Amy Leadbitter Research Feedback

Se7en
This film has many different enigma codes, relating to both characters. Questions are raised regarding their personalities, how, and why they meet.

Detective Somerset
-Why does he sleep to a metronome? - This may show that he is a very troubled individual. Some people who are stressed, or troubled sometimes listen to a metronome or 'white noise' to calm themselves down; like they are trying to drown something out in their head.
-Why is he so in order and clean at home? Again, this may be caused by stress due to his job and trying to keep something in his life in order because his job is unpredictable.

Lieutenant Mills
- Why does he seem less interested in his job that Somerset? - Lieutenant Mills seems a lot less motivated with his job than Somerset. This can be figured out even by just looking at the way he composes himself. In the scene we first see him, he is chewing gum, and we can see that he does not care as much as Somerset about his appearance at work.

The mise en scene in the opening sequence of this film helps set the mood for the rest of the film. The lighting is relatively low key throughout, which sets a dark, and perhaps maybe grim mood for the events that follow. The surrounding are dull and dirty in the opening sequence (excluding Somerset's apartment). This is usually seen as a typical scene of a crime in America, which sets the audience up for the rest of the film.

The Simpsons - Cape Feare

In the early 60's J. Lee Thomson directed a film called 'Cape Fear'. In the early 90's, this film was remade with the same name, and again in the 90's, The Simpsons remade this with a slightly different name of 'Cape Feare'.

1962 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Fear_(1962_film)1991962_film)
1991 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Fear_(1991_film)

1993 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Feare

Mood - Dark mood; murder and revenge; with a comedy twist using physical jokes.

Mise en scene

There is low key lighting when there are scenes with Sideshow Bob writing death threats to Bart Simpson and also in the movie theatre and on the house boat, when Sideshow Bob is attempting to kill Bart. The rest of the episode is relatively light. Since it is usually only dark with Sideshow Bob, it is like he is making it dark for Bart.

The non diagetic soundtrack in this episode is in a minor key and is only usually when Sideshow Bob is in the scene. The same music is used every time we see Sideshow Bob, so from that we can associate that particular music with him, and when this music is playing, it builds tension in the episode. There is not much diagetic sound, apart from everyday sounds, which does not add suspense to the episode as a whole.

In this episode, Bart Simpson spends a lot of the time nervous, or scared, and his body language shows this. He shakes and shivers a lot, and when the family is on the houseboat, Bart runs up to Homer and Marge to tell them about Sideshow Bob, and his feet are still moving very rapidly when he gets there, in a panicked fashion. His eyes are also very big in this scene.

The whole episode has the same darkness of the films, but it has a comic twist by adding light-hearted jokes. In one scene, the family has moved into a houseboat to escape from Sideshow Bob. We see Bart in his bed, tossing and turning, trying to sleep, and then the door creaks open. Homer then runs in with a knife and a oven tray and he shouts very quickly "Bart do you want a brownie before you go to bed!!". Bart screams and Homer then starts cutting the brownies into squares and talking in a relaxed voice. He then leaves, but runs back into the room brandishing a live chainsaw and wearing a hockey mask (Friday 13th), shouts "Bart do you want to see my new chainsaw and hockey mask!!". Bart screams, and Homer leaves the room embarrassed. There is also a scene in which Sideshow Bob repeatedly steps on rakes.

In my opinion, this is a strange twist of a thriller, but personally I would still class it as a thriller, due to the mise en scene and plot of the episode.

The Girls
Today we watched a short independent thriller film called 'The Girls'. This film focuses on paedophobia, and it could even be leaning towards schizophrenia. Stereotypes are broken in this film, and roles can even be seen as reversed.

To begin with, the mood was very chilled, and just like a normal day, but as it progressed we could see that the mood was really very disturbing and twisted. Despite all that was happening in the film, there was always a sense of innocence. This comes from the girls' attitude through 'playing with their dad' and the attitude the father had when he started playing with his daughters, which was light hearted, and he was just chasing them around the garden, just like a normal father and daughter would do.

