Jaws - The Perfect Father’s Day Movie

There are a number of classic moments in Spielberg’s 1975 film Jaws - the first attack on Chrissie Watkins in the opening scene, the Indianapolis speech, the “you’re going to need a bigger boat” line, all come to mind almost immediately. But there is one great scene that I think is often overlooked. It takes place after a few Amity Island residents have captured and killed a tiger shark, falsely concluding that the predator terrorizing the town is no more. The celebration ends abruptly as a woman draped in black arrives. It is the mother of Alex Kitner, the second victim of the killer shark, who violently slaps Chief Brody across the face and calls him out for failing to protect Amity’s citizens.  

“You knew there was a shark out there,” she says. “You knew it was dangerous, but you let people go swimming anyway…My boy is dead now, and there is nothing you can do about it. My boy is dead. I wanted you to know that.” 

As the mayor attempts to assure Brody that she is wrong, the embattled police chief simply responds, “No she’s not” and walks away. He knows she’s right; he knows he has failed. 

It’s such a powerful scene, and a great example of how Jaws consistently elevates itself above an ordinary B-monster flick. For starters, this scene establishes the friendship between Brody and Hooper. As Brody leaves the dock alone in his guilt, we see a close-up of Hooper, who has a look of admiration and respect (and maybe a bit of pity) for the police chief. You get a sense that at that moment Hooper feels a connection with Brody, and their friendship expands from that point on.       

More importantly, the scene provides a glimpse into the soul of Martin Brody, one of the great “every man” characters in all of Steven Spielberg’s films. From the beginning of Spielberg’s filmography, you see these “every man” characters - Dennis Mann in “Duel,” Roy Neary in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and, in his later work, Ray Ferrier in “War of the Worlds,” as an example. These characters are regular, “average joes,” ordinary folks who are thrust into extraordinary situations. They are also fathers (or at least father figures) who struggle in their paternal role. The character of the failing father has always been a central theme in Spielberg’s films – fathers failing to keep the family together. Films like Hook, War of the Worlds, Catch Me if You Can, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade play with these themes, while in other films the father is absent altogether, like in the case of E.T. 

But I would argue that Chief Brody is perhaps the best example of the “every man” struggling father, as he is both a literal father to two sons, and a father figure of sorts to the town as the police chief of Amity Island. While he certainly is competent in both roles, like any father, Brody has weaknesses and challenges to overcome. Specifically, there are two specific obstacles – his fear of the water and his status in particular as an outsider – that actually demonstrate why he is such a great character. Through the course of the film, he evolves from a father attempting to work around these weaknesses into a father strong enough to overcome them. 

One of the key elements to Brody’s character is that he is not an islander; his family has moved from New York to Amity, a quiet, safe, and peaceful town ideal for raising their family. Essentially the family move to Amity was an effort to protect his family, performing his fatherly duty to keep his children safe. “In 25 years, there‘s never been a shooting or a murder in this town,” he tells Hooper, right after complaining about New York’s crime rate and “having to walk the kids to school.” Amity is, after all, a safe town, where the typical police duties of the day involve children kicking picket fences. 

But the move to Amity has its challenges. Living in a town surrounded by ocean is not ideal for Brody, who hates the water (the clinical name for his fear, as he mentions, is drowning). “It’s only an island if you look at it from the water,” he attempts to convince himself as much as Hooper. 

The Brody family is also learning to adapt to their new neighbors. This is also called out in subtle ways early in the film when Brody and his wife Lorraine attempt an Amity accent; in a later background conversation with an Amity resident, it’s clearly stated to Lorraine “You’re not born here, you’re not an islander.” They are outsiders, and, even as police chief, Brody has not been fully embraced by the community, and vice versa. The Brody family, as outsiders, have yet to find a home in the island town. 

This plays out early in the film, with Brody, demonstrating little power as police chief, eventually caving to pressure from the mayor in an early scene. “You yell barracuda, everyone goes huh, what? You yell shark, and we got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July,” the mayor insists. Brody doesn’t push back, and the beaches stay open despite his strong suspicion that a shark attack has taken place. Deep down, he knows he is making a mistake, and it clearly shows as he nervously watches swimmers frolicking in the water, jumping from his lawn chair at any disturbance. And, of course, his fear is realized, as a little boy is killed right before his eyes (emphasized with great effect through a Hitchcockian dolly zoom closeup). 

