Analysing an Opening Sequence - Sin City

Analysing an opening sequence

Sin City (Miller, 2005)

Genre - The film Sin City is situated in the noir genre although it has been classified as neo-noir. This is due to the film being mainly shot in black and white although there are some fantastic effects used to pick out certain colours which stand out above the rest. It includes all the distinctive characters and themes you would expect to see in a film noir, starting off with the slow jazz music slowly playing right from the start of the movie. The music is then complimented by the site of the lady in the red dress, a typical character in all film noirs. In walks the classic good-with-the-ladies male, and instantly the lady finds some attraction to him. These opening few seconds are what you expect to see in any film noir with narration over the top. Narration is another typical aspect of film noir and the voice is one of a males speaking very husky describing what he sees and hears. He talks over footage of the Sin City landscape, which is shown to be very dark and almost mysterious. It all seems very normal with the classic storyline of man meets woman and she instantly falls in love, but in Sin City there is a twist when he actually kills the woman after saying he loves her. This is what makes Sin City so unique as you don't really know what is going to happen next.

Film Language - The mise-en-scène of the opening sequence to Sin City is standard in many Film noirs. The scenery is shown as black and white although it seems very unrealistic as the shadows and light are strengthened so there are bairly any greys involved in the surroundings. The landscape is post-20st century with a couple skyscrapers and many flats along a fairly narrow street. The camera shot is filmed from a tall building over looking the city so you can get a feel of what Sin City is like. The roof of the building is very open with the misty city below with areas lit up by street lamps. The costumes and props fit the genre and the century as there are very elegant suits and dresses being worn. The soundtrack is loosely played over the movie with no real rhythm to it but livens up when anything sexual is being said or done. The narration from the main character shows he is a very passionate man and knows how to seduce a woman as he talks about all her qualities in profound detail. He knows what to say to a woman to make her happy and he seems very open about his feelings towards her. This said he finishes off the sequence with a very cheeky line after he kills the lady, "I'll cash her check in the morning." The lady's beauty is emphasised with the outstanding colour of her dress and lips as everything is shown in black and white. There is also a time where he talks about her eyes and they glow green only for a second to draw attention to them.

Narrative - The narration in the opening sequence follows the main character at the start. You don't find out what his name is but you see his face and hear how he thinks. The narration from this character ends after he has killed the lady, the camera then zooms far out and Sin City appears. As usual, the narration in all film noirs, gives the audience and privileged view into the mind of the main character. It helps you find out how the character behaves and feels about certain things, e.g. the lady in the red dress. From the narration you discover he is passionate about woman and likes to pick out their every exquisite detail. He sounds like a decent guy when the narration commences but you eventually find out he is a killer which comes as quite a shock to the audience. The main character seems to be focused on the lady and does not take into account anything else, rain starts to pour and he does not change his mood or even realise it is there. Themes of love and also violence are created in this opening scene, which is odd as they are very seperate aspects. Love seems to be more dominant as it is shown throughout the opening sequence, even when he shoots her he says he love her. You see the love between them is strong even though they have bairly met. Tension isn't really created or maintained during this opening scene. The only real tension that may be created is when he kills the lady, this establishes a twist in the film and gets you hyped up for the rest of the movie.

Representation & Ideology - The social groups represented on screen include the idea of two young people falling in love. It shows a sense of the male's vast attraction to the lady as he has been watching her for a few days. This is also shown as the lady's lips and dress are revealed in colour to make them stand out, displaying how she shines above the rest. The killing shows how people can be something completely different to what they seem on the outside and switch between emotions instantly. You get a huge sense of mystery in the opening scene due to the surroundings as the street looks secretive as if nothing is what it seems. It is very common in film noirs to see the beautiful lady being approached by the male and how he seems so much smaller than her as he seems to be always chasing. Whereas in Sin City, you get the sense that the male is more in control as he makes her feel isolated by saying, "you're ready to face what you have to face, but you don't want to face it alone"

Media Audiences - The film Sin City is rated as a 18 due to the violence, swearing and sexual references throughout the film. Due to these explicit images the film is really aimed for anyone aged 18 to about 35 as after that the gore in the film may be deemed as unsuitable. Although the film may be rated 18 nowadays the general storyline would catch the eye of any teenager from about 15 years old. The preferred reading of Sin City is that people aren't always what they seem and may seem a nice person but on the inside they are something completely different. The murder in the film doesn't really seem very cruel as the character has been built up due to his kind comments. Audiences may see the murder as a shock and oppose of it as it may be deemed unnecessary. As a British teenager, i see this film opening as a brilliant use of effects and has a storyline that would entice me to watching more.

Institutional Context - Sin City has many main characters in the storyline, all being played by huge stars. Big names like; Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba and Clive Owen are a few of the hollywood stars being used to play the characters. At the time this movie was produced, they were already big names in the film industry so this would only attract more and more audiences to come and watch them in another big hit. The film was co-produced by Elizabeth Avellan, Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez and is based on the orignal novel, Sin City. This then gave the film an extra appeal as fans of the book would flood in to see if the film was anything like as good. The biggest names were prominent on the poster: Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba and Clive Owen. All the main characters are present in black and white with Sin City in bright red writing along the bottom. Advertising the big names on the poster helped attract more people to watch the film as they will have enjoyed watching these stars in other films.