Thriller Research - Essays Continued (Ronin)

By Danielle Godwin

The next shot is a pan across Paris from a beautiful church dome to dark dingy streets. This has been used to show the contrast between `heaven` and `hell` in Paris. The shot focuses on the church before the pan, which shows it lit up. This links back to idea of religion which suggests that Robert De Niros character is empowered by his religion when he walks in to similar lighting a few seconds later. The light also suggests that he is good however, because darkness surrounds him, the audience is unsure of whether he is good or bad. The idea of Paris doesnt fit with the ancient Japanese culture, which has just been introduced to the audience. This supports the idea that this is a film of contrast but also suggests that the ideas presented in ancient Japan, at the beginning, are relatable to people of any country in the world. The images shown do not portray the stereotypical idea of Paris, for example, the City of Love which is ironic because the `Ronin` are associated with death because the title was written in black in the previous shot. However, a stereotypical idea that is used is that Paris is a place of relaxation, which is shown through the pan, which does reassure the audience slightly. There is no editing in this section, which slows the pace and creates a calm atmosphere. On the other hand, the audience still feels uneasy because the atmosphere is not positive as the environment around the protagonist is very abandoned and eerie. He seems very small on screen, which suggests that he is either good at camouflage or that he is a small part of a big corporation. This makes him more intriguing to the audience because he is anonymous. These images are, once more accompanied by drums. There are many interpretations of the drums such as: they are his footsteps, they are battle drums or that they are a heartbeat. If it is his footsteps, they are non-diagetic and are used to make the audience feel closer to him which is necessary because the story is told from his point of view. This makes the audience feel reassured because the protagonist also appears to be nervous, which strengthens the relationship between the audience and the protagonist. However, the audience are made to feel uneasy when they are shown, through a motivated cut, that the protagonist is looking at a woman because suggests that she is his target. This implies that she is going to be the protagonists victim, which challenges the audiences ideology because they disagree with violence and crime. On the other hand, if the drums are supposed to be a battle drum, the audience expects either physical or psychological fighting. Finally, if the drums are used to represent a heartbeat, it raises the question of whose heartbeat it is. It may be the protagonists, which reassures the audience because they can hear that he is just as nervous as they are. However, it may be the audiences heartbeat, which suggests how the audience should be feeling. It then cuts to a tracking shot of the protagonist walking down the stairs. The cut has been used to show another side of the protagonist, which suggests that he is not what he appears to be. The tracking shot reveals the protagonists face, which reassures the audience as it allows the audience to connect with him but also suggests that he is more open towards them. However, the audience appears to be watching him, which suggests a level of distrust, which unnerves the audience. The graffiti on the wall behind him also links back to the idea of making a mark, which was introduced in the title shot, which may suggest that the protagonist wants to make his own mark so that he will not be forgotten. The protagonists costume hides his identity, which makes him seem reserved or protective of himself. This contradicts the idea that he is linked to religion, as there is no sign to imply that he is religious. His hat shadows his eyes, which distances the audience and suggests that he is protective or unpredictable. His shirt and tie indicate that he is a businessman and the plain, beige coat reveals that he is a plain, simple person or that he can easily blend in to the background. The colour beige also makes the character ambiguous, as the audience are unsure of whether the protagonist is good or evil. The bars on the window behind the protagonist are closer to centre frame than he is. This indicates that crime and violence is all around the protagonist, which contradicts the stereotypical ideas of Paris. The protagonist then moves away from the camera and in to the shadows. This suggests that he doesnt trust the audience or that he wants to look like he is alone.

