Macro Analysis Of 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

I am going to be writing a brief macro analysis of the film 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The macro elements i will be focusing on are Institution, Genre, Narrative, Audience and Representation.

Institution - The girl with The Dragon Tattoo is an independent film produced by Yellow bird films a swedish film company however it was distributed by a UK film company called Momentum, it was first realsed on the 12th of march 2010 on various formats such as Blue-ray and Dvd.


Audience - This film caters for a niche audience who like to watch thrillers,in particually the sub-genre crime. The film main appeal is prodominatley to males between 18-40 . I would say this big age gap because the film is largely appealing to any age above the Classification of '18' it was given due to the disturbing scenes played out during the film. Also our two main characters Mikael blomvist and Elisbeth Salander have a age gap between them this allows two different age groups to identify with the characters expanding the audiences target bracket.


Genre -  This film has elements of both crime and thriller genres making it a sub-genre of thriller as in falls in neither directly. Thriller films often are sub-genres because of their typical content.

Narrative - The narrative of the film is non-linear because of a few flashbacks to give more detail about characters and their pasts however the majority of the film is in chronlogical order. The film also has a restricted narration which means that we have a limited access to the narrative and only know as much as the characters so its like were trying to piece together the mystery with them.


Representation - The two protagonists in the film 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' are similar in the sense that they are both investigators, but personality wise, they are very different. Lisbeth Salander, one the the protagonists in the film is represented in a variety of ways. At times she is represented as weak. For example, when she is being sexually abused by her mentor. We denote her being hit in the face and raped, which connotes her vulnerability. However, she is also represented as quite aggressive and comes across as an anti social and hostile, Lisbeth Salander is an expert hacker which shows us that she is also very intelligent when it comes to technology which conforms to the stereotype of 'I.t geeks' being outsiders.
 

Thriller Opening Sequences

Overall my thoughts on the opening sequences in thrillers is that the best ones embed the tittles in to the scene so you get straight into the film rather then getting restless while waiting for the credits to play out.

In  my groups opening sequence we are going to try to embed are tittles into our film to avoid wasting time since our scene should be approximately 2 minutes plus a black screen with names isn't  typically very exciting.

The opening sequence for the 1998 Psycho payed tribute to the earlier edition of the film. I would say the music was the opening sequences best atribute because immediately got you on the edge of the seat and worked well with tittles although personally i feel they could of done more because it comes off as quite basic and simple. Overall i would say it works well enough.

Hurtwood house - Presence



This particular opening sequence of a thriller was extremely well shot, this is down to the quality of technology used, for instance the high quality cameras because of this and other elements it looks very professional throughout the sequence they have used a number of techniques to represent the thriller genre.

Through the use of a restricted narrative it made me feel anxious and tense while watching the opening sequence. Because of it being restricted it rose a lot of questions what you would hope would be answered later on but of course its only a opening sequence so leaves you sitting on the edge of your seat.

What also impressed me was the use of diegetic and Foley sound instead of a soundtrack to build tension, I personally feel that this worked way better because it really gave the film a atmosphere and sense of reality with the door slamming being amplified this only incited you more into the film.

Overall for me this thriller was well thought out and produced fantasicly. If asked to give this piece of work a grade i would have to say A

Hurtwood house - Doppelganger

Hurtwood house - Mute

Se7en Essay

What makes a thriller and how is this evident in se7en ?

A macro/micro analysis of 'se7en'

The question I am being asked is to explain what types of conventions are used to create a thriller and how there showed throughout 'se7en'.Seven or Se7en as its also known as was released on the 5th of January 1996 in the U.K, The film was directed by David Fincher who directed other films such as Fight club,Panic room and Zodiac also more recently The social netowork. The star actors in se7en was Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt who was and still are famous Hollywood movie stars. The film was distributed and produced by New Line Cinema which is an independent company. The film had a budget of $30,000,000 which is seen as a major budget so I wouldn't say the budget effected the film in any way but allowed it to have the option of special effects etc.

