Task: The Conventions of a Thriller presentation
Task: Choose a Thriller film as a case study write a 700 word essay: How does the film use conventions of the genre to create suspense?
Suspense is the feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen Thriller is a genre of film that uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements. Memento is the film I have analysed and taken examples from. Memento is a psychological thriller. It stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a man with anterograde amnesia, which impairs his ability to store new explicit memories. During the opening credit’s, which portrays the end of the story, it is shown that Leonard kills Teddy. The film suggests that this killing is vengeance for the rape and murder of his wife.
Establishing shots, long shots and close-ups are the most common camera angles used in the thriller genre. The absence of an establishing shot in the opening credits leaves the audience disorientated and not knowing what is happening. People fear the unknown so this technique is very useful in adding suspense. Instead we are given a close-up of the gun; this is an extremely poignant shot and doesn’t necessarily add to the suspense but allows for it to be built up in the following scenes. This is because we are eager to find out why Lenny shot this man. Long shots however are used during the film to set the scene, whether it is at the motel, Natalie’s house or the café. As the protagonist suffers from memory loss the long shots makes us feel as if we too cannot keep up with the action. This feeling of cluelessness permits the feeling of suspense.
It is common to use fast paced cuts in thrillers and memento is no different. While the majority of the movie adopts a calm feel there are occasional fights. When this is the case the cutting becomes much more intense and twined with a steadi cam adds to the feeling of suspense. We have no idea whether Lenny will be ok and if he will even remember the events. Furthermore the absence of important information happens throughout the film. This is done by hiding important information using cuts. This keeps the audience on a knife edge. Just when we feel like we might be gaining another clue the action cuts to the past.
Sound is used either diegetic ally or non-diegetic ally throughout the film. As the film is split up in to different time sequences the music changes in order to conform to what type of action is taking place. The audience denote this early on and expect each sound to play in the background. The colour scenes are "brooding and classical" while the black-and-white scenes are "oppressive and rumbly". These sounds tend to illustrate the past and present and keep the audience in the know. However there are occasions in which there is a use of asynchronous sound that destabilises the audience. This happens when Lenny is at Natalie’s bar. The diegetic sound of the radio tends to suggest a calm atmosphere however Natalie is speaking with Lenny with a violent tone. This sends the audience different signals and this disorientates us to the point where we feel quite anxious.
The mise-en-scene is set through various ways, either costumes, lighting or objects. The protagonist Lenny wears the same suit throughout the movie. We become used to him wearing the same outfit. This adds to any suspense when he isn’t wearing his typical clothing. We see this through the black and white sequences in which he is naked. This evokes vulnerability and the audience feel as if he is out of place. Thus the viewer’s feels like a horrible event could take place. Moving on there are a few motifs used. This is a reminder of Lenny’s vulnerability as it exposes the extent of his disability. We associate the Polaroid camera with a crucial occurrence and the need to remember what just took place. The importance of the camera is so great that the audience fear for Lenny’s safety without it. This is supported through the scene in which Lenny is scrambling for a pen to take note of Natalie’s lie. The audience become anxious as we know that Lenny will forget her true nature and be tricked.
To conclude while Memento uses many of the generic techniques to convey a sense of suspense, it also adds some unexpected method’s that are used precisely at creating a sense of unexpected surprise. The methods are used well and allow for an intriguing viewing sensation. It is little wonder it won rave reviews.
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