STORY STUDY - MEDIUM: FILM - “The Bourne Identity”

Yeah, having amnesia is awful, but finding out you know kung fu because of muscle memory? That has to be cool, right?

Directed by Doug Liman, screenplay by Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron, and based on the novel of the same name by Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity is about an amnesiac American retraces his steps to finding his identity. His investigation leads him to Zurich, where he finds a gun and passports with the name Jason Bourne.

With the help of a German woman he encounters at an American embassy, they travel cross-country to find out more about what is going on.

Meanwhile, a CIA black ops organization is aware of his survival, and sends three agents to kill him.

As a mystery film, the plotline of Jason Bourne retracing his steps in finding his identity or at least what he does is cool to watch, and the investigation that leads into something deadly has a great escalation in the dread.

The film also does a great job in making everything seem tense even though the “action” takes place in different countries, almost concurring in real-time; from Bourne’s escape from authority to an office where agents are on a computer tracking his movements.

It’s also the film that supposedly started the trend of shaky-cam during scenes when they shouldn’t have shaky-cam. For example: the fight scenes. Honestly, in rewatching the film recently, that’s not this film, it’s the sequel, The Bourne Supremacy that does this. No, this film does the typical American action film with hand-to-hand combat technique where every punch is a different camera angle.

If the mystery plotline’s twist was supposed to be a total surprise to the audience… it really wasn’t. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen all the films and how this character’s arc plays out, but when you’re an amnesiac who knows basic self-defense, and you’re being followed no matter where you’re going… it’s pretty obvious what’s going on. I guess the twist would be considered in how much sympathy Bourne has as it turns out.

I was aware of the film when it first came out through either the trailer or the promos. I was intrigued by the idea that American Matt Damon was doing martial arts on film. I would’ve still been in elementary school when it came out, so I never saw it, but I was aware of the sequels that came out since then. I was finally able to watch the film when it became an assignment for college for a screenwriting class. Among the four films featuring Jason Bourne, the third one, The Bourne Ultimatum is my favorite.

The Bourne Identity is a spy thriller film with a strong premise and engaging action that takes the audience on a wild ride, learning just as much information as its protagonist.