The Departed

The Departed is a 2006 thriller film thats produced by 8 time Oscar nominee and Oscar winning director Martin Scorsese. The stars of the film include Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin and Vera Farmiga. Martin Scorsese has made many popular thriller films including Shutter Island and Hugo. He likes to use the common gangster theme as well as using the same actors to play main characters in his films, for example, Leonardo DiCaprio has been in around 5 of Scorsese's films.
The duel narrative of The Departed follows two separate people, one working for the police to get information about a gang and the other in a gang getting information about the police. The film focuses on many binary oppositions, the main one obviously being police versus the gang. Each side has a rat who is giving away information to the other side (the enemy).

The opening sequence uses many elements that Scorsese is known for, e.g. a voice-over. The voice-over and the rap music that also comes in clearly shows that the film will be based around a gangster theme.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays the undercover agent in the gang and Matt Damon plays the highly though of police officer who is actually working for the gangsters. DiCaprio wears dark clothes, even though he is the protagonist in the narrative, to fit in with the other gangsters dark clothing, where as Damon wears suits and lives in a posh apartment to show how trusted he is by the police when in actual truth he's the bad guy. The building of the police is always in high key lighting where as the buildings that the gangsters are in low key lighting to show the good and bad.
Camera shots include a variety of close ups, long shots and the occasional handheld shot to show the chaos portrayed in the film. The main gangster leader is shown from a low angle to show that he is the powerful character and everyone is intimidated by him.
Altogether, I thought that the film was brilliant and some elements could be taken forward intot he development and planning of my thriller film.

Vertigo Film Analysis

Vertigo Analysis

Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo’ uses synchronised sound in the opening sequence to immediately make the audience feel unsettled, linking to the action within the scenes. The variations between the high and low pitches in the soundtrack and the pace of the music gives us an insight into the films unpredictable narrative and makes us uncomfortable, linking with the graphic match of the eye with the swirl patterns. This graphic match connotes the hypnosis and hallucinations that could possibly be involved in the film, making the audience understand that the film is most likely about the psychological mind rather than physical action. The first extreme close up shot of the female’s lips makes the audience unsure of who the character is and makes them untrustworthy of them as we are unable to see her or her emotions clearly. The camera then reveals the woman’s eyes and then focuses on the one eye- the one in shadow due to the low key lighting. The connotation of the eye relates to the voyeuristic personalities that are frequently shown in Hitchcock’s films. The extreme close up of her eye makes us feel as though she is watching us which therefore makes us feel uncomfortable. The fact that the eye is in low key lighting portrays to us that what she is seeing could be dangerous and the red lighting that eventually highlights the scene emphasizes the danger in the film.

The Vertigo effect

The 'Vertigo Effect' is a camera movement that includes zooming in at the same time as pulling the camera back. It was used in this film to illustrate how the main character feels when looking down from a height; the distance seems longer than it actually is. The 'Vertigo Effect' is also called a dolly zoom but due to its iconic use in the film 'Vertigo' it is known as the 'Vertigo Effect'.

Memento Film Analysis

Memento

Summary of Memento

Memento is a psychological thriller that is about a man, named Leonard, with short term memory loss trying to avenge his wifes killer. He remembers everything up to the point of the assult that caused his condition, which is asssociated with his wifes death, and since then has been trying to piece together who the criminal is. He tattooes the important details about his search to find the criminal so that he permenantly remembers what hes gathered about the killer whenever he sees himself in the mirror. He also writes notes and takes photos to then put in his pocket so that he remembers who he's spoken to, what to do next and where he's been. He learned to cope with his condition by remembering the investigation on a man named Sammy Jenkins before the assult. Sammy Jenkins also suffered from short term memory loss and Leonard was the insurance investigator on his case. During his search to find the murderer, who he knows is named John G, he encounters two other main charcters of the plot; Natalie and Teddy. Both these characters end up using him to kill people that they want dead, making him believe that they are connected to the death of his wife.

The characters confusion is integrated into how the film is edited as we see the events of the protagonists journey in reverse, making the audience just as confused as the main character as they dont know what has just happened. The ending of the film is at the beginning but the events eventually link together at the end. This structure used for the film makes it hard for us to apply Torodovs Equilibrium and Disequilibrium model easily.

