VISUAL CUE-- The Lucky One

This is just one example out of the many visual cues in the movie The Lucky One. Obviously the man on our left is glaring at the other man with disapproval, but in order to understand what this cue is truly conveying, one needs to know what is happening within the film. What you would not know without watching it and its cues up to this point is that this is the disgusting ex husband of the protagonist, a beautiful woman and great mom named Beth. Being the son of a political figure and the community sheriff, Keith is able to remain in control by threatening that he could easily gain full custody of their son. This is until a U.S. Marine, Logan, literally walks into the picture; his strength and protective instincts threatens Keith which turns the tables but perhaps makes Keith's desire for control more intense. Keith's character is developed to fill the audience with fear and anxiety from the second he enters the screen. The photo below is paused on a scene where the son, Ben, is having a birthday party. Keith sees that Logan is there and his instant look of hatred and internal feelings of jealousy contribute to the drama by creating the repetitive feeling associated with him of unease and an anticipation for something to go unbelievably wrong. Continue watching. After the next scene plays out, we aren't surprised to find that just moments after this visual cue, Keith follows Beth into the kitchen and threatens her relationship with both Logan and Ben. We are able to find relief in the fact that his aggression didn't come out physically, but emotional abuse can be just as traumatizing if not worse. Although this visual cue is important in portraying the harsh emotions present and what is to come, visual cues later in this film will also add to the turn of events created.