The Usual Suspects

I decided to watch the opening of the usual suspects as this is another film that i really should watch as it is such an iconic thriller. Firstly the music really adds tension and suspense to the proceedings especially witht the use of the strings. The fact that the whole thing tasks place on a boat makes it seem very eery and scary. it is sooo isolated and alone and the fact that there are people unconscious or dead all around makes it look like something big has happened. The flames makes it a very shocking opening and also cements the fact of hell and the devil which is a big theme of the film. the out of focus background also adds suspense because you can't quite see everything. There are still things that you can't make out and it makes you feel like something else could jump out at anytime. Something big could happen. The use of the film noir style where you cannot see the whole oif the characters face is very effective. It shrouds the character in mystery as we no nothing about him and it makes the audience relucytant to trust him where as the other guy you can see all his face. The fact that the chracters no each other aswell instantlty forces the audience to start asking questions about what is going on and how these two no each other. It instantly gets you intrested in the story. The other part that i think is really effective about the opening is the way that the camera shows stills of the surrounding when the gun goes off as this helps to really show how alone the character is and how isolated everything is. the use of levels also helps to show who is really in charge because one of the chracters is higher to show his dominant position.