Coursework - section one

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.