Tsunami (Visual Imagery)
Soon after Emma and Ray steal a boat to navigate around the devastated city of San Francisco, they realize a tsunami caused by the earthquake is about to crash through the landscape. The couple head straight toward the wave, knowing their only hope is getting over the top of the wave before it crests. In an example of visual imagery, Peyton shows a wide shot of the San Francisco Bay full of boats speeding in the direction of the tsunami, which is becoming increasingly steep. The image of tiny boats climbing the giant wave presents a humbling juxtaposition as humans attempt to survive a natural disaster that is as sublime as it is terrifying.
Chef Engulfed in Flames (Visual Imagery)
While Emma is at a rooftop lunch in Los Angeles, a major earthquake strikes the city, making the building she is in shake and begin to crumble apart. The camera tracks Emma as she searches for a way to get to the roof, where Ray has told her to wait. Amid the chaos, objects break and people bump into each other. We also see a man in chef's whites stagger from the kitchen engulfed in flames that have resulted from broken gas lines igniting. In this example of visual imagery, the calm, luxurious restaurant instantly transforms into a living hell full of danger and suffering.
Container Crunch (Auditory Imagery)
While Ray and Emma drive a stolen boat over the ridge of the tsunami before the giant wave crests, Daniel stands alone amid abandoned vehicles on the Golden Gate Bridge. He looks up to see a massive container ship being flipped over by the tsunami. In an example of auditory imagery, Peyton complements the scene's visuals by taking away any sound for a moment before a loose shipping container crunches Daniel's body flat against the bridge deck.
Drowned Blake (Visual Imagery)
Toward the end of the film, Ray dives into a flooded building to rescue Blake, where he finds her trapped behind a glass wall partition. When the water level rises, eliminating the small amount of air Blake can breathe near the ceiling, Blake gives up fighting and sinks down. Ray watches through the glass as his daughter's lungs fill with water and she goes still. In this example of visual imagery, Peyton shows Ray reliving the trauma of not being able to save his daughter Mallory from drowning many years earlier.
