Anatomy of a Scene — Mindhunter: Tex Interview (S2, E5)
Mindhunter’s season 2 midpoint is marked with one of, if not the, best episodes of the entire show. This episode, in my opinion, showcases the best examples –among many other great ones– of how to film an interview/interrogation scene. So, here, I will break down just one of those to illustrate why I think so.
First and foremost, here is the full scene, which, if you haven’t already, I strongly recommend you watch:
First impressions
As the conversation begins, Andrew Dominik (Director) eases us in with steady cuts and some opening wide shots in order to ground us within the environment in which it's set. Noticeably, unlike in every other interview with each serial killer, this one doesn’t consist of an entrance shot. This is probably because of 1) the type of serial killer he is (i.e. very atypical) and 2) the fact that Holden is just trying to find links, not new information about this criminal specifically. Although he killed people, he was clearly under the influence of someone else (Charles Manson), whom they dedicated time to allow an entrance for just prior to this scene.
In fact, just as Tex talks about his blind following of Manson — comparing him to Jesus and The Devil— and Holden refers to his normal upbringing (which most serial killers tend not to have, according to the show), we cut to our first side-on wide shot.
This perfectly encaptures this point by having the two completely level in the frame. Neither one is made to appear bigger. Not only does it show that these are two, in truth, relatively normal people at heart, but it also depicts how Holden is able to level with these criminals now. Throughout the interview, his facial responses are completely still, aside from when a minor detail comes up that contradicts Manson’s recount. His ability to focus on what’s important to his findings outweighs the weight of hearing about the severity of mass murders at this point in the show.
The scene then continues at a steady pace with fairly evenly spread cuts. Those cuts were made to feel less jarring by the way in which they weren’t just down to when the other person began speaking. This in itself could describe the easy-going nature of the conversation, especially given how open Tex was.
Shapes and direction to back beliefs
In the snippet above, Tex reveals previously-denied information about ‘Helter Skelter’. This carries through to a much closer side-on shot as Tex says, “We lived everyday thinking the World was about to end; there is freedom in that”. The difference in posture when it cuts to this highlights their differences.
Tex’s looser, more expressive body posture helps to further express how much freer his view is/was on life. Compare this to Holden’s, who is congested and very square, almost indicating a level of entrapment in how his approach to life is. Even in terms of the objects on the table, Holden’s drink is literally a square can from this angle, whilst Tex’s is an open-ended cup. Small things, all of which highlight this point.
The differences in screen direction help to show the contrast, too. When Tex asks the question, “What crimes might you commit, Agent Ford?” after raising the point, “Does it matter what you do on your last day on Earth?”, his extreme closeup facing leftwards (backwards) is one of predictable sanctimony. In comparison, Tex’s rightwards-facing closeup (forwards) illustrates his freedom to only look forward. This could allude to a remark made by Manson earlier in the episode where he complains about the Agents’ wants to look at the past when he’s all about the present and moving forward.
Building up to the closeup
As Tex moves the story forward, and Holden continues to pry for links that show Manson’s true influence, we gradually build towards this duologue’s crescendo.
Just as Tex remarks, “He [Manson] told me to kill everyone”, we get an instant profile shot from nearly front-on this time, indicating the importance of what he just said, which contradicted what Manson had told him and Agent Tench.
Tex’s remorse and self-reflection
Having reached the peak of the mountain in terms of what Holden was trying to gain, we begin to get a look into the more harrowing side.
As a prisoner is escorted across the room, prompting Tex to look across, we begin to finally see some remorse for the events that took place. The colour of the prisoner here might be what invokes the self-reflection due to Manson’s preachings about a “Race war”. At the same time, Dominik shows the two from the same side-on shot but from a lower angle to help convey what a low point this was for Tex.
Now the cuts become slower and the shots seem more dramatic. What helps to make this so is the brilliant use of sound.
Up until this moment, it was crowded with white noise from other inmates. However, as Tex began to take us through the events of the night they murdered Sharon Tate, those sounds were washed away with muted sounds of what happened instead.
To begin with, it was just the sound of Crickets in the night. Then, as he spoke about firing his gun, we heard a muted bang with a piercing, high-pitched sound that followed.
What all of this is helping to do is evoke even more powerful image in our heads than what a visual representation of it would. Through the pacing of the conversation, the way it’s shot, and the all-encompassing noises, we can experience a more intense version of the events described by him. This is so commonly done throughout the show as it also gives us a way to see how the killers carry themselves when sharing information about their own doings (most of whom take satisfaction from it).
Sharply after talking about pulling the trigger, we are taken back out to a wider shot as he leans back, fiddles with his arm and talks about how has been freed of his sins by God. The fact that we are taken out of such an intense moment before being shifted right back into a closeup on Holden, who is sceptical now, shows his want to escape from such a dark place and thus heightens the belief that this was all down to Manson.
This happens twice in the scene with Wendy calling him out when we cut to a shot of the others listening to it on tape later on.
Tex then continued his recount the night as we see him in the aforementioned wide-but-low shot for the longest cut of the whole sequence (~23 seconds long).
It was as though it was the first time he had remembered the events given the way he seemed so quietly mortified by them, as could be heard in his tone of voice at this point. The sounds — now of screams — continued under his voice. We are drawn in closer again before something of a parenthetic closeup saw Tex remark, “You have to remember, those people, they were just shapes. They had no faces”, before returning to reveal more details of the attack.
Antithetical shots reveal Tex’s true emotions
The most significant and notable uses of the camera come when they slowly edge towards Sharon Tate’s death. As well as his far longer pauses in speech and his staring into space, the camera angle enables us to look down on him for once because this is one crime he clearly felt truly guilty about; he couldn’t even bear to mention her name.
Then, we are subject to just the muted yelps from the background since Tex was so lost for words after reciting her begs to let her baby be born first. To encapture his feelings even further was a more jarring cut to the widest shot of the scene, showing him to be the smallest he has been yet. This cut happens just when Holden calls his name as if he’s waking him up from some kind of nightmare.
This is swiftly followed by another jarring, bookending cut to a closeup that brings us back to Manson’s influence, as Tex proclaims, “But I kept hearing Charlie’s voice… [cut] ‘Kill ’em all’”.
The final part of the scene includes the same closeup when Tex takes responsibility for all the crimes he had committed, and then we see a repeat of his earlier gesticulations when reciting the word of God. In tandem with this, Holden is seen lost in his thoughts as we abruptly cut to a meeting room midway through Tex’s religious speech, where Wendy criticises him for exchanging one belief system for another.
Conclusion
Of all the interview scenes, this is probably the least eventful of the bunch in terms of staging and even importance, yet the way it’s shot is so expertly done. It entices us and builds the tension, using varied cut lengths and varying distances in shots, all to portray the slightest details. And, each one knows exactly when to speed up cuts and when to get up close with each character.
The preceding Charles Manson interview was much more expressive in its staging, and also its use of emotional tension, indirectly evoking Tench’s personal beliefs given what was happening with him at home. The limitations they set themselves, here, however, make the scene all the more worthwhile.