This distances the audience from him and makes the protagonist appear more unpredictable. The lack of light also implies that the audience shouldnt trust the protagonist because he has evil intentions. This is done without editing so that the audience has no choice but to watch him because he is the only character on screen. This makes the audience connect with the protagonist because he is the most well-known to the audience. However, we then cut to a close-up of his face which bridges the divide created between the audience and the protagonist. He is half in light and half in the dark which implies that he is ambiguous. However, when he steps in to the light it indicates that there is more good in him than bad which contradicts what he is doing because he is watching the girl. This action is also accompanied by the music, which mimics his emotions. The music is highpitched which suggests that the protagonist is happy, which worries the audience because he is looking at the woman, which suggests that he has evil intentions. This challenges the audiences ideology about violence and crime, which distances them from the protagonist because they do not want to be near someone who they believe may be a psychopath. This accompanied by the drums but they are less dominant now. This suggests that the protagonist is preparing himself for something which fits with the idea that the protagonist is nervous or excited. The drums arent loud which suggests that the protagonist is very controlled. This unnerves the audience because although we can tell that he is nervous: he is able to completely control his emotions, which can make him seem cold or detached. A motivated cut has then been used to reveal what the protagonist is looking at. This introduces the idea of spying or watching which implies a level of distrust. The van is shown from a high angled point of view shot, which suggests that we are superior to the van and the protagonist. The POV shot also suggests that the audience is very loyal to him and because the audience is behind the protagonist; it suggests that we are supporting him as if they were his friend or companion. The wall is centre frame, which puts a physical barrier between the protagonist and the action below. However, the angle of the wall draws the audiences eyes to the van, which emphasises how important it is. The street is better lit than the protagonist, which suggests that the street is more positive or a safer place, which is ironic because the protagonist is staring at the woman, which implies that she is the victim. This is supported by the weather, which is damp and wet, which indicates a subdued or ominous atmosphere. The van moves while the protagonist remains still, which makes the audience focus on the van because that is what the protagonist is doing. This reiterates the idea that the van is very important and that the audience is just a follower of the protagonist. The van is black, which has connotations of death and destruction which implies that the people inside the van are also linked with death and destruction.

It then cuts to a mid-shot of a woman getting out of the van. The cut identifies that she is an important character because the focus of the shot becomes her. The mid-shot distances her from the audience so they dont connect with her. The woman has blond hair, which indicates that she is innocent, suggesting that she is very vulnerable. However, because she seen through the car window, there is a barrier between her and the audience, which means that they cannot connect with her or her vulnerability. But when the camera starts to track her, the barrier is removed which allows the audience to connect with her, but also makes her more vulnerable. The man in the van behind her is in shadow. This implies that the woman has a secretive life. It also suggests that the man is ominous and that he has evil intentions. This is accompanied by the mournful, slow-paced music that was used when the protagonist was walking down the steps, revealing that the audience and the protagonist are still waiting for something to happen. The woman is wearing black clothes, suggesting that she is associated with death or possibly grief. This makes her seem less vulnerable because she appears to be dangerous and also associates her with the van and the man inside it. The camera tracks the blond-haired lady, which implies that someone, possibly the protagonist, is following her. This worries the audience because this makes her seem very vulnerable because it is the stereotypical shot before someone is attacked. This tracking shot also questions the protagonists intentions because there is the possibility that the protagonist is following the blond-haired lady because he was staring at her earlier on in the extract. She walks in to a quiet bar, which makes the audience anxious because she is making herself even more vulnerable because there are less people around to help her if she needs it. However, the location is also very unconventional for where the events take place. This suggests that in the film, appearances can be deceptive. Only her hair and the inside of the bar are lit which indicates that she will safe in the bar. However, this is contradicted by the tracking shot because it suggests that she is either walking in to a trap or that she cant escape. Then a cutaway shot of the protagonist has been used to reveal that he is not the one stalking the blond-haired lady. This shocks the audience because it introduces the idea that there is someone else stalking the woman and that the protagonist is only there to help her. This shot is accompanied by the sound of cymbals, which mirror his emotions of worry and panic. Once inside the bar, the tracking continues to imply that there is someone in the bar who is watching her. This causes panic in the audience, which is increased by the point-of-view shot as it makes the audience feel as if there is more danger around them. However, when the blond-haired lady gets behind the bar, the audience is reassured as the bar acts like a barrier between her and the danger. Then a tracking shot has been used to reveal a man who may be the antagonist because he is also staring at the blond-haired lady. The tracking shot has been used to make the woman look like she is the smoking mans target. It also implies that the woman is totally isolated because no-one, except the audience, is looking at her which makes her even more vulnerable because the other characters dont recognise the danger and the audience cannot help her. The tracking makes this new character closest to the audience so that he dominates the shot. This makes him appear powerful and controlling. However, we dont connect with him because he never looks at the camera. The music increases in volume, indicating that danger is present and that things are going to get worse for the blond-haired woman. The man is wearing a grey shirt with a black jacket, implying that he may be evil because the colour black has connotations of death and destruction. On the other hand, the grey may imply grief or sorrow. This outfit links the man to the blond-haired lady but the audience do not yet know why they are linked, which worries them. This shot is followed by a cutaway shot of the protagonist so that the audience dont lose focus of who is the most important character. However, this shot also emphasises the distance between the blond-haired lady and the protagonist, which worries the audience because if the protagonist is meant to save her or if the lady needs help, he is too far away to be of any assistance.

