Summary
For psychological crime thrillers, stock settings were not anything out of the ordinary or generally precise, in fact they seemed to be what would appear normal. This in itself is specific to the genre however as the genre appears to include lots of realism and verisimilitude so to have settings that are recognisable and realistic not only provide anchorage but also conform to the genre. Physiological crime thrillers tend to be grounded in reality somehow so it only makes sense for the setting to conform to that aspect. The best example for this would have to be ‘The Departed’ opening as it included settings such as garages and cafes, which are both everyday places that everyone knows and can relate to. The main ways they create enigma and interest is through the generally low key lighting.
Certain stock characters were extremely prominent in all extracts. The two stock characters that overpowered the rest though were heroes and villains. The heroes tend to be linked to police or detective work and also tend to start off at the bottom of the league and end coming out on top. An example of this would be Clarice Starling in ‘Silence of the lambs’, as in the opening of the film she is told what to do by another officer but at the end of the film she resolves the case overall. The heroes do tend to have some kind of weakness that can bring them down however. Clarice Starling has her father’s death, Bruce Wayne has his parent’s death and Somerset from ‘Se7en’ finds it hard to connect with people. Villains however are very mysterious and tend to be hidden away. This is done through the use of a mask prop in ‘The Dark Knight’ opening and in ‘Se7en’ the opening titles tease the villain through the use of fast paced editing and extreme close ups. This is because one of the genres common plot devices is finding out exactly who the villain is.
Themes in psychological tend to be either death, crime, madness or the unknown. This is usually to create enigma and also grounds the genre as they are all very serious and thought provoking themes. For example the killer in ‘Se7en’ is unknown for the majority of the film, ‘The Departed’ opening focuses on a crime lord and his doings of death and manipulation, and some prominent characters in ‘Silence of the lambs’ are most definitely insane.
In terms of narrative, this genre tends to open up with the disequilibrium straight away, whether it be a murder or just any crime, and then the rest concentrates on chasing the culprit of the crime and bringing them to justice. For example in ‘The Dark Knight’ the opening is a bank heist which the villain leads and then the rest of the film focuses on the hero chasing down the villain.
Enigma is created particularly through low key lighting, extreme close ups and props in this genre. Enigma plays a big part also in the narrative as the unknown is a key theme and is often the drives the narrative forward for the resolve of enigma. ‘Se7en’ is yet again a prime example of this.
Camera shots tend to focus on the enigmatic aspect of the genre, with extreme close ups on certain props or to tease something so that even more enigma is created. Close ups allow the audience to see a characters facial features to signify the atmosphere or emotion, like in ‘Se7en’ there is a close up on one of the detectives faces to see his concern before the audience sees the crime scene.
Props are often key to the plot and also link to the iconography of the genre. Weapons are often used, such as guns in ‘The Dark Knight’ so that a crime can be committed and disequilibrium can occur. Props can also signify aspects of a character like in ‘Now you see me’ with the cards which not only creates enigma but also signifies the characters lifestyle and career.
