In this dramatic night scene, the character is standing in a low-lit, grimy alley. The shot is from a low angle, looking up towards the protagonist, a plebian figure holding a collection of worn, decrepit, old paper bills, reminiscent of assignats. He looks at the decrepit building overhead, its baroque, winding staircases, as though caracolers could stumble down in revelry any moment. Nighttime city glow lights up the background, casting an orange glow on the edifice’s vintage bricked surface. Clever use of deep focus allows both the character and distant, looming architecture to be sharply rendered. The urban decay becomes radiolabel-like, unintentionally tagging and marking the environment. A balance is struck between the focused human element in the foreground and the vast, seemingly abandoned city behind him. The major part of the frame is occupied by the dizzying expanse of the cityscape, emphasizing the character’s solitude. The camera slowly zooms out, revealing more of the environment’s grim despair, and ending with the protagonist, now a tiny figure in a huge, punishing urban world.