Moving In Together (Symbol)
Early in San Andreas, a slip in conversation reveals that Emma intends to move in with Daniel, her new boyfriend. The news disturbs Ray, as it symbolizes Emma's desire to move on from her relationship with Ray and establish a new home with Daniel. Alongside the divorce papers Emma sends to him, Ray interprets his ex-wife moving in with a new man as confirmation that she has accepted the end of their relationship in a way he hasn't. Daniel also understands how such a major decision will affect Blake, so he assures her that him living with her mother won't change her relationship with her parents.
Hand on Thigh (Motif)
In several instances throughout the film, characters express affection and support for each other by resting a hand on another character's thigh. The meaningful gesture first occurs when Ray rescues Emma from downtown Los Angeles, bringing her into his rescue helicopter. Emma returns the gesture when they are about to take off in a small plane and Ray explains how grief and guilt made him emotionally distant during their marriage. The symbolic expression of care is also a component of Dr. Hayes's storyline: While watching footage of earthquake recovery efforts, the journalist Hayes has been working with throughout the day rests her hand on his thigh. Ultimately, Peyton uses the motif as a simple but effective means of establishing affection and trust between characters.
Sacrificing Someone Else (Symbol)
Daniel's callous and cowardly decision to pull a stranger away from a drainpipe so Daniel himself can cling to it is a symbol of Daniel's immorality. Earlier in the film, Daniel shows himself to be unreliable when he fails to help Blake get unstuck from his car as his office building collapses. While Daniel is shown attempting to get help from a security guard who is crushed in front of him, he staggers away in a daze, leaving the audience to wonder whether he has forgotten about Blake because of shock or whether he is knowingly leaving her to die. Daniel's immorality is confirmed when Peyton shows him tear a man away from a wall as debris from a collapsing building blows toward them. Putting himself above the stranger, Daniel saves his own life but sacrifices the stranger, who is swept away.
Necklaces (Symbol)
The duplicate necklaces Blake wears symbolize her open way of grieving her sister. Midway through the film, Ben asks Blake why she wears two of the same necklace. She explains that one belonged to her sister, Mallory, who died in a rafting accident when she and Blake were children. Ben apologizes for unwittingly broaching an upsetting subject, but Blake reminds him that she isn't hiding anything. With this statement, Blake implies that she openly displays the reminder of her sister's death as a means of confronting her grief rather than denying it by trying to forget Mallory is gone. Blake's approach to grief contrasts with that of her father, whose emotional repression contributes to the dissolution of his marriage.
Risky Rescue (Symbol)
The risky rescue Ray executes in the film's opening scene is a symbol of his sense of responsibility toward others. Upon locating the distress call, Ray must navigate his rescue helicopter into a narrow ravine to reach a woman stranded in her car. The blades are too wide for him to lower the helicopter while remaining horizontal, so he "tips the hat" and dips the nose of the aircraft ninety degrees, speeding through the gap before righting the helicopter. Ray's dangerous maneuver risks the lives of the people onboard, but he executes it with a calm attitude, trusting his ability to make a calculated risk. The decisiveness and ingenuity he exhibits in the scene are assets he will call upon throughout the film as he makes increasingly risky maneuvers to rescue his daughter and reunite his family.
