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Saho King
Professor Lynda Haas
Writing 39B
21 May 2014
Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Use of Suspense
The mystery genre came into prominence during the late Victorian Era with the
increasing popularity of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle
revolutionized the genre by combining the inspiration he drew from Poe and other writers before
him with aspects of adventure, intelligence, and emotion. Literary scholars often credit Doyle for
establishing the popular conventions of the genre, including the combination of action and
sentiment to form suspense. In the original stories, suspense was created by the structure of the
plot that kept the readers at the edge of their seats wanting to solve the mysteries themselves. In
his scholarly article, Doyle writes about the four characteristics of the detective genre and goes
on to say that in the reading of a detective story, the compulsion to see how the story turns out
is much stronger that in other fiction (18). Suspense increases the degree and intensity of the
desire to know the ending and resolution. In the 21
st
century, Sherlock Holmes continues to have
immense popularity and has been adapted numerous times in different mediums with slight or
major modifications. In modern times, the development of cinematic technology has led to the
development of many multimodal ways to create and enhance suspense. In the modern day
adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, there is more ways to create suspense because they are in a
different medium and can take advantage of visual and sound elements, instead of just the
written words.
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While the classic Holmes stories written by Doyle is said to be very formulaic and
predictable, there is no shortage of suspense and tension. One of the ways that Doyle created
suspense was by writing the story from Watsons point of view and withholding the thoughts of
Holmes from the readers. This same concept applies to the films as it is not narrated by any of
the characters. In the stories, the readers only know as much as Watson and so the feeling of
suspense arises as they become aware of their lack of knowledge about the development and
outcome of the mystery. Since the mystery is no ordinary problem but a complex secret that
appears impossible of solution, (Dove 10) there is a combination of anticipation and uncertainty
dealing with the unpredictable future as the story unfolds. The creation of suspense is slightly
different in the films as it has been adapted for the modern audience and the directors use a
variety of cinematic elements, such as lighting, sound, cinematography, and editing, to enhance
the suspense of the situations. Even though the Sherlock Holmes films, directed by Guy Ritchie,
are set in the same time period as the classic stories written by Doyle, they have been greatly
adapted to attract and please the modern audience. For example, there is much more action and
fight sequences with explosions. The films are often categorized with the action-adventure genre
rather than the mystery-detective genre of the original stories. Also, many variances come from
the fact that the movies are a completely different medium compared to the stories and have
many cinematic elements to use at their disposal. The film Sherlock Holmes starts with a very
suspenseful scene to engage the audience and pull them into the fictional world set in late
Victorian England. The scene opens to Sherlock Holmes and his companion John Watson,
played by Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law respectively, rushing to a mysterious building to
prevent Lord Blackwood and his associates from committing another ritual murder of a young
woman. With their quick thinking and impressive fighting cabilities, they are able to stop the
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murder and capture the cultist serial killer just in time for Inspector Lestrade and the police force
to arrive and arrest him. In addition to acting as the expository scene and illustrating some of the
common conventions of the detective genre modernized for the modern audience, this scene
successfully builds suspense and provides the foundation for the mystery that becomes the focus
for the rest of the film. There are many cinematic elements that are implemented in this scene
that are key to building the mix of excitement and tension. First of all, low-key lighting is used
throughout the scene to amplify the suspense. This type of lighting uses very little light and
creates strong contrasts between the brightest and darkest part of the image and creates strong
shadows that obscure parts of the characters. The darkness also sets an ominous mood and
provides the audience with an on-the-edge feeling. Furthermore, when the camera pans over to
the stage of the ritualistic murder, there is a strong contrast between the young women wearing a
bright white dress and the dark background. This goes on to hint at the idea of evil versus good.
Lord Blackwood is enveloped in darkness and mystery until Holmes pushes the hood out of his
face. Initially, the offender is intentionally covered by the strong shadows of his cloak and the
low-key lighting and his identity is a mystery. The only glimpse that the audience gets of the
antagonist is through close-up and extreme close-up framing. Throughout the scene, crane shot
was used to create a feeling of omniscience over the characters. Also, there is a part in the scene
where Holmes and Watson are captured by the camera from a low angle, suggesting power and
respect toward the two characters. During the fight sequences, handheld camera was used to
capture the full scale movement and emphasize the action. Throughout the scene, the background
music plays a large role in inducing suspense. Jeffrey Michael Bays writes on his website that
films can use different sound tactics such as withholding sound from the viewer to pique
curiosity, exaggerating sound as a form of narrative emphasis, and creating tension through both
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ambient noises and silence. When the action reaches a climax in this scene, a strong gust of
wind blows out the candles and makes the scene even darker, perhaps suggesting that the conflict
is not truly over. Even as Lord Blackwood is arrested, the scene remains dark and therefore the
audience is haunted by the feeling that the conflict has not been resolved and the serial killer will
be back to cause further problems for the crime solving pair.
Scenes that create suspense and mystery are necessary elements of an action movie and
there are many in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. This film follows Holmes and Dr.