I would say the target audience for this film is young men from the age of 18 who enjoy story lines which have a sense of mystery and like to see thrillers which include the 'big chase' of hunting down the killer with blood, guns and action. You can tell this because the film is predominantly an all male cast and there’s a big chase during the middle of the film as Detective Mills and Lieutenant Summerset try to catch the antagonist John Doe as he flees after spotting both officers outside his apartment and firing bullet rounds at them,this whole scene involves action. Saying this I do think Se7en attracts more of a niche audience because of its contents and its sub-genre.

The structure of se7en is linear and omniscient, it shows us normality when it starts with Lt. Summerset getting dressed,he’s dressing in a shirt and tie which is average wear for a job showing us that he is getting ready for another day at work. His facial expression and body language is very relaxed so when we come to find out his job it’s quite surprising and therefore throws the audience off. By showing him getting dressed right at the beginning it suggests the importance of the character for the film.

The film has a equilibrium at a murder scene,even though it’s a murder investigation it’s also a sense of normality for our protagonist as its his job. The disequilibrium is when we come to realise that this is a serial killer and he is killing specific people who he decides have committed one of the seven deadly sins and they chase him down not to catch him though. The attempted repair is when John Doe hands himself in but to reveal to the detectives that there are 2 more bodies left to find and convinces them to let him take them to where they are. The new equilibrium is that Mills shoots John Doe dead after learning that his wife and unborn child were the last two bodies although it has a tidy resolution and makes it a closed narrative you don't get a sense of closure since it doesn’t fit are typical convention of a Hollywood thriller ending.

There are 3 different character types in the film the first one being Lt. Summerset he is old, very relaxed, professional, likes to play by the book and always trying to stop Mills from making the wrong move and he’s also smart thinking he’s had years of experience working with the police and he’s quite reserved even though he challenges this stereo type of playing by the book when he proceeds with a deal in the café for unjustifiable evidence allowing him to find the antagonists apartment. Whereas his new partner Detective. Mills is the opposite. He’s young, loud, hot headed, violent, very passionate in a unprofessional way also he doesn’t like to do as he’s told for example there is a scene where Lt. Summerset advises Mills just after he’s been shot not to kick down the killers apartment door (at this point antagonists identity is still hidden) Because they need a warrant and also because they have no reason or explanation to be there but Mills refuses to listen and kicks in the door anyway,Which leads to him paying off which looks like to be a homeless women to lie and make a cover story for them being there. Although they seem to be like to different ends of a magnet they work rather well together. The third and last character is the antagonist John Doe he appears to be the very opposite to your typical Hollywood serial killer although being a complete psychopath he's calm,relaxed and believes what he is doing is the right course of action. He creates a enigma code not just to the audience but to the characters in the film also. For instance in the last scene detective mills asks John Doe 'I’ve been trying to figure something in my head and erm maybe you can help me out here?....when a person’s insane as you clearly are do you know that your insane?' because the answers John Doe was coming up with was smart and intellectual they seemed crazy and out of this world. You begin to understand his reasons for disliking their actions but to kill them and in the manor he did was extremely disturbing. His actions were righteous in his mind but inhumane in reality with the clever games he played throughout the film you can't help but feel it was a waste of life.

The are many conventions used throughout the film one of the more obvious things I denoted was the setting during the film it was pouring of rain,lighting was dull and very grey this suggests to the audience in some context that its not very joyful at this period of time while all the killings are occurring also suits the mood of the film since the weather is unpleasant and that’s what most people would agree that death is. The storyline has a closed narrative but isn't really a happy one for our protagonists because although John Doe is dead in a sense he still won which challenges the genre because usually the protagonists have their classic Hollywood ending I would put this unconventional ending down to it being a independent film and therefore they was probably trying to make it different so you would recognize it against the plain Hollywood thrillers. The camera uses theatre of mind at some significant scenes in the film for example one of the scenes near the start detective Mills sees the bucket of sick under the table. Or in the last sequence where LT. Summerset finds the decapitated head of Mills wife Tracey in the box. Se7en is a psychological thriller this is clearly shown throughout the film with the trying to figure out who the killer is,this is backed up even more when Det. Mills says to Summerset 'he's messing with us' showing us its all a big game in a way.

