How does Essex Boys use British signifiers and thriller technique to establish the audience expectations?

The first scene in the film is set in a dark, run down garage. This uses the technique of building up an audience's expectation of a thriller theme. The dark lighting and use of cobwebs also adds to this affect. The bright harsh lighting outside contrasts with the darkness in the garage which could also suggest a contrast in good and evil, implying that he has a good and bad side. This brings out an anti-hero character which is commonly used to film noirs. Essex Boys uses many film noir or neo-noir techniques - for example, the greyness and dullness of the film - to portray the theme of thriller and crime.

This is the first time we see Jason, and the fact that there is a blinding white harsh light behind him creates a sense of deception which is often used for thrillers. The way he is standing as if he has appeared from the light could suggests that he is a good guy as it gives a halo affect, which we soon find out isn't true.  Also the bright yellow shirt, and long black leather jacket contrast against eachother to build on the deception of the film. His outfit shows a classic eastend ganster's style, which signifies the Essex theme, and establishes to the audience what type of people they will expect to see throughout the film.

The darkness surrounding the tunnel suggests that there is only one way to go, and there is no way of Billy getting out of it. The use of claustrophobic space is used in the tunnel, and is often used in thrillers to create a sense of panic as there is no way out. The green light that appears through the tunnel represents evil, and gives the audience a clue to expect from the film.

This view of Billy and Jason through the wind screen includes long white bars of light overlapping the image. They could represent a prison, suggesting that they are behind the prison bars. This gives the audience a clue to what may happen during the film, implying that Billy, or Billy and Jason perhaps will end up arrested. The darkness in this scene, again builds on the thriller as it creates a sinister feeling. The lights outside suggest that all the goodness is trapped outside of the car.

  When they arrive at the fish market, Jason immediately begins beating up another man. This brings out the theme of crime into the film, and gives the audience an idea of what the thriller is about. The fact that they are surrounded by dead fish could bring comedy into the film for some types of audience. This also sets the scene of a typically English working area.

This shot shows the view from Billy who is in the white van. It shows how we are seeing everything from his point of view; therefore we begin to relate to him. Also the voice over adds to this affect as Billy becomes the male protagonist character, which is commonly used in thrillers or film noirs. The fast that Jason always seems to be higher up during the fight suggests that he is the type of character that is always violent and in control.

This long shot of the English beach indicates the English landscape, and the dull, grey darkness of the clouds signifies the typical view on English weather. The dullness also adds to the negative feel of the scene, as they have just dropped of the beaten up man in the middle of nowhere. This shot contains a view of the white van in the background. A white van is a classic vehicle that creates a untrustworthy atmosphere. The fact that the man is so small that you can hardly see him, suggests that he is completely insignificant in the film.

Explanation Of Neo-noir

Neo-noir is a term given to the modern type film noir. Neo-noir uses updated elements of film such as themes, content, style, visual elements. Film noir was created in the 1940s period unlike Neo-noir which is much more recent. Neo-noir normally uses colour rather than black and white, but still uses the aspects of film noir including urban cities, costumes, crime and the use of props and shadows. Film noirs usually tended to use more camera movement, and tracking shots and close ups. The film noir genre generally refers to mystery and crime dramas. Films of this genre feature stories involving femmes fatales, doomed heroes or anti-heroes, and detectives. The neo-noir genre refers to crime dramas and mysteries produced from the mid-1960s to the present. They do not always include the visual style of classic film noir but often use the themes and plots made famous by the film noir genre.

An example of a neo-noir film is China Town. It was filmed in 1974 and is in colour. It uses classic film noir aspects, including a femme fatale character, a protagonist character, deception and murder. The film also uses shadows and chiaroscuro lighting. A common aspect of neo noir is the use of venetian blinds. China Town uses this to create lighting in an office to represent the contrast of good outside the office, and the evil that is lurking inside.

Film Noir Conventions

Film noir

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How does the opening of Sin City use film noir conventions to establish themes and audience expectations?

The first shot fades in from black and starts very slowly. This creates a mysterious atmosphere which straight away gives the audience an expectation of a crime or thriller theme. Also the sound of the everyday city traffic immediately sets the scene to form a classic urban city film noir location. This long shot contains a view of the city full of large buildings which makes the woman in the red dress seem insignificant but at the same time begins to create a femme fatal character because the colour of her dress stands out from the film noir setting.

This is the second shot of the opening which introduces the male character. The fact that he is stepping out of the shadows creates the theme of moral ambiguity. In film noir the use of shadows helps to portray this theme. Both the characters have parts of light and dark on their faces to show chiaroscuro lighting which portrays a good and evil side. This also brings out the theme of deception because the truth of the characters is being hidden from the audience.

This over-shoulder shot also shows the chiaroscuro effect on the woman’s face and the fact the camera has moved in closer might make the audience start to expect something more as it makes the scene become more emotional. The man in this shot is about the same size of the tall building which may suggest he now has authority over the woman who is shorter than him in this shot.

The green in her eyes in this close up shot suggests that there is sometimes more to her lurking beneath the surface. It makes the audience gain expectations and has them waiting for the outcome. 

This is another long shot where the colours have been inverted so that the black and white are opposites. The shot has also been given a cartoon affect to bring out a 1930s comic theme. This shot makes the audience believe that these too close and in love, so brings out the theme of deception.

The camera angle then changes back to a close up of the two of them, which adds to the deception as it hides what is truly happening. In this shot the man unexpectedly shoots the woman and at this point a bright white background flickers across the screen, which is made to shock the audience. It also suddenly brings out the theme of murder for the first time in the scene. It shows hardly any light left on his face which suggests his evil side has taken over. He is holding her with an emotional expression to show that he feels guilty and doesn’t like what he has done.

 

This last shot of the scene has the camera zooming right out to eventually show thousands of dark tall buildings. It gives the effect that the audience are now looking down on the two of them to show how they are insignificant and vulnerable compared to the rest of the city.