Applying Torodovs Narrative Theory to Memento

The state of equilibrium in Memento would be when Teddy is killed at the beginning of the film and then the narrative moves to the disruption of the ordered state by an event. The disruption would be when his mind and tattoos tell him he needs to find someone and avenge his wife. The empty gaps in his memory reminds him of his condition and the tatoos reveal the key details of this murderer. The recognition that a disruption has taken place would also be when he notices the tatoos but, adding to that, it would be when he realises what he has been trying to do. After that, Torodovs theory moves onto the stage which involves the protagonist attempting to repair the damage of the disruption which in Leonards case is when he kills someone he believes to be the killer of his wife. The last stage, returning to the new equilibrium, is when he continues to search for the killer because he forgets that hes killed someone that he thought was the murderer, linking us back to the beginning.

This film doesn't exactly suit Torodovs narrative theory because instead of returning to a new equilibrium, we just return to the original equilibrium agian. But if we fit Torodovs theory to another prespective of the film, it could work better. If we apply the stages in the same way but in the chronological order of the protagonists narrative, we see the events of the film evolove backwards, making more sense to the audience as it is in the right way around. The state of equilibrium is that he kills someone he believes to be his wifes murderer; the disruption is when Teddy explains to Leonard that hes killed a John G before but forgot and that Teddy has been trying to help him move on by giving him John G's to chase down but also by using him to kill of people he wants dead; the recognition is when Leonard realises that he has just been following Teddys breadcrums this whole time; the attempt to repair the damage of the disruption is when he sets himself up to have clues leading to Teddy as the murderer of his wife; and the new equilibrium is when he kills Teddy.
Although this way makes a lot more sense, it makes watching the film a completly different experience as it is not a anachronic narrative which is how the film was originally meant to be.

Applying Propp's Chracter Theory to Memento

Propps model allows us to match the character roles to the charcters in the film. The hero who seeks something would be Leonard seeking to avenge his wife. The villian would be the wifes attacker and killer as he is the one who opposes the killer. The donor who helps the hero by providing information and the false hero would be Natalie as although shes tries to help him, she ends up using him for her own benefits. However their are a few contridictions as Teddy could also be classed as the false hero. He would also be the dispatcher who sends the hero on his way and the helper (the character who gives support to the hero). The princess would've been his wife but their is no father in the film, making Propps theory not exact to this film.

Psycho Film Analysis'

Psycho

 

 

Thriller Sub-Genres

The definition of a Thriller Film

A Thriller is an exciting plot, typically involving crime or espionage.

What is Film Genre?

Film genre is the categorisation and labelling of easily recognisable conventions that exist in certain films and it is used in both the producing industry and in the audiences preferences. Andre Basins developed the genre theory while working on westerns in the 1950's. 

Film producers use genre to reduce the costs and minimise the economic risks in making the film. By sticking to a certain genre that is in trend at that moment guarantees them a profit as the audience will have expectations of that genre. It also allows the producers to re-use plots from another film in the same genre, making the film more marketable.

The genre of a film can be defined by conventions such as the setting, iconography, characteristics, themes, narratives and film techniques. For example, common thriller elements are; red herrings (misleading the audience), unpredictability (twists and turns), often a moral theme, action such as car chases, and suspense creating tension in the audience.

Rick Altman defines genre as a blueprint, a structure, a label and a contract. The production of the film is the blueprint, the text in the film is the structure, the exhibition is the label, and the consumption is the contract. He believes that the semantic elements, for example the cars, guns and landscapes, should be kept separate from the syntactic elements, like the ideologies and the narratives, so that the audience isn't overloaded.

John Fiske, another genre genius, believes that "genre attempts to structure some order into the wide range of texts and meanings that circulate in our culture for the convenience of both producers and audiences".  It can either be a dynamic concept which gradually changes over time and cultural context or the changes may be because of issues such as desensitisation or instituted development which is a hybrid concept. Genre is culturally dependant and is a way of categorising texts in our media. It sets up the audiences expectations and is constructed through a series of cues that is related to that certain genre.

Thriller Sub-Genre Mind Map

Techno Thriller

Techno thrillers includes the manipulation of sophisticated technology playing a prominent part in taking over the world e.g aliens, robots

• Involves sci-fi features such as futuristic weapons, flying cars and robots.

• Its a sub-genre that has to cross with other thriller genres to make sense.

• Examples of a techno thriller would be the Matrix, Terminator and I,Robot.

• I,Robot included the typical elements of a techno thriller such as high technology and its also set in the future which allows for the development of technology to be more realistic.

• The trailer for I,Robot includes mostly sound effects for the sound, there is no main soundtrack.

