Before Office John Ryan is a white cop working for the LAPD. In his first scene (the telephone call with Shaniqua) we straight away are faced with a short tempered and racist man. Haggis uses lighting in this scene with cold and dark colour’s of Ryan to warm yellows in Shaniqua’s office. In the scene when Ryan pulls over Cameron and Christine, the viewers realise that Ryan misuses his position and obviously is a lonely man. In the first scenes with Ryan, Haggis uses mid shots to convey how trapped Ryan is in his life. This relates back to the key theme of entrapment. Close up shots of Ryan’s facial expressions show he is tied and very stressed.

After In the Crash scene we see Ryan in slow motion P.O.V shots. This symbolises a heroic figure and relates back to films such as The Terminator where the main, heroic character is always presented in slow motion shots. We see several shots through the broken windscreen of the car while Ryan is rescuing Christine. This symbolises the racist bonds breaking in Ryan's life and the beginning of a new person. In the closing scenes with Ryan and his father, Ryan is presented in white clothes to emphasise his change in to a heroic figure and thoughtful and more compassionate towards his father.