Research into Action/Thriller Genre

The title sequences in Lucky Number Slevin and Collateral use many different filming aspects that relate them to other films in its genre of action/thriller. The very first thing viewers see in Collateral is a master shot of a busy airport. Credits of actors are shown at different intervals, and are positioned on the screen in relatively empty spaces. The director uses shallow focus to focus on two smartly dressed people, who are kept on the third in each frame, and are shown by parallel editing as they approach each other before a collision. The depth of field is considered in proportion to the camera itself and to each other, as One is walking towards the camera, as the other walks across the width in order to keep the 180 degree angle, and in fact collide at a 90 degree angle. The collision contains several close ups and shot/reverse shots, as they attempt to resolve themselves, and one man, Tom Cruise, walks away with the other man’s briefcase, shown as an insert for the viewer to focus on. This inclines some importance for the film, thought currently it is seen as a mistake. This connotes suspicion and mystery, common features of traditional thriller films, and appears as an enigma code.

Lucky number slevin uses a different approach of a title sequence, as credits are listed in separate cuts to those of scenes that happen during the title sequence. Non-diegetic piano music can be heard amongst radio commentary of what sounds like a horse race, and file paper is used as the surface for the typed names of actors, each highlighted by chiaroscuro lighting, from what appears to be a candle. This is another common feature in this genre, and in a narrative perspective, it makes the audience feel semantic. Technical aspects that appear include fast-paced, continuity editing, in which people are assassinated by an unknown figure, despite the viewers seeing the action from a point of view shot of the character. The actual title of the film, with ‘Lucky Number’ in typed font, and ‘Slevin’ as a quick scribble (relating to a bet on a horse), and surrounded by faint numbers in the form of sums of money, is not revealed until after two scenes of action have already occurred, indicating fast-paced action again, this time in terms of the film itself.

The following scene in the opening sequence for collateral is an introduction to another main character, Jamie Foxx, who is a taxi driver. The mise en scene shows this, by use of a traditional American taxi inside a taxi shelter. Foxx’s clothes are not smart, just casual, showing him as an ‘average’ man who would not appear to the viewer as worth making a film about. However a frequent viewer of action/thriller films may see it as a common aspect, meaning events can surround a normal person that are out of the ordinary. Foxx’s approach towards his job is shown by close-ups and mid-close-ups, as well as POV shots to let the audience see what he sees. As he sets out to begin his shift, tracking shots follow the taxi around the city, and aerial shots and establishing shots combine to provide mixed feelings for the viewer, including minor tension and suspense, plus to show the scale of the city in comparison to Foxx, which is linked to a discussion between Cruise and Foxx later in the film.