Jaws

Rating: Null/10 (12 November 2012)

Jaws is two movies rolled into one. The first half takes place on and around Amity Island, which is inhabited by a small summer tourist community in the Atlantic, where Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) seems to serve as the entire police department. When a girl's freshly severed arm washes up onto the beach, Brody, who correctly surmises the cause to be a shark attack, attempts to close the beach, only to meet strong opposition from Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton), who sides with the local business owners who depend on summer dollars for their very lives. The mayor explains away the girl's death as a boating accident and orders the beach to remain open. Several attacks later, Brody finally convinces Vaughn to allow him to hire a local shark hunter, Sam Quint (Robert Shaw) to kill the shark. Chief Brody and a shark expert from the oceanographic institute, Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), accompany Quint on his mission, and their hunting expedition on board the Orca constitutes the second half of the film. Across both halves, Jaws manages to cover all of the three main types of story conflict. Brody and Hooper's struggle with Mayor Vaughn and his constituents in the first half exemplifies the conflict of Man versus Man. In the second half, Man battles Nature as the crew of the Orca pursues the Great White. Both Brody and Quint fight with themselves; Brody must battle his fear of the water, and Quint, a Captain-Ahab-like figure, must deal with his tragic flaw of selfish pride in refusing help from technology or outsiders in killing the shark. The shark hunt in the second half of Jaws is an escape, as well as deliverance. The ensuing adventure on the open sea contrasts nicely with the horror/slasher/suspense piece that comes before it. It's also like a mini-vacation for Brody, who, in the first half, is inundated with annoying requests from various islanders. The three-man pursuit of the shark, though scary, provides the singular excitement of a focused objective that releases Brody from all of the scattered, petty demands of his island job. It's a joy to watch these three very different men come together towards a common goal and mutual appreciation. Spielberg and company tell Peter Benchley's story with plenty of humor, and though his score is known for the shark theme, which has become synonymous with impending danger, John Williams provides an interlude that makes Jaws a feast for the ears. The finale of the film is explosive and satisfying as it features the triumph of a common man who always gets his shark.