Silence of the Lambs - Analysis of Opening

The opening shot of the scene is a silhouette of tree. There is no camera movement, and there is heavy mist in the background, limiting the audiences view of what is lurking beyond the tree; already creating a feeling of suspense and mystery. It is a low angle shot, making the audience feel weak and vulnerable. The sound consists of bird noises, and a non-diegetic soundtrack with a violin, and a chello creating lower, suspense building notes. The titles appear in the middle of the screen dubbed over the opening shot. The lettering is a black 'block' style with a white outline, in-keeping with the FBI theme that runs through the opening sequence. 'Jodie Foster' is the first name that appears, as she is the main star of the film. The camera then, still in one continuous shot, pans down and to the left deeper into the forest from the tree, creating a high angle establishing shot. A few other names of the main stars appear on screen before the film name appears. The camera then settles on Clarice (Jodie) in the distance, working her way up through the forest towards the camera. As she reaches the top, we can hear that she is out of breath, the camera retracts slightly as she pauses and looks around, before running out of shot to the right. Actors names then appear on the screen three at a time, signify that they are lower in the 'pecking order' of stars. As this happens, the camera follows Clarice from a distance, creating a long tracking shot and giving the impression she is running away, although at this point it's quite clear she's doing an assault course. The shot then cuts to close up of her face as she runs, then zooms out slightly into a mid shot of her head and shoulders as she runs, still with the opening music dubbed over. The shot then again cuts, this time to a side angle mid shot from her rights hand side, the camera still moving with her, as she runs through the trees. This way this is shot from behind the trees makes it look quite voyeuristic. The shot then cuts to a close up of her feet as she's running, with the crunching of the leaves underfoot apparent in the sound. As with all the edits in this sequence, the shot is formed from a simple cut, rather than using fades or other effects. More actors names appear on the screen again - but the fact that no actors names appeared during the side angle shot may suggest that this was of greater importance than other shots. The camera then cuts again to a side shot of her face (close up), and again then a tracking shot behind her. She then climbs over a scramble net, and the camera moves around the side of the obstacle, and picks Clarice up from the front angle. All of this sequence is in accordance with the 180 degree rule, meaning it is only shot from the front, the back, and one side, so the camera never goes beyond 180 degrees. This makes it easier for the audience to follow, and also shows continuity in the sequence. The camera then stays still allowing Clarice to run off into the distance. Someone off-screen shouts her, and then runs into shot towards her, and she turns around. The camera then moves towards, with Jodie bending over, exhausted, making the man she is talking to look powerful. She runs again out of shot, and the man turns around, watching her. This creates a close up of his face, and the audience can see he has an FBI cap on - this suggests for the first time in the film that Clarice has some connection with the FBI, and is training with them. There is another edit, and the camera pans down a tree, with signs on it reading from the top “hurt” “agony” “pain” “love it.” The camera then pans to the left, picking up Clarice, and panning round further to follow her as she runs down to the main building, to go to the office as instructed. As she runs of into the distance, we see for the first time other people training, but they all appear to be male, and in combat clothing, whereas Clarice is just wearing a tracksuit. This may suggest that they are at another level in their training. They are all carrying guns, signifying their power.

The Usual Suspects - A True Thriller?

Quite frankly, yes. Throughout the film, key Thriller traits are apparent, and it keeps the audience guessing right until the end. The audience are given occasional clues as to who the 'mythical' crime lord Keyser Soze is, and these only become obvious on the second viewing, once we know the outcome. Key quotes from Verbal Kint, such as "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist" and "like that, he's gone" signify the mystery of the film, and also highlight the character complexity that qualifies the film as a thriller (we later realise he is Keyser Soze). The audience feel sympathy towards Verbal. It appears he has been set up, and 'programmed' by Keaton, who we begin to suspect. Kint is represented as a weak, stupid cripple, who the audience wrongly therefore presume would be unable to mastermind a $1,000,000 heist and deem him incapable of engineering a police line-up. This view is then reinforced when Verbal breaks down in tears in front of Agent Kujon, and admits that Keaton planned everything - there is then even a shot where we see Keaton as Keyser in the harbour. No sooner does the mystery seem a foregone conclusion, Kint leaves the police station and is picked up by Kobayashi; Soze's right hand man. An FBI artist's sketch of 'Keyser Soze', taken from the description by the Hungarian who was pulled out of a drain after the harbour shootout then prints on the police station's fax machine. It is a good likeness to Kint. It then becomes apparent that Verbal Kint is in fact Soze - showing the character complexity and mystery that defines the Thriller genre.

There are many more thriller traits too. Like in most, the film hinges around a crime, and the story needs to be unravelled, keeping the audience guessing. The main character; Verbal Kint, tells the story, as he reports to the detective. The storyline is deliberately misleading: Just as the audience begin to think Keaton is Soze, we realise it is fact Kint; the man we have sympathised with and trusted throughout. Also, when the audience do realise Kint is Soze, we begin to wonder what, if any of the story is actually real - we were made to believe the robbery was a failed heist, for money and cocaine, when in fact it was a very successful assassination - Soze bought and killed the only man who could positively identify him. And did Kint murder his own wife and children, as it is suggested Soze did in the film? The film generally has a very complex structure, and this is highlighted at the end by the double-twist at the end, where all seems to make sense when Keaton is suggested to be Soze... and then we find out it's Kint. The music score also adds to the complexity and 'darkness' of Kint - it gives him an identity, and prepares the audience for action or another twist. Finally, the Low-Key lighting used throughout is also in line with common Thriller traits. It works well with the continuing theme of mystery, and represents how things are 'kept in the dark' until the very ending.