Throughout the whole film, there was ambient lighting, as it was filmed outside. This did not add any tension or suspense; it gave the sense that this was just two girls playing outside. Even while the girls were hitting their dad and pushing him down to the river. The end of the film was the only time it was dark;the father was still outside after being pushed in the river.

The characters in this film have very conflicting personalities. The father is not expecting anything out of the ordinary, so he is relatively relaxed. The girls' personalities change throughout the film. At the beginning, they seem innocent when they are playing in the garden, but this changes when we see one of them playing with their dolls. She uses them to act as herself and a psychic, and she acts out a palm reading. She says "I see death and destruction" and drops the dolls without a second thought, like she is possessed. When they start playing with their father, they 'change' back to being innocent and care free, but soon change back when they start tying up their father and beating him with a rake.

The props in this film add to the feel of it a great deal. The rake plays an important role, since this is when we first see that the girls are not normal; when she hits the dog. They also use the rake to hit their father. The blindfold and hand ties are also very symbolic. This shows that he cannot see his little girls, only the girls that are hurting him, and he cannot do anything about it. The dolls symbolise innocence, and when they are dropped, so is the girl's innocence.

The role of the authority figure is challenged in this film. To begin with, the father is the authority figure, and is controlling what is happening and what games are played, but as the film progresses, the audience sees that the girls are taking over the role of the authority figure by tying their father's hands and blindfolding him, so he does not know what is going on. The authority figure also changes at the end of the film, when their mother comes home. The girls 'change back' to being innocent, and when the mother asks where their father is, they give an innocent answer and say that he 'decided to go and sit by the river'.

I think that this film adds a very disturbing twist to a perfectly innocent, everyday activity, and it also shows what people can be like when left alone. This has a very interesting feel and it is a very good example of a paedophobic thriller.

Memento

The opening sequence to this film has a peculiar set up. It seems to be in a non-chronological order. It starts as an extreme close up on a hand holding a polariod photograph of a dead body. We are not aware of who the person is, or of the killer. At first, the audience is also not aware of the fact that this is being filmed backwards, but we see the hand shake the polaroid, it becomes clear. After the shot with the photo, we see the murder, but backwards. This is a way of showing the main characters condition. He cannot make new memories, so he has to constantly remind himself of day to day activities, or his job and what has to be done.

The lighting is low key for the first part of the opening sequence, but then after we see the main character in his motel room, it turns into 'ambient' lighting, but does not last for more than about 2 minutes. This is where we meet the victim of the murder. At first, we are not aware of this, but it becomes clear when they drive to a old building in the middle of no-where. The main character walks into the building and takes out another polariod photo. It is a photo of the victim, with 'Do not believe his lies he is the one Kill him' written on the back.

The props in this sequence mostly seem to be notes and photographs, which obviously are to help the main character do what he has to do, even mundane everyday activities like 'shave', which he has on a note stuck to his leg. This shows his inability to undergo everyday tasks with his condidtion.

I think this is a very good example of a thriller. The beginning leaves the audience unaware of what really happens in the film and what the characters' stories are.




Wallace and Gromit - A Close Shave

When you think of thrillers, this may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but when looking at mise en scene and plot, it is a very good example of a thriller.

• Lighting - low key throughout the opening sequence, setting a mood for the rest of the film
  
• Diagetic Sound - Teacups rattling as the truck goes by, the cheese knife hitting the floor (and where it lands [inbetween Wallace's slippers]), the loud noises made by the truck outside


• Non-Diagetic sound - eerie soundtrack, strings (building suspense and tension)


• Camerawork - The close up of the eyes in the van raising questions of who it is and what is going on, dolly from behind cheese plate rattling

Despite the fact that it is an animation and is mostly targeted at children, the elements of mise en scene and mood of the opening sequence classes it as a thriller.