Thuvaaragan Kuruparan

Analysis of a thriller opening sequence - Salt

In the opening scene, Evelyn Salt in locked up in a small dark room and we only see her once the
policemen opened the door, when we do see her, she is handcuffed, and already bruised up and
battered as if she has already been tortured before. After she is released out of the room and put to
the floor she consistently repeats the sentence I am not a spy, I am not a spy in a helpless tone
which shows that she is scared and she doesnt want to get hurt but also, she doesnt want to reveal
who she really is. She is then tortured more as the policemen think she is lying, so some sort of pipe
is inserted into her mouth and she is forced to drink gasoline. Evelyn Salt then chokes over the
gasoline which shows that she suffers more and they are convinced she is lying, and then the first
part of the opening scene fades out. In the second part of the opening scene, Salt is then released
and she is guided towards the CIA by Korean policemen in exchange for a Korean prisoner. As this is
during the day, her facial features are much clearer and you can see many bruises and cuts all
around her face and body. She is then collected by her fellow colleagues and also with them, her
boyfriend who is a well-known arachnologist (Scientific study of spiders). This then ends and the
beginning of the film starts to begin.
The setting of the film is in a North Korean prison, and the film begins with the protagonist, CIA
agent Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) being locked up, held and tortured as she refuses to reveal her true
identity. Although the setting is very dark, it is obvious that she has been held in some sort of prison
or prisoner based camp as she is released from a dark room, and also the group of men are in police
uniform. As they released her from the room, the policemen tied her up to the ground and started
to insert a pipe in her mouth, which showed that she was going to be tortured even more, and filled
the pipe with gasoline for her to suffer. At this point, the setting still isnt visible and clear, and the
only thing visible is the grey ceiling and a few windows, which I assume that it would be some sort of
underground prison. Evelyn Salt is then released as part of a prisoner exchange and is then in the
same hands of the CIA. It was then clear that this was set in a prison as she walks out of the prison
entrance and then towards a long bridge where the CIA are waiting for her and exchanging both
prisoners. Many types of shots are used in the opening scene such as; close up shots to view the
subjects face in more detail and show the detail of the blood and bruises. Long shots to show the
whole setting and where they are placed. This can also show status and who is dominating who as it
shows that Salt is being put to the ground by three policemen which shows that she is more
vulnerable towards them. Over the shoulder shot is used when they open the prison doors and you
see Salt in the corner of the room.

The lighting of the film is very dark and the surroundings are hardly visible as you can mostly see just
the faces of the people within the scene. This could reflect on the atmosphere within the scene, as
she is in a prison, she is being tortured and maybe to show that its hidden and not in the open so
that everyone can see. Many enigmas are created which makes us wonder and want to watch the
rest of the film for us to understand the whole plot. For example, the audience are curious to know
who Evelyn Salt really is, if she is lying or not. Or who she has been captured by and why, was there a
main reason to why she has being tortured that much etc. We then find out later in the movie that
she used to be a Russian spy and now works for the CIA, but then help the Russians instead of the
Americans and turns against the Americans. But then she finds out she is doing wrong and that the
Russians are the bad guys in the movie. As the movie continues, this also questions whether she is
the protagonist or the antagonist.