4.2 Detailed Portrayal of the Images in Coherence 12

4.3 Detailed Portrayal of the Properties in Coherence 13

5 Conclusion 15

Bibliography 16

1 Introduction

In the lengthy development of the film, the successive directors have made great efforts to attract the audience. Some rely on glitzy stunt shots, and some rely on the popular lineup of actors. The film discussed in this article is based on thought-provoking details buried in each shot.

The so-called details are the smallest elements that make up character, event development, social context, and natural landscape. In the movie, the complete screen embodiment of social context and character is completed with many details.

1.1 The Film Synopsis

Coherence is an American science fiction thriller film directed by James Ward Byrkit in his directorial debut. The film had its world debut on September 19, 2013 at the Austin Fantastic Fest and  stars  Emily  Baldoni  as  a  woman  who  must  deal  with  strange  occurrences following a comet sighting. The film involves eight people at a dinner party. During their dinner, there is a comet that is passing over them. This causes their house and the occupants to intertwine with multiple such houses and occupants from other realities. There is a dark zone in between the realities. When people pass through the dark zone, they leave their reality and enter another reality at random. The one person which the film constantly follows is Emily (referred as Emily Prime hereafter).

A power outage occurs initially, and this marks the start of the intertwined realities. At a distance, outside, they see a house with lights on. They don’t know it’s the same house from another reality. At first, two of the guys exit the house to go make a phone call from the “other house” and cross over into another reality. Their doubles come in from another reality. No one realizes this switch. As the story unfolds, they begin to realize that the other house is actually another version of theirs. But the group initially assumes that there are only two houses from two realities. Later, they realize that there are multiple realities and that, once the comet passes, each reality will be stuck permanently with whoever stays in it.

As time passes, different groups of people leave the house and cross over the dark zone. This results  in everyone getting jumbled across different realities. Due to past events between people in the group, there are various fights that break out. Emily Prime is frustrated and leaves on her own. She wanders from one reality to another. Each of the realities have gotten into fights of their own. In each reality, people have gotten mixed up from different realities, and there is chaos. Finally, she stumbles upon one reality where no one is fighting. In this reality, they have never had a power   cut – the event that kick-starts the happenings of the Prime Reality. The group is intact and hence is having a normal evening.

Emily Prime wants to replace the Emily from this reality and take on her life, where she apparently agreed to go to Vietnam with Kevin. Emily Prime sneaks up on her double and drugs her. First, she throws her in the trunk and later attacks her in the bathroom and puts her in the bathtub. Emily Prime then heads for the living room and faints. She wakes up the next morning on the sofa and does not see her double anywhere around. Emily Prime leaves the house and meets Kevin outside. His phone rings, and he looks at his cell phone and states the call is from Emily. Upon answering the call, he gives a suspicious look towards Emily Prime, and she stares back with guilt. The film ends with Emily Prime now permanently stuck in this reality, with the Emily she tried to kill and a Kevin who presumably now knows about her actions.