The film Inception can be classed as a thriller because it follows the conventions that make up the typical Thriller genre. Some examples of these conventions are; micro elements combine in a build-up of suspense, common themes of identity and seeing and a narrative that presents ordinary situations in which extraordinary events occur.
The use of editing in this film effectively creates suspense at many points. There is a fair amount of editing in the film as it is supposed to look at many points like the world the characters have created it falling apart. This is common within the film. This happens when they are sitting in the café and the buildings around them start to shatter alongside the pavements and the cafe. Also shown when they wash up in Cobb’s subconscious we see the buildings he and Mal made crumbling and deteriorating into the sea.
Cinematography is used to create suspense in various parts of the movie. When Arthur is fighting Fischer’s security in the hotel and the hotel corridor we start the scene with a tracking shot following Arthur down the corridor. Then when the car Yusuf is driving in the other dream flips, creating zero gravity for Arthur we see the room spin and the camera following, tipping and rotating sometimes to add to the disorientation the audience are already feeling. At other points in the film the cinematography isn’t as extravagant, but has the same effect in relation to suspense. The scene in which Ariadne bends the city, as you see the city bending and coming towards you, an over shoulder shot is used. This creates suspense as you can’t see the characters facial reactions to what is happening and therefore don’t know if it is good or bad until the camera switches to a tracking shot.
Sound in Inception creates suspense successfully due to the dramatic effect the chosen music has against the clip. The music used in the kick scene and the build-up is a very good example. For the build-up when Fischer is at his father’s death bed and tension is rising as to whether their plan will actually work the music is quiet but gradually gets louder and more dramatic, when Eaves presses the button for the explosives the music gets considerably louder and merges into the iconic music that is related to the film. This effectively creates suspense against the scene as it gets louder and more dramatic and creates a fast pace within the scene as if time is running out.
The Mise En Scene in this film didn’t specifically link to thriller, as the objects and costumes are considerably ordinary. The costumes used within the film related to the scene the characters were placed in. When on the plane they are dressed casually, when in the car very much the same clothing as the plane, when in the hotel they all dressed smartly and when in the mountains they all dressed in ski outfits. These outfits didn’t draw attention and the ski outfits even merged well with the scenery creating slight invisibility. The props used in this film were also very ordinary the only ones that were even remotely out of the ordinary were the characters totems, these being for Cobb a small spinning top, for Ariadne a chess piece and for Arthur a loaded die. The only other piece of prop that was out of the ordinary was the machine the characters used to go into the dreams.
In combining all these micro elements together we create the suspense needed within this film to be able to call it a stereotypical thriller.
In Inception the world of the dream is made by the characters and in many cases these ordinary places are where extraordinary things happen. In the scene in which Ariadne is walking around the city of Paris with Cobb we see her come to a main round and seemingly create a bridge from nothing. Then a few minutes later she is standing under a large bridge with Cobb. She pulls two mirrors to face each other and touches a mirror and it shatters creating what the mirror showed. Another example of ordinary situations in which extraordinary things happen is when Cobb and Ariadne are driving down a main road and out of no-where a freight train appears pushing out of its way all the cars and then disappears.
The theme of identity is common within Inception. Examples of this are mistaken identity and doubling. Examples of mistaken identity are only within the dream world. Saito is walking through the hotel and spots Browning thinking it is Eames he starts to talk to him and then spots the real Eames behind him and quickly apologizes. This generally links to doubling as we see Eames at a few occasions doubling as someone else to retrieve information. At one point he doubles as Browning to try and get information about Fischer and his father’s relationship. In the hotel Eames also poses as a woman at the bar with Fischer. In doing this, he steals Fischer’s wallet and creates trust between Fischer and Cobb.
At various parts in the film we see examples of optical illusions. In one scene Arthur takes Ariadne into the dream world and teaches her about illusions, for example the Penrose Stairs. This staircase is used twice within the film as a paradox. The first use is when Arthur is showing Ariadne how the stairs work and how they can be used to their advantage. The second time they are used is when Arthur is trying to run away from the security that are after him and uses them to kill the man after him by running around the stairs and then pushing the man off the top. Reflections are also used within the film, but as sort of flash backs or repeated scenes. There are many examples of these such as when his wife jumps out of the window. This is shown in many ways throughout the film as small clips, like the glass breaking, the curtain floating in the wind, the shoe falling off the window sill. Another repeated scene is of Cobbs children playing. This scene links back to the beginning when he is told he has to leave the country straight away and you see a point of view shot of him looking towards his children and then them running away. This shot is used a few times within the film such as in the hotel and in his and Mals world as well as at the end when he comes back home.
No comments:
Post a Comment