Abstract

Even with a cursory scan of the extensive scholarship surrounding cinematic movement, one can safely contend that key filmic techniques perform an important role in the creation of particular tones, moods, and atmospheres designed to evoke an emotive reaction from the spectator. However, this representational quality is not conditional on the spectator’s fluency of understanding; the distortion of cinematic form has a powerful generative potential. Kinetic distortion may be expressed through a break in movement, unusual editing, or an incongruous link between form and content. Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s 2011 film, “Hail” unsettles the balance of form by coupling “beautiful” fluid camera movements with sharply arresting images and “ugly” content. It is this displacement of form, rather than the formal techniques themselves, that creates a space through which the complexities of mental illness, the emotional toll of violence, and the crisis of masculinity can be expressed and explored. This paper is navigated by the work of Susan Leigh Foster, Vivian Sobchack, Laura U. Marks, and Jennifer Barker and considers how distortions to cinematic movement accentuate the contours of cinematic form, reimagine the relationship between spectator and screen, and position disruption as a powerful generative force.