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I care a lot Thriller
How is genre shown in this opening scene? • A key feature of a thriller is creating an adrenaline rush for the viewer. This is shown in the fight scene Watch from 1:17- 1:47 • The fight scene is in slow mo which shows the movements clearly and highlights the facial expressions of the man at the ending when he is being pinned to the floor. This fight scene creates excitement for the viewer as they can see that the rest of the film is going to be high energy and contain aspects which will create adrenaline like surprise, suspense and excitement. Violence is a key aspect of thrillers. • Although the main character Marla seems like she has a likeable personality especially when she says, ‘Im not a lamb, I am a fucking lioness.’ This makes her seem like a strong powerful woman and so she is very likeable. Having a likeable lead in a film is a key theme in thrillers as it means the viewer stays interested in the film. • The opening sequence ends on the line, ‘she has kidnapped my mother.’ This is a huge clifhanger which would cause people to want to keep watching the film. This is a common technique used in thrillers to add suspense for the viewer.
How is genre shown in this opening scene? • A stereotypical plot for thrillers are where the protagonist is given a problem and they either have to escape, complete a mission or solve a problem. It appears that the film is about Marla illegally stealing money from old people which is not something a stereotypical protagonist would do. However, because she did the voice over at the beginning it seems like she is the lead in the play which could mean that she is actually the protagonist and she hasn’t done anything bad and just needs to defend herself or the film could be about her trying to cover up the fact she has stolen money. • The music in the background of the voice over is very upbeat which creates excitement for the viewer. This shows them that the film they are going to watch will give them adrenaline.
How are we introduced to the main character? Watch until 1:13 • In this scene we are introduced to Marla Greyson who does a VoiceOver over a montage of videos. She is very pessimistic about people saying, ‘you think you’re good people…you’re not good people.’ This suggests that she has a negative look on life which usually is the cause of violence from people. • She is using direct address by saying ‘you’. This makes it feel like a personal attack on the viewer when she is addressing it to them. This makes her seem like the antagonist in the story so it appears that we aren’t on Marlas side.
How are we introduced to the main character? We then see a wide shot of the court room. This tells us that Marla’s Job is in court presumably as a lawyer. The man is describing how she has put his mother in a nursing home and then is selling her things and taking the proceeds for herself. This makes her seem like the antagonist of the film and the viewer is inclined to side with the man as it seems that he is in the right. In the final scene in court we see a close up shot of a woman. Her head is faced away from the camera and then she slowly turns her head. This is the first time we see the characters face and put a face to the VoiceOver. Thrillers usually feature lots of shots with close ups of the protagonist which hints that she could be the protagonist. It is difficult to tell if Marla is a protagonist or antagonist in this film which creates suspense and mystery for the viewer. Thrillers sometimes contain protagonists who are an anti-hero but have good intentions.
This image is shown when Marla is giving her voice over. This close up shot shows her facial expressions very clearly which shows her confused look. This suggests she could have a condition like Alzheimers. • Alternatively, she could have been put in a nursing home by Marla and could be confused as to why she is there. • The close up also makes the viewer question if this person is the person doing the voice over as she has a shot reverse shot of her face and her back. We see a dolly shot of her back and then a close up shot and a medium shot on her face which suggests she may be Marla as she has lots of screen time suggesting she is important. These initial shots in the montage at the very start of the film set the mood for the film as they are the first impression the viewer gets. The shots all show medication. As it is at the start of the film we have no context to tell us why there is medication but we can tell it important due to the multiple shots that show medication and also the long takes which connote importance to the narrative. There must be a reason that the director chose to put that as the first scene so it must be important to the story. There is then some shots of the inside of an old peoples home. This implies that the film will take place in or be related to an old peoples home. Older people are seen as more vulnerable so we can assume that Marla will be taking money from all older people who don’t have the power to say no and can be manipulated by people more easily. The camera movement is tracking with wide shots.
This is Marla’s dialogue during the VoiceOver: ‘You think you're good people, you’re not good people. Trust me there’s no such thing as good people. I used to be like you thinking that working hard and playing fair would lead to success and happiness it doesn’t. Playing fair is a joke made by rich people to keep the rest of us poor. And i’ve been poor. It doesn’t agree with me Cause there’s two types of people in this world. The people who take and those getting took. Predators and prey. Lions and lambs. My name is Marla Greyson. And i’m not a lamb I am a fucking lioness.’ • This text begins by taking a pessimistic view which is negatively looking at other people. • She is suggesting a very socialist view on life that everyone should be equal and the rich shouldn’t be above working class people just because they have money. • She then says that there are the people who take and the people getting took. She can clearly see that her job is taking money which is causing others to suffer. • She ends her speech with her saying she is powerful which shows that she is a confident and wants to be successful but she clearly will do anything to get what she wants
Was this a successful opening sequence? Having watched the film Marla is not the antagonist. The antagonist is another man. This man is not shown at all through the opening sequence. The plot is very complex and intricate which is not displayed in this opening scene. From watching the opening sequence we have only been given a tiny bit of information which barely hints at the narrative which Is far more complex. This doesn’t give the viewer much of an idea of what they are going to watch so could finish the film and It be far from what they wanted to watch. Although the opening is only a tiny part of the plot it is a good opening because it shows the genre successfully. The fight sequence is exciting and sets the tone for the rest of the film so we know there is going to be lots of exciting moments. We are left on a cliff hanger that Marla has kidnapped this mans mother. This creates tension and anticipation which is ideal for a thriller because the viewer feels tense and excited to know what happens. I think that the voice over was successful as it introduced the character of Marla which gives the viewer context.
