Wallander (McCormack, 2008, UK)

Title of the film

For the opening sequence of Wallander we do not see any titles because it is not necessarily a film, its a show on the telly which was originally set abroad. The setting is revealed by the helicopter flying over and showing just the ocean, and then it shows the land where the two main characters are. At first the characters are shown as little figures, almost looking at ants, and then it slowly zooms into them walking away from a taxi.

How the setting/ location is revealed

The establishing shot pans over the sea onto land and shows the car and the two girls walking, this is typical of a thriller as it ges the audience asking questions such as; 'whats just happened?' and 'why are they in the middle of nowhere?' This shot also reveals to the audience that the characters are in quite a deserted place and when they see the next shot of the injured man and then the girls walking away it indicates that the man will quite possibly die as it would be a very small chance that he will be found quickly.

Costumes and props

We only see costuming of the two girls as they walk away from the cab. One of them is dressed in a very gothic style, with a leather jacket, jeans, and we see is covered in blood holding a knife. The other is also dressed in black but is just casual, with a jumper. This is effective because the colour black can help represent that the two dark characters.

Interesting camera work

There is lots and lots of interesting camera work used in this opening sequence as it is very modern. Firstly there is an establishing shot of the whole setting so that the viewers are subtly introduced into where the opening sequence is set. Then it cuts to an over the shoulder shot behind the two girls walking away from the cab, because of the way the shot is angled you cannot see that the girl is covered in blood, you can only see that she is walking away, but the hyperbolic sound of footprints makes the girls seem like they are walking away frantically from something. They are not saying anything as they walk which also means that they could be in the wrong and makes them suspicious because they are leaving a dead man in a car, and don't even seem bothered. There is then a shot taken from inside the car which shows the two girls walking away from a blood spattered car with a dead man in, because you can actually see the girls walking away carelessly it shows that they are something to do with the murder.

Title and font style

White, large capitals which stand out which make them look important, maybe like a warning and they are also really simple and don't give away too much information which keeps the audience interested and want to carry on watching to learn more.

Story

The story is kept very secret to an audience member. All we understand from this opening sequence is that there is a cab driver who has been severely beaten by two girls, and later we see one of them drop a knife which then the viewer immediately understand that this driver has been stabbed during this assult. This does what any successful title sequence does, which is leave the audience asking questions, such as, why have they stabbed him?, what did he do to motivate this?, who are these two girls?, why did they do this?

Genre
It is clear that it is a thriller because we are kept asking questions as to why this event has happened, but also we have seen that there has been a murder which is iften incorporated in most thrillers. It also leave's questions being asked and having a lot of tension which most thrillers do.

Characters that are introduced

The two girls are introduced first, but much like most thriller movies and sticking to the conventions of a thriller, their faces are hidden and we only see the back of them for a short while. This is key to a thriller movie because it leaves the audience wanting to see more. When you see the faces of the girls they immediately look rebellious and look like they are trouble, your typical troublesome youth, also because they are in an empty area they look more suspicious because they can get away with anything as there is no one around to see. When the mans face is revealed it is clear that he was brutally attacked by the two girls and because the girls are covered in blood they also look dangerous.
By having one of the women in focus and the other out of focus it creates this effect on the viewer that one of the girls is more important in the film. This is very effective because without saying anything they have represented one of the girls as having more power over the other.