Conspiracy Thriller

• Consists of a hero/heroine who are stereoytpically journalisrs or amature investigators who find themselves involved in powerful organisations.

• Iconography- cars, weapons, urban settings, tension, fast pace editing, low key lighting.

• Themes- terrorism, psychological mind games, crime, spies, chase, suspense

• For example, the Bourne Identity.

• The Bourne identity is a conspiracy thriller that was released in 2002 and is based on a book by Robert Ludlum’s. It’s about a man named Jason Bourne, suffering from extreme memory loss, attempting to discover his true identity within the CIA. The film was directed by Doug Liman and is followed by The Bourne Supremacy (2004), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), and The Bourne Legacy (2012)

•The non-diegetic sounds include the music that begins when he starts fighting with the security guards and continues through when they are searching for him to create suspense and to add to the fast-paced action scene. It stops when he opens metal door to fire escape and gradually a slower piece comes in when he is climbing over the balcony, creating tension, getting louder and faster until door is opened by the officer.


•Sounds such as phones ringing, footsteps, the metal door opening, chains rattling, and the birds outside are the ambient sounds added to the film to add to the realism of the film.


•The light are on inside building but the officers are in the more shadowed areas like the stair case to reveal them as the antagonists. The natural high key lighting outside exposes Bourne when he is on the fire escape balcony.

•The point of view shots follow Bourne’s eye movements and his actions, making the
audience feel like they are the protagonist. The camera is constantly moving, tracking
his actions. The close ups and extreme close ups focus on the important things in the scene,
for example, the handcuffs and the map of the embassy. When he gets to the fire exit, the
bird’s-eye view shot allows us to see how high up the character is and how big the drop is.

•The editing in this clip consists of a slow motion effect when the officer calls for him, focusing

on Bourne’s face with a close up shot. The shot takes become quick when he starts fighting,

making the scene more chaotic and sped up. The director films quick takes on the police

officers when they are searching for him, showing their worry. Then when Jason is hanging

onto the balcony and climbing down, he uses slightly longer takes to add to the suspense.

Disaster Thriller

Disaster thriller, in which the main conflict is due to some sort of natural or artificial disaster such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes ect. or nuclear disasters which is a artificial disaster.

• Disaster films often follow a certain group who are fighting for survival against natural or artificial disasters.

• The disaster usually brings mankind to the brink of extinction to portray a message to the audience; that we are not looking after the world.

• The disaster is big but the characters are small, everyday people.

• Science and technology play a big part in theses films.

• Camera shots consist of panning shots, birds eye views and long master shots to allow the audience to see the damage that the disaster has caused; close ups on details that cause the disaster and also on the characters faces to express their emotions and to create suspense.

• The editing mostly consists of quick cuts to create a fast paced film that keeps the audiences attention on the screen.

• Examples of disaster thrillers are '2012', 'The Day After Tomorrow' and 'Knowing'

• This is a clip of '2012' that uses most of the conventions stated above.

• Disaster thriller, in which the main conflict is due to some sort of natural or artificial disaster such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes ect. or nuclear disasters which is a artificial disaster.

Psychological Thriller

Psychological thriller is a fictional thriller story which emphasizes the psychology of its characters and their unstable emotional states. It implements all elements of sub-genre thrillers.

• Plays with the audiences minds and produces suspense in the film because it reflects the main characters emotions.
• Usually revolved around a characters dissolving sense of reality, moral ambiguity or their complex or tortured relationships.
• Emphasizes emotional state of a character.
• A famous director of psychological thrillers would be Darren Aronofsky who directed 'Black Swan'. Here are a few of his trademarks;
• He frequently casts Sean Gullete.
• Like to create a hip-hop montage that included fast paced jump cuts.
• Includes a scene that fades out to white-playing with the connotations of colour.
• Strong obsessions in characters leading to self destruction.

Mystery Thriller

A mystery thriller will centre around the main character trying to uncover a mystery in the plot. The audience tries to figure out the clues.

• They revolve around a puzzle.
• Usually triggered by an event.
• Thee conclude with the solution of the puzzle.
• Usually include a retired/amateur detective who ends up investigating the issue alone and risks their safety to solve the puzzle.
• It would include twists and red herrings within the plot.
• There would be subtle clues dotted in the plot line as well.
• One example of a mystery thriller is Vertigo, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. For more on Vertigo check out my analysis of the film on the Thriller Film Analysis post. 
• Here's a trailer for a film named Shutter Island that is also a mystery thriller.