Thriller Analysis; The Usual Suspects - Danielle Driscoll

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6msq8mgdnE

Camerawork:

Here, the mans identity is kept secret as the framing is made to keep
his head unshown. This creates enigma as to why it is kept hidden.
The low key lighting also suggests the man might be a villain/
antagonist.

• Tilt is used when the ring of fire is broken by urine and the camera slowly rises to mystery character, whose face we do not see, which creates suspense. This leaves us with a binary opposition as we don't know whether to like him or not.
• When the ring of fire it being lit, we see a shot where there is a man on the floor in background, but the depth of field leaves us with uncertainty to who it is and what has happened to him.

The camera slowly starts to pan down as the man is walking down

the stairs, creating suspense as the audience is left with no clues to

who he is. Yet again, his identity is kept secret and the low key

is minimal, to the point where we can't even see him. This is done to

put the spectator on egde and feel uneasy, with the mysterious black

figure slowly appearing.

• ECU is used at the beginning when a box of matches are lit, this could be used to create distortion.

Mise en Scene:

• A long black coat is worn, that many villains tend to wear or investigators. He also has a gold lighter and watch, suggesting he is rich, but maybe not for the right reasons, making the audience think he's an antagonist.

In this shot, a man is shown on the floor with a dagger in his back
denoting violence, danger and crime. This is important in thrillers
to raise enigma to who the man is, why is he dead? Was he good/bad
(binary opposition). The composistion of the frame also leaves the
myterious body from head to waist which too creates enigma, but
for me implies he is not important in the film, he's just there to raise
questions. One of the main questions may be, why did the mysterious
man stop the ring of fire for the dead man?  

• The barrels at the beginning were leaking, creating tension as we saw the man light some matches - could there be an explosion?
• Low key lighting is used throughout the opening to create eeriness and mood; crucial to thrillers.

Sound:

• Off screen diegetic sound is used when the gun it shot to create suspense.
• When the cigarette is dropped the non diegetic sound (music) gets faster, builds tempo, creating anticipation, a key element is thrillers to keep the audience on the edge of their seat.

Editing:

Gun in the left hand, deep depth of field, to focus our attention on the gun,
centered in the middle of the frame.

• At the beginning, San Pedro appears, establishing the scene. The place is also on the border line between Mexico and South America, where lots of drugs are passed through, emphasising the sense of crime, leaving the audience uneasy.

Notice how everything the mysterious man does is with his left hand.
This could say a lot about his personality; independent, resilient. Maybe
suggesting he is the hero/protagonist.

• When the cigarette is dropped, it's slowed down to give the audience time to tense up as they know what is going to happen - the place is going to blow up.
• The pace of the takes are relatively slow to build up tension, a key element in thrillers to put the audience on the edge of their seat.