Thrillers
127
Hours - Danny Boyle - 2010
The
first Thriller I will be looking at is 127 Hours. It is a hybrid genre as it is
also an adventure film.
The
opening sequence involves people, which is very ironic considering throughout
the film it is only the protagonist who is trapped and the only person we see throughout the film. Another suggestion of this
could be that it is a contrast between isolation and socialisation. This infers to the audience that he is lonely and that he wants to be back with his old social life. The use of
long shot also expresses isolation and danger. This is a generic expectation of
a thriller as there is always an element of danger and an atmosphere of worry
throughout. The spectator also gets the feeling that no one is going to find
someone in such a vast landscape, which is also a convention of a thriller. This
is also portrayed as vulnerable and lonely. Which is foreshadowed and makes the
audience want to continue watching because they are intrigued as to what is
going to happen to the protagonist and they want to know who/what the
antagonist is, as the opening sequence doesn’t show anyone acting suspicious.
In addition, there are a lot of
enigma codes such as drinking flasks which shows that it is a key contribution
to the movie and keeps the audience guessing whether he will need it or not as
they don’t actually know what is going to happen. It establishes the protagonist's lifestyle for the duration of the film. The viewers are expecting
certain enigma codes to keep them guessing throughout the movie as they want to
feel more involved in the film.
The upbeat music foreshadows that
the movie is a thrilling adventure and further involves the audience; as they
know that something bad will happen at one point. This keeps them guessing and
wanting to continue watching the movie which is a generic expectation.
The lighting used is switches
between light and dark but the darkness is sometimes dusk which suggests the
end of something the viewer is unaware, it is a sub-conscious reaction of which
the human brain realizes that it cant just be ‘dusk’ and that is must have an
alternative meaning such as the end of life as someone knows it or that their
life will suddenly become darker and harder to deal with. Not only is this
lighting for the movie but in its own way it is also an enigma code as it hints
to the spectator that something bad is going to happen and it makes them feel
on edge. This is pathetic fallacy as weather is portraying how the protagonist feels. This is a typical invention of a thriller and is used to satisfy the audience by giving them some information to his life throughout the film.
Moreover, with the vast open
landscape of the Grand Canyon, the audience is unsure of how there can be an
antagonist to this storyline but it also uses rock as an enigma code that the
antagonist is not actually human but an inanimate-object. This makes the
spectator want to watch more to find out exactly what happens to the protagonist
and how the vast landscape is at his peril. Not only this but, it keeps them on
the edge of their seats and keeps them guessing as to how the story is going to
unfold and how key the drinking bottles are and why there is so many people in
the opening sequence is the protagonist is so alone for the majority of the
film.
Sherlock Holmes - Guy Richie - 2009
The second thriller I am looking at is
Sherlock Holmes. This is another hybrid thriller as it is an adventure/action
thriller.
The
use of the close up angle shot on Lestrade’s and Doctor Watson’s face is a hint
that something interesting is about to happen to them. This makes the spectator
intrigued as to what is about to happen. In addition, the close up shot on
Sherlock Holmes shows his facial expression, which is of worry and
determination. This is a generic
expectation of a thriller as the viewer is anticipating what is going to happen
next, to either of the characters. It entices the audience into wanting to watch
the rest of the movie. Just from the opening sequence the spectator already has
a grasp of where the film is set, who are the main characters and what type of
hybrid thriller it is. The use of shot-reverse-shot shows the eye contact
between Lestrade and Doctor Watson. This is a look of worry and the viewer is
wondering what is going to happen throughout the film. This establishes basic characters and relationships between them. Moreover, Guy Richie
used the cobbled streets of London to add in the film institution. This is a
key contribution to the expectations of the viewer as it highlights the period
of time in which the movie is set. Another shot, which is used, is long shot,
this is to establish the location of the first event. The weather is a classic convention of a thriller as its raining and dark. This is use of pathetic fallacy as the look of worry between characters mirrors the rain in the gritty London scene
Enigma
codes have also been used such as an extreme close up on a gun, which Lestrade
is holding, and a crow, which flies away. These alone make the spectator want
to continue watching, as they want to know the significance of these items to
the movie. The only connection made by most people is the crows at the Tower of
London; that when the crows fly away, the tower will fall down.
Mise-en-scene is shown through the costumes, location and make-up. The
costumes show that it is a period thriller as the cobbled streets and the
“old-English” attire of Doctor Watson, Sherlock Holmes and Lestrade express
that the movie is not a modern setting. In addition, there are no cars on the
streets; instead there is a horse and carriage, which is chasing someone or
something down the street. It creates an atmosphere of hurried, panicked chases
and generates urgency towards the audience. Furthermore, the music begins as
very slow and calm as the camera pans and tilts over the cobbled streets
showing the institutions of the film producers but as the camera tracks the
horse and carriage the music gets more intense and hurried. Additionally, the
music is in time with the horses’ hooves as they are galloping through the
streets of old London. The tempo increases as the pace does and the audience is
left guessing, as the whole mise-en-scene is quite dark so nobody is entirely
sure as to what is happening, who is good or bad, who they are chasing. This
intrigues spectators and encourages them to continue watching.
21 Jump Street - Phil Lord, Chris Miller - 2012
The third opening sequence I will be
looking at is 21 Jump Street, which is also a hybrid thriller as it is a
crime-comedy-thriller.
The
use of editing in the titles to make it look like there are police siren lights
behind them implies that it is a crime thriller even though the audience cannot
tell from the actual opening scene. Its location is based at a high school in
2005 and the use of a high angle shot to view the students getting off the
school bus shows their insignificance to the film whereas when Jonah Hill
(Schmidt) gets off the bus, the camera is leveled out to a medium shot which
suggests that he is a protagonist.
Before
the spectator sees any characters, they are introduced to the movie with a
strong, power music piece, which infers that the main characters are the males
even though they don’t even know who the main characters are yet. Just by the
music, the audience already have a stereotypical view on what the movie is
about and who it involves which is why its such a shock when it music suddenly
cuts to ‘Slim Shady’ with a medium shot of Jonah Hill trying to look like Slim
Shady.
The
way Hill looks further suggests that he is a little bit of a ‘wannabe’ and that
he will do anything to be liked. He had died hair and typical ‘teenager’
clothes. The audience is left guessing as to who he is and what type of
character he is. This adds to the mise-en-scene which is carefully chosen to portray a typical high school. Also the camera is following
him so you can see that even though he is in a school full of people he is
still pretty alone and stands out quite a bit. The long shot angle also
establishes isolation and the location of the film.
The
fact that it is set in the daytime portrays that it isn’t a dark, scary
thriller but a light-hearted comedy-thriller. This also foreshadows the type of
characters there are in the film but the audience is still not introduced to
the antagonist even though it could be argued that the antagonist could be
Jonah Hill but the audience is still left guessing who this strange ‘wannabe’
is.
There
is a close up shot of Jonah Hill as he enters the school and begins to walk
down the corridor; he seems confident but also quite alone as he doesn’t
actually seem to have any friends or anyone to talk to. In addition, there is a
close up of posters about ‘the prom’, which shows significance to the prom
throughout the movie. This is also an enigma code. The song Slim Shady is still
playing throughout this but it stops abruptly when Jonah Hill sees a girl that
he seems nervous about.
Overall,
all of these elements are not generic conventions to a thriller as the audience
is only introduced to one character and they are still unsure as to who he is
and what significance he has to the movie but nevertheless, it intrigues the
spectator into wanting to know what happens to him, why he seems so nervous to
talk to this girl and what impact the prom has to the movie.