Watson as they come head to head with the mastermind criminal, Professor Jim Moriarty.
Providing the main characters with a strong opposition creates conflict and tension which does
not resolve until the enemy is beaten. Towards the end of the second installment in the Sherlock
Holmes film series featuring Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock, Watson, Mycroft, and Simza attend a
peace summit in Switzerland to prevent Moriarty from creating an international incident. In this
part, Holmes faces off against Moriarty while Watson and Simza try to find her brother who is
disguised as an ambassador and stop his assassination attempt. The viewers are faced with
excitement and anxiety as the uncertainty of the situation becomes apparent. The director uses
numerous cinematic elements to create the feeling of suspense in this movie. The scenes of
Holmes and Moriarty playing chess outside is darker and has considerably more shadows, which
is a major contrast to the scenes inside the building. In the scenes where Watson and Simza
trying to find her brother, camera proximity is greatly utilized. There is also a great amount of
quick shot-reverse-shot between the ambassadors and the two characters, which emphasize
urgency and the intensity of the situation. Also when the brother is about to commit the
assassination, the action slows down and there is a slow pan to build suspense and tension. And
the scene quickly speeds back up as Watson tackles the brother to the ground after he pulls out a
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gun. Throughout this part of the film, the camera is kept fairly close to each of the characters
faces so the audience can pick up on the slightest changes in their facial expressions.
Furthermore, there is little to no background music so that the viewers can focus on the dialogue
and feel the suspense building up. When there is music, it is dramatic, creates a sense of urgency,
and reaches a climax when something major and surprising happens. It complements the action
well. Lastly, the voice over scene where Holmes and Moriarty are both imagining and predicting
the outcome of their imminent fight adds great mystery and tension because the audience get to
see their thought processes and realize that they are a match both intellectually and physically.
For the first time, the viewers are forced to question whether or not Sherlock will win the fight
with Moriarty. According to a feature article on Film Slate Magazine website titled Building
Suspense: How to Keep the Audience on the Edge of Their Seat, dramatic suspense in a film
depends on the screenwriters ability to evoke emotion, create conflict, provide opposition,
increase tension, and use surprise among a few others; these basic foundations are clearly
implemented in the movie. According to the article, establishing a finite time for your
protagonist to reach his or her goal increases the suspense. The screenplay writers implemented
this element and it is obvious throughout the scene that time is of the essence for the characters
to prevent the international incident. This point is further illustrated when Holmes and Moriarty
are playing a timed game of chess and they reference the fact that they have a limited time to
make a move. Also, the sound of a clock ticking can be heard with close listening, which
amplifies a sense of urgency and creates immediacy. In addition, the screen writers use surprise
to create the final moment of suspense when Holmes and Moriarty fall off the balcony together
into the waterfall and Watson believes that the detective has died. For a second it seems like
Holmes has the upper-hand on Moriarty and has solved the mystery, but the rug is pulled out
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from under the audience as Holmes falls over the railing with his archenemy. The death of a
main character is something that the audience does not expect and makes for a great surprise and
twist.
The two Sherlock Holmes films directed by Guy Ritchie follows many conventions of the
detective genre developed by Arthur Conan Doyle in the Late Victorian Era. While sometimes
they are followed very strictly and accurately, most conventions have been adapted to satisfy the
modern audience. For example, the core characteristics of Holmes and Watson, such as the
detectives genius and social awkwardness and the doctors loyalty have not been altered in any
of the adaptations. As Lynette Porter states in the introduction of Sherlock Holmes for the 21st
Century, the impact of the Victorian era on recent adaptations reflects modern interest in the
original stories as well as the demand to make old stories relevant to 21
st
century audiences
(10). Suspense is one of the conventions of the detective genre which was used in the classic
Doyle stories, but one that has been further developed in the modern interpretations. In
multimodal adaptations, like the BBC Sherlock and Guy Ritchies Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock
Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the feeling of suspense is intensified through multiple cinematic
elements. The audience is able to experience tension, anxiety, and excitement both visually and
audibly.

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Works Cited
Dove, George N. The Reader and the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State
University Popular Press, 1997. Print.
"Film Industry and Filmmaker Resource for Film News, Reviews, Film Festivals, Interviews and
the Art of Filmmaking." Building Suspense: How to Keep the Audience on the Edge of
Their Seat. Web. 18 May 2014.
<http://www.filmslatemagazine.com/filmmaking/building-suspense-how-to-keep-the-
audience-on-the-edge-of-their-seat>.
Porter, Lynette. "Introduction: In Search of the Real Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes for the
21st Century. ed. Lynette Porter. Jefferson, NC: Macfarland & Company, 2012, 1-12.
Print.
Bays, Jeffrey M. "Hitchcock's Sound Style (film Directing, Criticism, Film Sound)." Film
Techniques of Alfred Hitchcock. Borgus Productions, June 2011. Web. 21 May 2014.
<http://borgus.com/hitch/sound.htm>.