Identity analysis (thriller and mystery genre)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umFAoepyWjM until 2 mins 

The film Identity was produced in 2003 by writer Michael Cooney and directed by James Mangold. The budget for the film was 28 million US dollars. The main actors in the film were John Cusack, Ray Liotta and Amanda Peet. The film is both a mystery and thriller genre. The age rating for this film is 15 which suggests that the film is directed to people over 15 years of age so the target audience is 15 years and older. With both males and females being the main characters could imply that the target audience is both females and males.

The opening to the film starts with the production companies for example Columbia picture which is the same as The Da Vinvi Code this could be highlighted as a similarity between mystery and thriller films. When Columbia Pictures shows on the screen it is in white font and is presented on a black background which makes it stand out and also the I in Columbia pictures is on the screen for longer which reflects the title of the film and therefore shows its importance.

The first shot is a close up of a cassette which looks like it is from a hospital of some sort because it says patient and the session it is. Pathetic Fallacy is also used in this shot because the sound of thunder is in the background and the flashes of light from the lightning is reflected on the cassette. The use of thunder and lightning reflects the mood of the scene and maybe even the overall film. This could mean that the film involves death because thunder and lightning is normally associated with horror films and killings. The use of cassette tapes suggests it might be set in the past because cassette aren’t so common within today’s age.

The next shot is of the same record player but involves a pan of the camera turning the shot from a high angle shot into a level shot. This shows the importance of the tape because the background is unclear even when the camera moves showing it is the main item in the shot. Mystery is being created because the audience is wondering what the tape has to do with the film and why it is so important. After this a hand is introduced into the shot and rewinds or fast forwards the tape and when this happens there is a flash of different shots showing information about the tape, a photo that may be the person on the tape and some children’s drawings with red pencil showing blood. The technique used is a montage of shots which creates suspense and confusion for the audience because the shots aren’t on the screen long enough for the audience to get all of the information.

The shot after this pans over the children’s drawings the drawings look like people have been killed because a red pencil has been used to colour in the blood. These drawings could reflect the film or even show the future of the film.

After that there is a pan down showing more drawings of what looks like a family because there are words like mum written around them. These drawing could also say something about the film or person who is I the film. The next shot is a close up of the word mom which shows its importance to the audience.

There is then a mid close up of the record player and the drawing which shows there is a link between them or the person on the cassette may have drawn them. There are a lot of questions created by the audience which means that confusion is being created as well as mystery. Within these shots the names of the actors are being shown on the screen in white writing which makes it stand out on the background.

The next shot involves a pan to the right over what looks like criminal files, this emphasises the fact that the film is a mystery and thriller. The camera then moves to a over the shoulder shot looking over who could be a main characters shoulder at the files. This could suggest that this character could be a detective or a doctor of some sort.

Within the next couple of shots the camera gets closer to the file focusing on important information like the name of the criminal, the photos and the reason why they were jailed. The camera focuses and zooms in to see just single words which highlight their importance.

A mid close up of the persons face is the next shot the guy is wearing glasses which could highlight his intelligence and the knowledge he may have. He is squinting so would suggest that he is concentrating on something of something is confusing him. Also he is positioned on the right side of the shot which allows the title of the film to be introduced on the right. The fact that the title and his face is in the same shot suggests that he may play a big part in the film.

The next couple of shots go back to the files but this time focuses on their faces in particular which emphasises their relevance to the storyline and film. Also the repetition of the files further reinforces the fact that the film is a mystery and thriller.

There is then a low angle shot of the male character showing what power he might have so he might be a detective who is very high up in the ranks or he might just be very well respected within his field, this further gives clues to what the film is about because it is now more obvious that a crime is involved. An aspect of mise-en-scene which is shown in this shot is costumes because he is wearing a suit and tie which further implies that he is a detective or works in law. The camera slowly zooms into his face throughout the duration of this shot.

There is then a mid close up of a news paper clipping which shows an incident which could have been solved by him or could be related to the case files he is looking through during this scene. Throughout this whole scene there is no loud music but there is a soft music in the background with the tape playing over the top, these both contradict each other because the tape involves much action through words yet the music is calm.

After this there is an extreme close up of the title of the newspaper clipping further showing its importance to the audience. This is another clue to who the main characters might be and what else is going to happen.  The camera pans across the title showing what is says almost like it is from the characters point of view reading it this creates a connection with the audience because it is like they are reading it with the character.  There is then a shot of the picture in the newspaper showing a boy at this point the audience might have made a connection between the voice on the tape and the boy in the car which therefore highlights his importance. The following shot just show important information on the files which relates to the incident, the location and foster agencies which would suggest the boy was orphaned at a young age, again giving clues  about the film.

There is then a mid shot of the man leaning on a desk with the window in the background looking through those files. The camera then starts to slowly zoom in towards the man’s face showing his reaction to the tape. There is use of low lighting in this scene to create suspense and is almost lets the audience know that this is the opening to the film and want the audience to focus on the tape more than the surroundings in the room.