In order to achieve a successful thriller, it is essential to meet all the codes and conventions of the thriller genre. Through out the opening sequence of Memento almost all the psychological thriller conventions are portrayed. Memento is an American thriller film. It is a neo-noir psychological thriller. It was written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It is a thriller movie that makes the audience think of how the end of going to be. It is about a man, suffering from short-term memory loss, that uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife. The man uses photographs which he writes notes on to remember important people and important places. This film has been praised for its unique elements and that is why we chose to research it.
Opening sequence & camera work
The opening sequence of memento is about 2 minutes long. We see photographs being flicked in the background of the titles, showing the audience that photographs are going to be a significant part of the film .
The opening sequence does an excellent job in giving the audience an insight into the film. It does not give out too much information about what is to come, it gives us the information about the key elements of the film. We see the protagonist taking a photograph, showing the audience that photographs are going to be significant in the film. Memory in Memento is portrayed in an interesting way. Camera work in the opening of Memento starts with a close up of a picture. The scene starts with the main character taking a picture. Then we see the film in reverse. The opening uses specific camera shots such as close-ups, this makes the audience realise that the props which take the centre of the shot and are the most attention grabbing are important and will have an important part of the film. There are many point of view camera shots perhaps because they want the audience to see everything from the protagonists point of view and make them feel as though they are in the situation as well.
The sound used in the opening scene of Memento is non-diegetic. There is music in the background that creates a sense of mystery. It is low paced and done by a violin. The sound is a key convention as it sets the atmosphere as it is very dramatic and makes the audience unsure of what is about to happen. The music starts slow and slowly builds up to the point which makes the audience more and more tense.
The editing in the opening scene of Memento is clean cuts. The key point of editing in the opening sequence of Memento is that the opening is in reverse, making the audience want to focus more so they can understand what is happening at that point as it gives it surreal feeling.
The Mise-en-scene in the opening of Memento is the man is wearing a cream suit with a blue short and black shoes. This gives the protagonist a smart and makes the audience think maybe the protagonist has a profession in something, perhaps his job. The audience sees that the protagonist has writing all over him, and tattoos on his body which suggest that the protagonist maybe a forgetful person and may have problems with his memory. The props are a camera and photos as they are the most significant and relevant to the storyline.
The titles and credits are in an electronic blue font with a black background. They are in capital letters in order to grab the attention of the audience. The font of the credits is blue and basic compared to horror where the font would be thin and red.
To conclude, the opening sequence and the credits of Memento fulfill the expectations of what a thriller film opening sequence should be. It fulfills the codes and conventions of the thriller genre. This particular opening audience gives the audience an insight of what the thriller film will contain and what they should expect. Particularly in the background of the titles and credits where there are pictures being flipped, audience get an insight that they are going to play a vital part in the film. It makes the audience think and it gives the audience a chance to predict how the movie is going to end. This gives excitement to the audience and keeps the audience engaged the whole way through. Overall we like this opening sequence and we have gotten some ideas from it to put in our opening sequence. Particularly the titles and credits as we think it is very unique and different from many other thrillers such as Seven and Law abiding citizen.
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