The Usual Suspects Analysis - Nathan Wilkins

Mise En Scene

The opening scene of The Usual Suspects uses elements of mise en scene to create a sense of suspense.

The abandoned setting of the ship creates fear due to the lack of people around, meaning nobody to help if something goes wrong in this dangerous looking setting. This makes the spectator fear the worst, as the loneliness of the setting makes us feel like something bad is going to happen. This idea is reinforced by the prop of the fire, which connotes danger and death. The hot red, orange and yellow colours emitted from the fire also help to create the idea of death as well as evil, and additionally creates the eerie low key lighting we see on the characters.

The characters costumes are dark and simple, so that all of the attention is on the dialogue and action in the scene. They fit the dark tone to the scene, and are fairly dull and intentionally unobtrusive. The costume of the character who’s face we don’t see is very loose-fitting in order to keep his figure completely unrecognisable, meaning his identity is completely hidden, which is a crucial element of the film.

The prop of the gun creates suspense when it is taken out, as we do not know for sure what it will be used for. It is a prop often used in thrillers, and the use of a common thriller convention at this point in the film allows the spectator to connect with the film and get a grasp of what’s to come.

Sound

Non diegetic high pitched music is used for the majority of the sequence to add atmosphere and suspense. The limited number of instruments and low volume of the music means that it is subtle whilst still adding to the ambience in the scene. There is a break in the music when the gun is fired, meaning we can hear the gunshots perfectly. This also creates suspense when the music pauses as we don’t know when it will be fired, we can only assume that it will happen due to the positioning of his gun before the cut to another shot.

There is limited diegetic sound within the scene, as the spectator is supposed to mainly focus on the visuals in the sequence, however there is some dialogue and sound effects. The foley of the footsteps is another thriller convention, as it creates suspense in the spectator due to the repetitive sound of the steps. It adds to the action of the character walking, and we don’t know where he’s walking to which produces uncertainty and tension.

The dialogue is very minimal, and what we do hear doesn't give much away in terms of the plot at this point. Only around five lines of quiet dialogue can be heard before we hear the gunshot and assume the sitting character to be dead. This lack of knowledge we are given at this point makes for a more interesting and intriguing film.

Camerawork

The camera movement in this scene are slow and minimal, to match the sombre mood being created. The most important camera movement we see is a tilt upwards from the fire to reveal the character urinating on it from above. The camera stops tilting just before we see his head, which conceals his identity, just like much of the rest of the film.

Shot distances are used to highlight important parts of the scene. The box of matches at the beginning is shown with an extreme close up, to give the spectator a clear view of what it is and the way it has been lit, in order to then light the cigarette and then be dropped to start the fire. Another important prop, the gun, is shown as a close up so we can see the way he is holding it, pointed towards the man opposite, as well as getting a clear view of it. An extreme long shot of a section of the ship is then shown when the gun is shot, to give the impression of how far the sound is travelling.

Editing

Generally frequency cuts are used in this scene in order to keep a slow pace, so we can see every action in detail. The low frequency adds suspense because the spectator is allowed lots of time to ponder on what’s going on.

Shot reverse shot and eye line match are used during the section of dialogue to create continuity in the scene, therefore helping the spectator to easily understand what is going on and to comprehend the orientation of the characters. This means that the spectator is allowed to fully focus on the content of the plot, due to there being no confusion in their positioning.