A cornerstone of cinema

Rating: Null/10 (26 September 2019)

Where do I begin? Jaws was the first summer blockbuster- the film that heralded the start of an amazing career of young Steven Spielberg and the one film that single handedly caused beaches to close down that summer. Jaws has two villains. During the first half of the film, the enemy isn't the shark; it's the face of bureaucracy, as personified by the mayor. More concerned with the economic bottom line than with the possibility of someone being injured, Vaughn muzzles Martin, allowing further deaths to occur. While Martin battles Vaughn and his puppets on the town council, the shark lurks in the background, ready to take over the role of antagonist when the mayor gives way. The second half of the film is the classic man against beast, with Jaws representing the rarest of movie monsters - something that exists in the depths of the ocean (albeit typically in smaller dimensions). This, of course, is the clash for which people watch the movie, and it is handled with great skill.