How is power represented in the short clip of ‘Life on Mars’?

The scene of the short clip opens in the office with a man (Sam) and a woman (Mia) talking about the case they are working on. The first shot we see used is a shot/reverse shot which shows the intensity of their relationship and the work-place having an effect on them. During the scene in the office, both Sam and Mia have equal amount of time on camera this shows that neither of them is more powerful than the other as they both get equal attention from the camera which means equal attention from the audience.  

However, he mentions that he wants to take her off this particular case and he does have the authority to do so which shows in the work-place he does actually have more power than her, but not necessarily in their relationship.  After they talk about this, there is an eye-line match of the computer he is working on which could suggest how distracted by this case he is from his relationship.

This scene then ends and then there is an ellipsis. We go a few hours in time. We see that Sam is still in the office making a cup of coffee. Also, the ambiance has changed in this time period. His phone then rings and it is Mia, she goes against what he said about taking her off the case, and says she has gone to investigate more herself. This shows her power because of her rebelling against what he said. He is then powerless to help her as he is in a safe place and she is in danger. He cannot do anything at this moment to rescue her.

Then there is a cut-away, and Sam pulls up in his nice car into a council estate full of trouble and crime. He looks out of place and doesn’t belong there. He gets to the scene of the crime where there are uniformed officers and him in his suit; this shows his authority yet again.  He is in the centre of the shot with people in the background pushed to the side, which also shows his authority.

He then gets to the swing in the children’s play-park where he sees a bloody women’s shirt on a swing. We automatically assume it is Mia’s. This is a good example of Juxtapositioning as a playground is a safe place and this was the scene of the crime.