Genre Deconstruction- Action Thriller

Genre Deconstruction- Action Thriller

Film opening- The Dark Knight (2008)

Typography

In the five-minute opening clip of the film I chose (The Dark Knight) there is no obvious title, the film is the second in a trilogy and it’s an adaptation of a popular franchise. Most viewers know what the basic concept is so the name of the film and typography are seen as unnecessary and so they do not feature in the final cut. The studio and the DC symbol were shown before any indication as to what the film is. Iconography is used in most popular comic adaptations however in Nolan’s interpretations the bat symbol is not as blatant as other films of the same category. This could show how he wanted to take a darker twist to the franchise and make a more realistic and dangerous variation.

Location

Conforming with the genres of the opening scene the clip is located in a busy, urban area. Although the city it is based in is fictional, it is well known in the franchise. Gotham is a well-known fictional city based in America. The pan shot helps to create the scene, letting the audience know the main location for the movie and giving them small details like the time of day and the environment. In this case it is a richer part of the city. You can see this by the tall, fancy looking buildings and the cleanliness. 

Plot

A deep drumbeat, high strings and a bass start playing a repeated series of notes. In an aerial shot, the scene zooms into a skyscraper made of glass windows, a window explodes, the side view of a masked man with the device that made the window shatter are seen. The same device is used for a grapple hook onto the roof of the other building. The diegetic sounds of the hook being shot and the wire following are heard in this scene over the subtle music.

The scene changes and several drum beats can be heard on the score. There is a man waiting on the corner of a street with a mask in hand. A sliver truck pulls up and he gets in placing the mask over his face, concealing his identity, the cars tyres squealing as it pulls away are slightly exaggerated letting the viewer start to feel the tension.

The scene changes again back to the two men using the grapple hook to zip line onto the other roof, it swaps back to the car where two out of the three men exchange dialogue about ‘The Joker’ who hired them. More drum beats can be heard on the score, the rhythmic strings sometimes changing in pitch.

The men on the roof disable the security in the bank just as the men in the car enter the bank and shoot the workers or make them unable to fight against the intruders. One of the men on the roof shoots the other after a few lines of dialogue and mentioning ‘The Joker’ again. This starts to build suspense as the name of the villain has been said many times but he has yet to make an appearance. The man then starts to go down the stairs into the bank and is next seen by the vault that one of the men from the car has started to drill into. One worker tries to defend the bank with a large gun, two more masked men are killed.

 After this the rhythmic strings quieten whilst you see the worker on the floor having been shot by one of the masked men, but when the shot changes they return with some deeper noises in the score. The vault has been opened and the money in bags back in the main foyer of the bank. The remaining two masked men share a few lines of dialogue before the main villain (unknown at the time) says his first line ‘I kill the bus driver’. As he speaks the music settles using metallic noises to keep the intensity of the scene.

The back end of a school bus crashes through the wall killing the other mask leaving only the main villain and the bus driver who, after helping them load the money into the bus is shot by the man. The worker who tried to defend the bank speaks up from the floor, shouting ‘What do you believe in?’ the last remaining mask (The last masked man  is revealed as 'The Joker'.) walks towards him placing a canister in his mouth that would go off when the bus leaves before removing his mask. ‘I believe that whatever doesn’t kill you simply makes you stranger’. As he reveals his face the music changes completely from short notes to one low strung out one. This is effective as you realise that the hints that they had been dropping throughout the film opening have been toward the previously silent character.

The joker smiles before walking away mask in hand and gets into the school bus. The bus drives away from the bank into the line of school buses that are lining the road, hidden in plain sight. The music fades out and the diegetic sound of the school children in the other buses is heard.

 Conventions

The films opening scene suggests that the film has conventions of both thriller and action genres. Although you don’t meet the protagonist in the five-minute opening you do meet the main villain. This conforms with the thriller genre as the villain is a male. The clip also contains violence and firearms which is not only a convention of the thriller genre but the action one as well, although there is slight subversion the scene also had explosions included. These explosions were small and were done in a way so that they were subtle, for example right at the beginning of the scene a window was smashed, it was small and quiet unlike big action movies where they would blow up half the building.

There is also slight subversion where the location is concerned but although the city is fictional it is iconic in the franchise. The opening scene lends itself to both genres of thriller and action mainly conforming with the main conventions.

Lighting

The whole opening scene uses 'natural lighting' as it is a daylight robbery, this is unexpected from the dark title sequence where Nolan made a darker introduction. Due to the nature of the scene you would expect it to be darker but the idea of a daylight robbery makes the scene more effective as it makes the audience think about how they do it. It also introduces main themes of the film including the idea of chaos.

 Camera Angles

The pan at the beginning of the scene helped generate the base of the scene. It does this by showing the audience the environment the film is going to be set in and what type of location the film will take place in. The close up shot of the mask shows the audience its significance. The masks represent the followers of the main villain in the movie.

There are also several tracking shots this helps to build a sense of urgency in the scene and it amplifies the tension in the audience as the expectation and anticipation build. There is little dialogue in the scene so there is little match on action.

Sound

The score for this scene is mostly short high notes on the strings, low bass notes and drumbeats. The high string sounds were made by using razor blades on string instruments this gives the score a sinister feel and evokes an atmosphere of unease and anticipation. This sort of sound is common in this genre of film but it helps make the scene effective and tie in with the conventions of the genre as it builds the tension and suspense of the scene. This is vital for an opening scene as this sets up the rest of the movie.

Other comments

The masks are used throughout the opening scene of the film. All the masks are clown faces but with different expressions, as each of them die you get closer to which of the masked characters is the villain. This is an interesting technique as you first believe that the Joker isn’t there at all and he has just hired these men to get the money but, as each of them die you realise one of the masked characters is him. This creates a sense of foreboding in the scene as you suddenly realise that the Joker has been hidden in plain sight the whole time. This help to support the thriller genre as in introduces a slight psychological element to the opening. This element is also demonstrated when he removes his mask to give the well known line- "I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you... stranger." It gives the audience something to think about, the complexity of the character is only hinted at.

This is the second film in a trilogy, the first film is 'Batman Begins' (2005) and the final film is 'The Dark Knight Rises' (2012)