In the film The Spy Next Door, Bob Ho is a former government spy who lives next to a family comprising a single mother, Gillian, and her stubborn three children. Bob, who these children hate, is dating their mother, Gillian. Gillian leaves, and Bob, who gave up his career to live with his girlfriend, is left to babysit the children. The movie revolves around Bob, who is trying to gain the trust and approval of the stubborn children. The Spy Next Door movie has gained popularity because of the super-production techniques used to deliver a top-class film. Both editing and mise-en-scene have been incorporated in the film through staging, cinematography, lighting, sound, and the actorsâ mood to deliver a visual interpretation.
In the preview, a man is seen fighting and being threatened with guns. We also see him performing stunts and running and jumping high places. We see him chased by three cars on a highway on a motorcycle, and we can predict his role/occupation as either a thug or a government agent. (Simonds, 2010). The preview depicts Bobâs character as tough as he does challenging stunts. The movie starts with an aerial shot of a neighborhood packed with small bungalows with tarmacked roads all over the area. The camera shifts to a single house that is well structured and with a car parked outside, indicating that it is a middle-class neighborhood.
The first shot inside a house is of a bedside clock that indicates that it is 6:29 and an arm picking spectacles from the same bedside desk. The man wears the eyeglasses from the bed and stretches, suggesting that he has just woken up (Simonds, 2010). Outside the house is a man jogging under the low-hanging sun, which casts shadows to the left, indicating that it is 6.29 in the morning and not in the evening. The immediate scene is in a different house; a child is chasing a young piglet, and an alarm clock rings at exactly 6:30. A commotion follows where two kids come rushing to the bedroom screaming accusations at each other about a woman lying on a bed. The fact that the children wake up even before time indicates that they are troublesome children. The young girl screams, âI hate this family!â which suggests that she is a very rude kid or does not belong to the family.
Editing is also an important aspect that has been brought out in this movie. Through camera shots like eye-line matches and close-up editing, the audience can interpret the film visually. When Gillian and the children get out of the house to the car, she sees the garbage truck left, and Bob offers to help take out the garbage (Simonds, 2010). Bob approaches the house and leans over to kiss her girlfriend, Gillian. At this point, eye-line matches are depicted, as the camera shot immediately shifts to the children in the car. The children look at them disgusted, and the two older children speak ill of Bob, and the youngest child says she loves him. Close-up editing is evident in the same scene. When Bob leans over to kiss Gillian, she signals to him that they have an audience. The camera shot shifts to the inside of the car, where the children are watching them with disgusted looks.
Reference
Simonds R. (2010). The Spy Next Door YouTube.