Textual Analysis

Sin City was made in 2005 and directed by Frank Miller, Robert
Rodriguez and special guest directed by Quentin Tarantino. Ive
decided to analyse this thriller opening as it uses film noir,
which was stereotypically used for thrillers in the 1940s and
1950s. I will be analysing the first three minutes of the film.
Sin City is based on Frank Millers popular comics and includes
three different stories from the comics. The film concentrates
on a brute who is trying to find the person that murdered
Goldie, he is fed up with Sin Citys corrupt law enforcement
which makes him take the law into his own hands.

Enigma Codes
My first enigma code was who is this woman? Is she important
to the story? By using an
establishing shot, it tells
the audience where the
opening is set. Also, by
the woman wearing the
red dress it focuses the
audiences attention on
her, which tells us that
something will happen to her.

Furthermore, I thought
who is this man? What is
he getting out of his
pocket? By the character
getting out the cigarettes
and offering them to the
woman, it makes it seem
that his going to protect her and help her with whats going on
in her life. Also, it makes you wonder who the man is to the
woman and what is going to happen to her.

The close up shot focuses

the audiences attention
on her eyes, which
makes you think of
different enigma codes.
Why are her eyes green?
Is she jealous of
something or someone? By doing this, I think it shows her to be
weak, which presents how something is going to happen her.

Whats going to happen to them? Are they a couple? Is he

going to save her from her miserable life? It makes you think
that things are maybe too good to be true for her, which again
creates suspense and makes you believe that something is
going to happen to her.

Why did the character kill her? Did she do something to him
before? The man seemed to be in love with her and make her
life better by protecting her so its so unexpected for him to
have murdered her which instantly makes you want to watch
on to find out his reasoning why.

Character Establishment and Representation

In what is clearly a
Film Noir pastiche,
the woman is
portrayed as a
typical thriller
character, a Femme
Fatale which is
shown by the
costume being seductive. By the opening being black and white
and the only piece of colour being red, the womans dress, it
represents how the woman is dangerous or in danger. It focuses
the audiences attention on her and lets us know that
something will happen to her. By using an establishing shot to
show her first, it speculates how the woman may be well known
in Sin City, due to the city being in the background of the shot.

This shot also shows

how the character
seems to be weak
by the way she is
standing and her
posture. This is also
shown by a male
character standing
behind her, which shows how shes dependent and always
needs a man with her.

This shot also introduces the male character, who is

represented as a sort of businessman shown through his smart
suit again reminiscent of classic 1940s Noir iconography. By
him being behind the woman in the shot foreshadows how he is
the person behind her murder. Also, the character acts like he
cares for the woman and her life, showing that he may have
killed her as he thought it was what was best for her. Hes a
stereotypical Noir male lead tough talking, confident and
dominant.

Locations

The location used

is an urban setting.
This is typical to the
thriller genre as it
shows danger, by
Cities being
perceived as cold,
anonymous
environment.

Camera and Editing Techniques

By using Black
and white with low
key lighting like old
Noir films. By using
a close up shot to
show the man
giving the woman
a cigarette it
emphasises how the man is giving her something to then
actually murder her. Also, sharing cigarettes is stereotypically a
very 1940s thing to do.

Again the use of a close up

shot focuses the audiences attention on her green eyes. This
speculates that she could be a jealous character which could be
the reasoning why shes so miserable. The green eyes fade in
and out which shows how shes trying to hide the reasoning
behind it.

The use of a two person

shot shows both the
characters expressions at
the same time.

The
monochromatic
edit shows the
characters
silhouettes, which
links in with the
movie being based
on a comic.

Use of Sound
The opening uses sirens to emphasise how it is set in an urban
location. This also creates the feeling that danger is around the
corner for one of the characters. When the male character
comes in the use of a saxophone it emphasises his entrance
which tells us his going to play a big part in the opening. Also,
the opening is quite silent which makes the audience focus on
what the characters are saying, this causes the gun shot to be
more jarring and shocking. Then the music used is
stereotypical for the 1940s linking in with the Noir films. The
use of off screen narration is similar to Noir films like Double
Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard, which allows for a character
to narrate what is going on during the scene.

Intended Target Audience

In order to watch Sin City you must be over the age of 18 to
watch without an adult which shows that for anyone under that
age needs an adult for. This is because there are sex scenes
and many scenes that include violence and gore which wouldnt
be suitable for a child without an adult or without adult
consent.