A boy has died because he wasn’t strong enough to fight town officials, and while the tragedy forces officials to close the beaches, the mayor states that closures will only be for 24 hours during a town meeting. (It’s interesting that at the beginning of this town meeting, Brody stands away from the mayor and the rest of the board, demonstrating again his status as an outsider with little power). Brody disputes the 24-hour closure plan, and he’s unable to convince the town to take more urgent measures, including paying additional reward money to the town’s best shark hunter, Quint (who will find the shark for three thousand bucks, but catch him and kill him for ten). 

Universal Pictures

Again, he’s not strong enough to do what is needed. But after his encounter with Mrs. Kitner in the scene mentioned earlier, a change begins in Brody. In the very next scene, he tells his wife, “I can do anything; I’m the chief of police” before taking initiative to confirm whether the captured shark is truly the killer. And while Brody is still unable to convince the mayor to close the beaches, he is no longer sitting idly by. With assistance from his ally Hooper, Brody pulls out all the stops, deploying the Coast Guard, shark spotters, and helicopters when the beaches open for the 4th of July holiday. 

Of course, it’s still not enough, as his actions are still reactive. The shark attacks yet again, but this time it’s personal (no reference to Jaws: The Revenge marketing, by the way). As the Independence Holiday begins and families begin to crowd the waters, Brody directs his son Michael to boat in “the pond,” an area with fewer beachgoers splashing around, and thus, theoretically at least, a safer location. But after a hoax causes panicked citizens to sprint back to the shore, the shark attacks again in this very spot, with Michael just feet away. The shark swims just inches past Michael, and the young teen goes into shock. Brody inadvertently puts his son in harm’s way, and the incident pushes Brody to take the final steps needed to solve the shark problem once and for all.

When Brody approaches the mayor in the very next scene, Brody is no longer reactive. He thrusts a voucher in front of the mayor and forces him to sign so that Quint can be contracted to kill the shark. Brody is in charge, taking the initiative and refusing to take no for an answer. (compare this scene to the first scene with the mayor mentioned earlier and you will see the sharp contrast). Brody is now fulfilling his role as THE police chief, no longer a puppet or an outsider. Amity is his home, his family’s home, and he is now fiercely protecting both as he always should have. He even confirms this stance in a conversation with this wife right before talking to the mayor. When she asks if taking his younger son home means back to New York, Brody firmly states, “No, home here.”  

But convincing the mayor to hire Quint is not enough. Brody has to take the final step, joining Quint and Hooper to confront the killer shark, in the process confronting his fear of the ocean head on. He is completely out of his element; it can be argued that he is more of a hindrance to the shark hunting party than anything else. But he must be there, not only to ensure the shark is killed, fulfilling his responsibility as the protector of the town. 

Of course, the hunting party turns into the hunted party, as the nearly invincible shark attacks the crew. As events unfold, the Orca begins to sink, Quint is disposed of by the great white beast, Hooper is trapped in the ocean depths, and Brody is (of course) the only one left standing. Overcoming his fear and inexperience in the water, he improvises a makeshift bomb, using Quint’s rifle and one of Hooper’s oxygen tanks. Against all odds, this typical “every man” who initially failed to protect his town, failed to protect Alex Kitner, and even failed to protect his son, achieves his redemption as a protector, and as a father.   

Universal Studios

As I said earlier, Brody is truly one of Spielberg’s great “every man“ characters. It is, after all, those completely relatable flaws and fears that make him so likable (and an underrated, fantastic performance from Roy Schreider certainly helps). But now that I am a father, (a very imperfect, sometimes terrified, and often clueless one at that), I see Brody’s character in a different light. For me, in past viewings, the Brody family as Amity Island outsiders  just seemed like a fairly unimportant aspect of his character that added humor to the film, if nothing else. But now, it represents a unique strength in his character, and his desire in providing a better environment for his family, despite the uncertainty and displacement of it all, is much more relatable.  

Being a father is hard. Many times, there are compromises, and many times there are terrifying moments. There are constant challenges as you fight to provide a better life for your children, even if that means sacrificing comfort, or even part of yourself, to make it work. That is Martin Brody’s story - overcoming his fears, his limitations, and of course, a 25-foot killer shark, to protect his family. 

As the film ends, Brody (along with Hooper and the assistance of two barrels) have a long swim back to the island. It’s the only time we see Brody fully in the water (excluding a few scenes inside the deck of the sinking Orca). “I used to hate the water,” Brody remarks as they swim towards shore. As the final credits roll, the film does not fade to black but instead maintains a long shot as the two paddle back to the beach, making it home just as the credits end. I think there is a reason for that, and I think it’s a beautiful way to end the film. The ocean is no longer an obstacle for Brody. His journey is complete as he accomplishes what all fathers strive for  – to make it home.