Conventions of a Thriller

In our Media lessons we have learning about the different conventions of thrillers, and in every lesson we have identified that:

• There are extraordinary events happening in ordinary situations
• A protagonist who is systematically, disempowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by an antagonist
• There is a complex narrative structure, with false paths, clues and resolutions
• A narrative pattern of establishing enigmas which the viewer expects to be resolved
• The protagonist has a flaw that is exploited by the antagonist
• There is a crime at the core of the narrative which is often murder but not always
• There are themes of Identity, Mirroring and Voyeurism
• There is often a scene near the end of the film in which the protagonist is in peril

• Jeopardy and violent confrontations are standard plot elements
• Time is an enemy- race against time
• Moral choices are often faced by the protagonist
• Other characters may doubt the main characters beliefs and motives
  

Enigmas

A problem created by disruption. In thriller it is commonly something the protagonist has to try to find out or solve before the film finishes and the narrative resolved.

Red Herring

Used to divert the audiences attention from the truth and often creates suspense.

Cliffhanger
This is when the main character is in a precarius situation or has been confronted with a shocking revelation, this is used to entice the audience to keep them watching so they can

Flightplan (2005)

After watching Panic Room thought I'd watch Flightplan, starring Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Sean Bean, directed by Robert Schwentke and written by Peter A. Dowling and Billy Ray.
Kyle Pratt (Foster) is a bereaved woman who with her 8-year old daughter are flying home from Berlin to America with the body of her late husband, when at 30,000 her daugher disappears and no one remembers ever seeing her board the plane, Kyle must discover the truth as she fights to serach the plane and look for her daughter.

The film begins with Klye Pratt at the train station where it then cuts to her entering a mortuary and she is asked if she would like a moment alone before the casket is closed. We are taken back to Kyle at the train station where her husband arrives and the leave on the train, again we are taken to the mortuary where we see Kyle move closer to the casket. We then see Kyle and her husabnd walking through the streets of Germany before we are again taken to the mortuary, where the Mortuary Director asks Kyle to enter a code to secure the casket. Fiannly we get to the appartment of Kyle and her husband when she asks to sit in the yard when we cut to the mortuary where before the casket is closed we see that her husband is lying in the casket.

From this small extract we can see that the protagonist has a flaw and there will have to be moral choices that the charagter has to make. The opening sequence can be seen below.

Panic Room (2002)

Just finished watching the thriller "Panic Room", directed by David Fincher, written by David Koepp and starring Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker and Kristen Stewart. The film tells the story of Meg Altman (Foster) recently divorced from her husband and her daughter Sarah (Stewart) hiding out in the panic room of their four-storey brownstone townhouse after an invasion by three armed robbers, but what they desire is in that very room.

The opening sequence begins with a shot of Meg and Sarah walking through the streets Manhattan to view the Townstone property, we then see them as they are taken on a tour of the house where we learn a few important details about the previous disabled owner, his children and his estate.
As they continue on the tour they are taken to the Master Suite where the majority of the film is based; Meg notices that the room is smaller than it should be prompting the estate agent to show her the panic room, he then proceeds to tell her that should there be a break-in during the night they would be fully protected as the panic room contains a buried phone line, a security system, health and first aid kits and most importantly it is surrounded by concrete and a four-inch-thick steel door.


From this extract again we can see some conventions of thrillers, such as mystery from the previous owner and his family.

The Long Good Friday (1980)

To help me with this coursework I recently watched a British thiller called "The Long Good Friday" (1980), it was directed by John Mackenzie and written by Brian Keeffe. The film stars Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren and is about Harold Shand (Hoskins) who is an old fashioned London gangster who aspires to be a legitimate business man, but his world slowly starts to crumble in front of him after a series of murders and bombs as he tries to figure out who's after him on this long good friday.


The film begins with Colin (Paul Freeman) carrying a suitcase of money and taking some for himself before delivering it to another man, we then see that the same suitcase is brought to a house where three men check the proceed to check the contents of the bag and count the money. Meanwhile we also see Colin in the pub with two other men, but back at the house when the men begin to pack away the money they are surrond by a group of armed men, we then see that the two men with Colin are later attacked by another group of armed men.

The beginning of this film goes on for a little longer, but just from watching this small extract I have already been able to identify some conventions such as suspense and mystery. The film is also an antagonistic driven plot as we see Bob Hoskin's character trying to overcome a variety of obstacles. The opening sequence can be seen below.