The two protagonists are portrayed in a positive light even if not all their collogues like them we get this impression at the beginning when someone says to him 'you know we are all going to be real glad when we get rid of you Summerset' in almost a jealous tone. Summerset is smartly dressed in a shirt and tie with a hay and long cream coat. His body language is relaxed as if he's seen it all before and nothing bothers him any more. As an audience we relate to Summerset because he is about to retire and more than anything he wants to be able to solve this case so he can have a clear

conscience throughout the film he is on some type of countdown till his retirement so as well as finding the killer it’s like a race against time for him. When we see him having a heart to heart conversation with Tracey we see another side to him showing us he is a really caring person.

Detective Mills is slightly the opposite of him. He dresses smart but always looks a little scruffy, he wears a shirt and tie with a leather jacket. His body language is relaxed suggesting he believes he's always in control but is always hyped ready to go. His language is very common always swearing and cursing he’s very loud and can be quite rude. Although Mills is portrayed in this way as an audience we can see that deep down he means well and wants to do the right thing he adds humour to the whole investigation with his personality which is why the audience like him and relate to him.

I have mentioned how “thriller” is evident in se7en by talking through different conventions such as narrative,mise en scene, genre, and representation. I believe that it has stayed away from the Hollywood narrative structure and you can see by watching it that it’s more of an independent style film. It seems more realistic. Although our antagonist is hidden at the start of the film towards the end we realise that he actually wants to be caught which explains his games with the police. For example he calls the police station and says “I’ve gone and done it again” leading them to the 6^th deadly sin 'pride'. This film is a game of cat and mouse, which builds up a lot of tension and suspense for the audience which is also two of the conventions within the thriller genre.

Failure of knight and day-research

Even though knight and day is not a thriller i thought it was a good recent example of a failed film despite being a hollywood blockbuster

The reason Knight and Day failed to impress at the box office can't be put down to just one reason but many for its 'flop'. The most obvious one of these would be the 'development hell' as it was nick named, Knight and Day went through a period where it changed the lead actors numerous times from Adam Sandler declining to explain ' I just don't see me with a gun' to Chris Tucker where it was titled 'Trouble man' and intended to be a romantic vehicle film only to settle for Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz their second on-screen collaboration following the film Vanilla sky this problem was added to by moving from Revolution studios to Sony Pictures not to include the issue with the script writer's, over 12 writers contributed to the film but only Patrick O'Neill to be credited . Another problem with the film was the target audience due to the 'ageing' some might say aged stars since the film was aimed at over 40's while those under 25 make up the majority at box office sales this indicates the fans who grew up with Tom and Cameron have moved on also the timing of the film's release seems to me atleast to pay a big part of its failure when released it had to fight against Toy story 3 the toys everyone grew up with,The Karate Kid another found memory from most peoples childhood never mind it being a remake,Shrek forever after,sex and the city 2,get him to the Greek and Robin hood all these are good interesting films plus the fact they released it on a Wednesday even though its aimed at 40 year olds you would think even the marketing team would know most 40 year olds work weekends but never the less it was released on the 23^rd of June when originally was set for 25^th of June.

Ironically a key marketing and selling aspect for the film was it was 'Original' I use this term lightly since a number of critics compare the film to 'Killers' just with bigger stunts and more star wattage. Lisa Schwarzbaum gave the film a grade of C+ which I gotta say was generous compared to the other critics,she made a good point when saying ' The producers assume that audience interest in movie stars is bigger than the audience interest in characters. Other critics accuse it of moving at a breakneck pace as if to conceal the incongruities in the storytelling. Over all from reading the reviews,I have come to the conclusion that the script was written rather poorly and lazily added to poor casting from the producers and in-turn they were given a movie that couldn’t motivate people to come and watch it maybe their make more money on the DVD. Also all the bad reviews couldn't of been good for the film because I’d imagine that would turn away all the undecided viewers who needed their mind made up.

Now if you add all these problems together you get one big flop at the Cinema