Possible Case Studies

Taken (2008)
Written by: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen

Directed by: Pierre Morel

Starring: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace

Taken is a film about an ex security guard embarking upon a mission to find his abducted teenage daughter. Many aspects of the film could be seen to be of the action genre, however, it's continuous suspense and drama, for me, make it the ultimate thriller.

The above shot shows the father holding a gun to a man who he believes to be part of the reason for his daughters disappearance. However, the shot does not focus on the two men and even the gun is out of focus. The focus is instead solely on the reaction of the man's wife and the. I feel this shot is very powerful and effective and gives the impression that a gun is a generic part of life in today's fractured society. There is a direct association between the gun and the woman's face. She shows, trauma and horror in her emotions which directly connotes to what people often associate with weapons, We are therefore told that something horrific is occurring. We do not necessarily need the gun to be in the shot for us to realise that an awful thing is happening but this furthers our knowledge as an audience member. The fact that we do not see the two men the confrontation actually involves emphasises how effective the woman's reaction to the situation is.

Here is an image of what the scene would have looked like, had the director chosen to focus on the two men. Although terror is still portrayed through this image because of the fact that a gun is in the shot, it is no where near as powerful as the earlier shot, which gives us much more understanding of how traumatic the experience is for everyone.

This shot shows the father holding a man hostage who could potentially lead him to his missing daughter. There is a clever use of levels in this shot - Liam Neeson is standing up and is leaning over the helpless man to show his power and authority over him. It displays and emphasises his authority throughout the entire film and perhaps foreshadows that because of his power, he is likely to find his daughter, which he eventually does.

The lighting is also key in this shot. Most of the room is dark, including the man in the chair. This symbolises 'the unknown' and presents us as an audience with an enigma. We are perhaps shown how not only the man in the chair is unknown, but also  that the harsh reality of the situation is that Neeson does not know where his daughter is. The only part of the shot that is under light is Liam Neeson's arm and the picture of his daughter. Because of the lighting we are immediately drawn to this, giving us the impression that this is all that matters, and to her father, this is the case. Therefore, perhaps the director is purposely trying to make us associate with the father and see everything from his point of view, causing us to sympathise. This clever use of light is used in most thrillers and is essential in allowing the audience to relate to characters as well as gaining an understanding of what message the director intended to portray.

I feel this would be a good film for me to base my case study on because it is a film I love and I am passionate about the subject involved. This would allow me to look deeper in to each and every shot to determine the true meaning.

The Departed (2006)
Directed by: Martin Scorcese
Written by: William Monahan
Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Ray Winstone

The Departed is a Martin Scorcese action/crime thriller about two men from opposite sides of the law who are undercover within the Massachusetts State Police and the Irish mafia. Eventually, once discoveries are made and moles are revealed, violence and bloodshed boil.

The shot above shows Billy (DiCaprio) behind bars in a prison. Although at first glimpse the shot does not seem like much and does not show any influence to the film as a whole, once a further understanding of the film is gained, it will become clear that this shot is used specifically for dramatic irony. Billy has been arrested for his role in the mafia although he is in fact an undercover policeman. He does not show that he is scared or anxious as a newly arrested prisoner usually would, but instead anger because he knows he should not be there. The 'bar effect' used here perhaps shows how Billy is metaphorically 'broken' or 'disorientated'. The bright lighting that is imposed upon him cleverly directs him away from the rest of the prisoners in the cell behind him who's surroundings are somewhat darker, to portray him in a positive and innocent light which emphasises the fact that he is not actually one of them. The shot highlights a key theme of the film, crime, and could also be seen to foreshadow later events in the film - it is perhaps giving the audience clues as to what may potentially happen. A similar shot is used in other thrillers - for example 'Essex Boys' and 'Jackie Brown'. The shots in these films also use the 'bar effect' and both are used specifically to convey similar themes. (see below)

This shot also proves incredibly significant in telling us the message of the film. We see here Billy the undercover cop being severely harmed by two of the mafia, even though they believe him to be one of them. There is a clever use of levels, much like the shot I used earlier from the film 'Taken'. Seeing the two men standing high above Billy portrays them as the dominant characters in control, perhaps expressing the message that the law does not always run the world. The bright light in the scene is juxtaposed with the shocking violence taking place. The shot steers away from typical thriller conventions - a shot with this content would often contain a dim ambient light to display the negative occurrences. The fact that this generic thriller technique is not used here, emphasises the ruthlessness of the mafia in this film.

This film surrounds themes used many times before throughout the thriller genre. I feel it would be interesting to look at how the message of this theme has progressed from earlier film interpretations such as 'The Third Man' and 'Once Upon a Time in America'. As well as this, I feel there are many generic thriller techniques used by Scorcese to address this theme that I could easily identify and analyse efficiently.