I have linked the 'Ils' trailer because I cannot post the actual opening of the thriller that I have analysed due to copyright restrictions.
This
film shows the close link in style between the two genres of thriller and
horror. The opening scenes use of hand
held camera shots, point of view shots, sudden unexpected noises and events,
close ups and the use of isolated locations at night are similar themes to
those of horror films, however the ‘realism’ of the events and locations, and
the distinct lack of monsters place the film in the thriller genre.
There are full
screen titles of the production companies and the director and the title of the
film. The serif text is white on a black
background, showing Claude Levi Strauss’ binary oppositions. Serif text type has been chosen to depict the
seriousness of the film, and also show the audience: adult, as it is a
sophisticated style of font. The titles
fade in and out, becoming blurred, connoting mystery and something hidden,
fitting the genre of the film.
Throughout the opening scene there are no further titles, in order for
the audience’s attention to be fully on the actors and storyline.
There is a long
establishing shot of a dark, isolated road, lit only by street lamps in the
middle of a forest, and a car drives past.
We hear the diegetic sounds of wind and thunder which is pathetic
fallacy signifying fear and corruption. The
camera uses a blue filter, to create an ominous tone to the scene. We also hear
the faint sound of the engine as the car drives past. The
camera cuts to the interior of the car, with low key lighting, so that the
actors’ faces are in light. There are
shot-reverse-shot edits as the two female characters talk. The daughter is always looking in her mirror,
showing she is vain and arrogant, making the audience begin to dislike her. This is also affected by her attitude towards
her mother, acting the stereotypical stroppy teenager. Her tight clothes and short skirt reinforce
this, connoting that she is promiscuous and disobedient. The mother seems quite loving, but weak,
straight away showing us that it is highly possible that she will be a
victim.
The camera cuts
to a close up of the car’s pedal as the mother breaks. There is a point of view of the road, and we
see someone on the road. During the
crash, the camera shakes with the car and characters, and this is disorientating
for the audience. We hear the diegetic
bang, the screeching tires and the crashing and shattering of glass. We see the exterior of the car from a third
person perspective, which is also shaky.
The radio unexpectedly turns on; making the audience jump as very loud,
diegetic rock music comes on, showing a disruption. As the mother gets out of the car the camera
pans the car, the sound of the car door banging is over emphasized, in order to
make the audience jump from the sudden unexpected noise. The bonnet is brought up, hiding the view of
the mother from the daughter, camera and audience, which is disconcerting for
us as we cannot see her and cannot see what could be happening to her. We hear the diegetic sound of crickets and
other insects and wildlife from the forest as the mother looks at the
bonnet. It cuts to an extreme close up
of the daughter attempting to start the engine.
We hear the metallic scratching noise again, building the tension for
the audience. Then there is a match on
action shot sequence as the girl gets out of the car, and the crickets get
louder as she calls for her Mum. The
camera cuts to a third person perspective shot of the daughter from behind, who
turns around as we hear a strange, unknown, diegetic crackling ratchet sound
coming from the cameras position. There
is a point of view shot, from the girls’ perspective, of the high, rustling bushes,
that seem to be closing in on her, signifying she is not alone, and a hidden
voice echoes her shout of ‘momma’ in a quick sinister tone..
The editing pace
speeds up rapidly, showing the panic the girl feels, and the audience reacts to
this; this would worry the audience, as before now the daughter has seemed a
confident, arrogant character who isn’t fazed by anything, and so the situation
must be really scary. There is medium
shot of her closing the windows, and a pan of outside. Then the camera cuts to a close up of the car
locking and of her mobile phone, once again signifying her isolation and the
danger she is in. The rain begins to get
loud, bouncing on the now closed bonnet of the car and the hood. Her failure to get through to the police
signifies her vulnerability, and her truly alone location, and heightens the
angst for the audience. Suddenly, mud is
thrown at one of the car windows, shocking the daughter and the audience in
turn. The diegetic sound of the mud
hitting the window is emphasized to scare the audience more. This is repeated again on the other side of
the car. We hear the breaking of a pane
of glass, suggesting someone has broken into the car. There is a close up of her looking into the
mirror. Then there is an extreme close
up of her eye, showing her fear. Someone
grabs her by the neck from the seat behind her and begins to strangle her to
death. Sinister, non-diegetic music
plays throughout the killing. As she
struggles the camera cuts away from her inside the car to the side of the road that
is facing the car, where another car drives past, ironically not noticing the
dying girl, signifying her isolation. As the car drives past, the girl
disappears from the car window. The
camera begins to slowly zoom. There is a
close up of a hand hitting the window loudly, over emphasized, sliding down the
glass, squeaking, showing an inter-textual reference to the film ‘Psycho’,
directed by Alfred Hitchcock, signifying death.
The sinister music creates a
sound bridge to the next scene.
There is a fade
to black ellipsis edit, and some doors open onto a corridor with children
running around, presumably in a school, as the camera tracks. We hear non-diegetic classical piano music,
which is gentle on the ear and connotes calm.
This juxtaposes the harsh attacking music from the car scene. The titles begin to appear again, overlaying
the frame, as there is nothing vitally important to the storyline happening at
the moment, and so the audience’s attention can be slightly stolen at certain
intervals. There is a storm going on, more
pathetic fallacy connoting fear and danger, and adding a direct link to the
last scene. The camera cuts to a
classroom, with a close up of a female teacher.
She seems like a nice teacher: kind but vulnerable because she doesn’t
speak the same language as the other people from the school. She may be the damsel in distress because of
this weakness. She is a young woman, and
according with Propp’s theory, is likely to be a victim in a conventional
thriller scenario, as were the two victims in the previous scene. There is another tracking shot of the teacher
and another woman walking down the corridor and after an ellipsis edit, the
teacher gets into her car. Here, the
music turns minor, adding strings. There
is a jump cut sequence of shots, using long ellipsis edits taken from her point
of view, or above her head, as she drives away, out of the town and into her
house, signifying a journey as she breaks out from the city and into the
isolated countryside. There is a close
up shot from her point of view of the car crash site/ murder scene from the
scene before with the daughter being strangled, showing the link between the
two scenes and connoting that the teacher is connected to the crime, perhaps
the next victim. This is made almost
ironic as she pays little attention to the car and is clearly unaware of her
impending danger. Here, the non-diegetic
music quietens, and we also hear police sirens.
Once again, we hear the diegetic ratchet noise that we heard when the
girl was stood in the road the scene before, once again linking this character
with the two victims from the opening scene.
There are more ellipsis edits as she gets further into the countryside
and isolation. The violins become more
distinct in the non-diegetic music as she continues to drive. The camera cuts to a long shot of a grand
house, which looks old and probably derelict, with an unattended garden, and it
looks like the sort of house where there are lots of places to hide. The links between the two scenes on the road
make the audience believe that there is some danger coming the teachers’ way,
and this suspicion is heightened when they see where she lives with her
partner.
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