suspense that Jaws created for horror movies to come was by chance. The way the events unfold throughout the movie directly correlate to a broken down mechanical shark and it is not until halfway through the plot that the viewer finally meets Jaws once and for all. For this reason, Spielberg has a unique chance, one that he masterfully uses, of adding an element of mystery to the plot. Often time's before the shark attacks, the viewer gets a high angled shot onto the legs of possible victims before he makes his final move and effectively gives the killer a point of view. One of the most impactful and gruesome uses of this shot is when little Alex Kintner and his yellow float are chose as the next victim and all the viewer sees is a fountain of blood. For some, Jaws hit so close to home that they were repelled by the thought of swimming in the ocean, much less to dip a toe in to feel the water's temperature.

One of the most iconic lines in Jaws is when Matt Hooper says, "What we are dealing with here is a perfect engine, an eating machine. It's really a miracle of evolution. All this machine does is swim and eat and make little sharks, and that's all." This line perfectly encapsulates the essence of the shark and it nonexistent "humanity" and instead refers to it as a machine without thought or feeling. However, this quote also serves to heighten the stories of the people on land, specifically Chief Brody This film may be mistaken for the typical horror bloodbath, yet it works hard to be anything but. This is a story of tragedy, of family, and of humanity. To make sure that the audience understood this, Speilberg added the scene when Brody and his son are sitting at the dinner table. Chief Brody did what was simply evolutionary expected of him when he made "little sharks" yet there is a difference between him and Jaws. When his son starts copying him it shows a clear human and emotional connection that any parent viewing it could relate to. "Give your old man a kiss," Chief Brody says with affection. This is a film about people just as much as it is about a murderous shark. This film is effective in conveying the love and loss between characters and developing their lives. It expertly manipulates the viewer to laugh one second and to feel hopeless the next. Jaws will always be the classic beach movie that is watched the week prior to Memorial Day Weekend to entice the nostalgia and appropriate fear as people head off to swim in the lovely blue sea.