It then cuts to low angle, long shot of the protagonist walking down the stairs. This is ironic because the low angle shot should emphasise the protagonists power. However, it shows his vulnerability and lack of power. The use of the long shot distances the audience from him so that they question his motives again. This shot is also very symbolic because the church is at the top of the frame and he is walking down and away from it, which suggests that he is walking in to hell. Then a cutaway shot has been used to reveal another man who is entering the bar. A tracking shot has been used which, along with his dark clothing, indicates that he is linked with the woman and the other man in the bar. He is a dominant figure as he blocks out the light, which suggests that he has evil intentions. The tracking allows the audience to follow the man in to the bar which makes them part of the action. This could either make the audience feel welcome or it could make them feel vulnerable. As the woman pours this new man a drink, the sound of cymbals has been used to suggest danger. This is supported by the positioning of the other man, who is centre frame, who is smoking next to a `NO SMOKING` sign. This suggests that he is a rebellious character. There is a matched cut between two close-ups of the two men. This suggests that the two men are either working together or that there is some sort of challenge being made. This is followed by a matched cut to the woman, in which she doesnt look up from pouring the drink. This suggests that she is oblivious to what is going on around her, which increases her vulnerability. Then we cut to the protagonist who is stood on the stairs by the restaurant. The cut reminds the audience that the protagonist is still there watching, which reassures the audience because he is closer to the woman if she needs help. There is a motivated cut which reveals that the protagonist is once again looking at the woman. The motivated cut makes the woman appear to be the protagonists target. This makes the audience question his motives because they dont know whether or not to trust him. The curtains around the woman isolate her and seem to indicate that she is the target, which makes the audience believe that the protagonist is actually evil because he is willing to kill a woman for no apparent reason, which totally disagrees with the audiences ideology. The bars in front of the window also imply that she is trapped and that she cannot escape. The light goes off while the protagonist is watching the woman, which may suggest a number of things. For example, it may indicate that the womans time is up, it may imply that her life is about to end or that the protagonists patience is running out. A tracking shot is used as the protagonist walks further down in to the streets, which reveals that he is walking further in to hell. The tracking shot implies that the audience is following the protagonist, which suggests that we are one of his friends. This is contradicted by the music as there are no drums and the string instruments create a less sorrowful atmosphere, which lifts the mood of the film. The lack of drums reduces the tension, indicating that the protagonist may be there to help or protect the woman and not to harm her after all. The sound of metal reverberating also mirrors his emotions, which suggest realisation, as if a plan has come together in his mind. The POV shot and the pan allow the audience to be involved in the protagonists plan, which makes the audience feel like they are one of his friends or comrades. There is no editing which makes it very slow paced. This allows the protagonist to dominate the camera, which supports the idea that he will catalyse the action to come. It then cuts to a close-up of the gun in his hand. The cut makes the introduction of the gun seem very sudden so that its presence surprises the audience, which makes them distrust the protagonist because they feel threatened. However, because the close-up is only of his hand, it implies that the gun isnt personal to him and that he is not completely involved in the violence that surrounds him. There is a high-angle shot, which tracks the gun. This suggests that violence is dominant because the camera tracks the gun and not the protagonist. Finally there is a low-angle shot of him moving away from the gun. This shot is at the level of the gun, which supports the idea that violence is dominant, however, the protagonist is taller than the audience and the gun. This is ironic because he is now superior without the gun when he should feel inferior without the gun. This implies that he does not agree with violence and that its presence makes him uneasy. He then walks away in to the light, which reassures the audience because it seems to imply that

he does have good intentions.

