For one of my genre research case studies, I've decided to analyse the opening scene of contemporary thriller Memento. Memento, directed by Christopher Nolan, is a contemporary thriller made in 2000. The movie was written by Jonathon Nolan and Christopher Nolan, and stars Guy Pearce as its protagonist. It also co-stars Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano. ‘Memento’ centres around a man with short term memory loss, and how he uses notes and tattoos to help him in his search for the man he believes killed his wife. The movie creates suspense and tension through editing, sound, mise-en-scene and cinematography to make it fit in to the ‘thriller’ genre.
The editing in ‘Memento’ is very fast, the cuts are very quick which creates a choppy effect and tense atmosphere. Fast editing is quite regularly used in contemporary thrillers so as to capture the audience. As the genre has progressed, thrillers now need to be fast paced and full of tension – this differs to older thrillers in the sense that they would usually be quite slow.
The editing in ‘Memento’ is very fast, the cuts are very quick which creates a choppy effect and tense atmosphere. Fast editing is quite regularly used in contemporary thrillers so as to capture the audience. As the genre has progressed, thrillers now need to be fast paced and full of tension – this differs to older thrillers in the sense that they would usually be quite slow.
For the first 90 seconds, we have no dialogue, but instead atmospheric music. The music compliments the happenings on screen and is very effective in creating a tense mood for the movie. We hear a bullet and a man scream as he is shot, then we then cut to a male lying on a bed. The audience are presented with non diegetic voiceover, he is obviously our protagonist since he is the only character who we have clearly seen thus far.
Around about one minute and forty five seconds into the clip, the movie changes from colour to black and white. The shift in colour suggests that what was once clear is now blurred and ambiguous. Our protagonist's face is also half shadowed when the colour becomes black and white, further reinforcing the so far unclear storyline.
Once the colour changes to black and white, we are shown a close up of our protagonists facial expression. He appears to be very confused, and we have a pan around the hotel room from his POV to further suggest this is an unknown location to him.
The black and white colours, though they do connote his uncertainty, could also be a homage to the older thrillers. For example, Alfred Hitchcock, who regularly used black and white to colour his movies. This creates a sense of suspense and unordinary events.
The black and white colours, though they do connote his uncertainty, could also be a homage to the older thrillers. For example, Alfred Hitchcock, who regularly used black and white to colour his movies. This creates a sense of suspense and unordinary events.
The first minute of the movie appears to be one long shot of a man shaking a Polaroid picture, as he shakes it the content of the Polaroid disappears – contrary to what usually happens when you shake a Polaroid photo.
Eventually, the audience are made very aware that the scene is taking place in reverse. The medium close up of the hand holding the Polaroid photo placing it back inside the camera, then taking a picture and placing the camera in his coat pocket makes it obvious that the scene is going backwards. The director has done this to create a sense of wonderment from the viewers, most thriller movies aim to do this.
The POV pan around the room from the protagonist’s perspective creates a sense of speculation among the audience, especially as he says it is an “anonymous room.”
Eventually, the audience are made very aware that the scene is taking place in reverse. The medium close up of the hand holding the Polaroid photo placing it back inside the camera, then taking a picture and placing the camera in his coat pocket makes it obvious that the scene is going backwards. The director has done this to create a sense of wonderment from the viewers, most thriller movies aim to do this.
The POV pan around the room from the protagonist’s perspective creates a sense of speculation among the audience, especially as he says it is an “anonymous room.”
The high angle canted shot in black of white on the male on the bed suggests someone may be watching him. This is a regular theme in thriller movies; however the shot could also connote a sense of disorientation.
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