There is then a matched cut from outside to the inside of the bar, which changes the scene but also reveals how different the protagonist is. It also indicates that all of the events we have seen are related to each other. The camera trolleys toward the man wearing the beanie hat because the audience is most concerned about him because they know the least about him. The trolleying is also very slow because this mirrors that he is a calm and controlled person. This shot also focuses on him to suggest that he will be one our main characters because he dominates the frame, therefore, he will dominate the action. There is then a motivated cut of the protagonist, which implies that he is the catalyst for all of the action to come. This is followed by a layered shot of the smoking guy in the background, the barman in the mid-ground and the blond-haired lady in the foreground. The focus changes from background to mid-ground to foreground to indicate that the audience should look at each character because they will all be important later on in the film. This reveals that the barman is more important that the audience first thought. Each person has equal focus to suggest that they are all equal. All three are looking at De Niros character, implying that he is very vulnerable. It also indicates that all the other characters are a team. However, this is contradicted by the focus changing because it suggests that there are small divisions between them. A matched cut takes us to a POV shot, implying that the audience is a person in the bar. This makes the audience feel more involved and increases the feeling of threat, as there are no barriers to protect the audience. They are watching all the characters, except the protagonist, from just behind all the other characters, which suggests that the audience should support them. The mise-en-scene supports the division between the protagonist and everyone else because they are wearing black while he is wearing brown. This is accompanied by silence because it mirrors the emotions of all the characters: nobody knows how to feel. After this, a pan reveals that both the barman and the old lady are watching the protagonist while the blond-haired lady and the man with the beanie hat are not. This is ironic because for the rest of the extract it has been the blond-haired lady and the man with the beanie hat who has been obsessed with watching one another, which is significant because it indicates that something more important is happening that will include both the blond-haired lady and the man with the beanie hat. This is accompanied by the sound of the phone ringing, suggesting alarm and danger while also moving the action onwards. This is also the cue for the music to come back, which tells the audience how the characters are feeling about this interruption. It is a low rumbling sound, which mirrors the protagonists emotions of anxiety and worry. Tracking is then used to make the audience feel like they are supporting the protagonist and not just watching him. This is accompanied by high-pitched music implying that the protagonist is worried about the barman watching him because the sound suggests panic or fear. There is then a motivated cut, which reveals that the barman is watching the protagonist. This supports the idea of spying and increases the audiences unease. This then cuts to a POV shot, from the protagonists point of view, which makes the audience feel closer to the protagonist because they are seeing the action through his eyes. This makes the audience empathise with the protagonist and helps them understand the reasons for his actions. The glass door puts a barrier between the two men, indicating that De Niros character is trying to hide what he is doing, making him seem secretive and suspicious. The closing of the bathroom door initiates a cut to the rest of the bar, which reiterates how distanced he is from everyone else. The audience is shown everyone else through the reflection of a mirror. This is very clever because it supports the idea that appearances are deceptive and these people may not be what they seem to be. As the audience is looking in the mirror, the camera tracks the blond-haired lady as the smoking man appears in the foreground of the frame. This implies that he is still watching her, suggesting that she is still very vulnerable, and because he has not looked at the audience; the audience do not connect with him so they dont trust him because he cannot meet their eye.

At this time, the music also increases in volume and pitch, implying that the danger has grown. This is caused by extra instruments playing which echoes the idea that the people in the bar are ganging up on the protagonist, which makes him seem more vulnerable. There is then a motivated cut to reveal that the blond-haired woman is still the smoking mans target, revealing that his motives are fixed and that he is unlikely to move away from those motives. This mid to close-up shot of her makes her seem dominant because she in the foreground, however, because the man with the beanie hat is centre frame, it suggests that she is not as strong as she appears. This is followed by a tracking shot of the gun, which implies that violence is dominant. This shocks the audience as it challenges all stereotypes while also making the blond-haired lady look less vulnerable. This is supported by her positioning in the frame, as she now also centre frame, which implies that her power has grown. This is accompanied by the sound of drums, which echo the idea of battle. This implies that a fight is about the happen. There is then a motivated cut of the protagonist walking back in to the bar. This implies that the protagonist is now the victim and that the other three have been working together. This supports the idea that he was protecting himself earlier on in the extract. Finally, there is a mid-shot of the protagonist which reveals how isolated he is, which makes him more vulnerable. From Ronin, I would use the matched cuts between characters to reveal their relationship. However, I would not use shots the shows the reflection of the mirror because it will be hard to get the right angle but I will be filming outside so there will not be any mirrors around.