Evaluation Question 1 (part 1/2): How does your product use/challenge conventions and How does it represent Social Groups and Issues?

1. Following Conventions

Overall, my project did follow many conventions in a Thriller.

1. The antagonist ensnares the protagonist in an increasingly complex web, until the protagonist feels isolated and helpless. YES

This is in the scene where the antagonist states in defense of her own actions-“if it were your family, you’d do it too.” At this point, our protagonist begins contemplating his own decisions, he starts being able to empathize with the suspect as 

2.The narrative centers upon a crime E.g theft, murder YES

-The murder of company owner Richard Brixon and later, the Detective’s family.

3.The protagonist is fallible and has a Achilles heel that is exploited. YES

-The detective’s love for his family leads to him losing the upper hand of the interrogation. Prior to that he intimidates the suspect to the point of confessing her crime but after she mentions committing it to protect her family, she states “if it were your family, you’d do it too”. At this point the detective begins to question his morals heavily 

4.Themes of identity are commonly mistaken identity, amnesia and doubles/Doppelgängers (not really)

Even though the detective and the suspect are different at a contrasting level, they both are connected in the ways that they have families that they love and protect. 

5.Themes of seeing, reflection and mirroring-manipulation of perspective YES

Originally, I had planned to add a scene of the detective coming hime only to find his family dead but did not do so as it would exceed the opening time, and putting it later in the film would make the plot more thrilling. It included a part where he entered his wife’s bathroom which conveniently has mirrors on opposing sides of the wall. There was then going to be a shot of him looking into it. 

6.A series of enigmas are set up - only to be solved at the end YES

-What did Richard Brixon do to get killed?

-Why is the murder justified as an act of defense in the suspect/Apisorn’s point of view?

-Why is the detective nervous at this point when he is clearly bringing the suspect to justice?

-Why does the suspect smile like that after the detective leaves the room?
-Why is the detective's family targetted?

7.The audience is placed in a the ambiguous position of “voyeur” (When the audience WANTS bad things to happen) YES

-After seeing the suspect’s smug smile at the end of the interrogation, the audience are informed that something bad will happen. 
-This "Voyeuristic" feeling then persists at the end of the opening. Parallel editing is used to switch between the detective's journey home and his wife's cooking. Whilst low lightning and dull colors are used for scenes where the detective is present, the ones for his wife are very bright and vibrant, causing a contrast. The audience's attention is diverted to focus on it due to the fact that it stands out more. They want to see the steak and what will happen to it as the car scenes act as a platform to build up their anticipation.

8.Protagonist will be in Peril/danger YES (later in the plot)

The plot changing line that the suspect says " If it were your family you'd do it too" causes our protagonist to react in such a fragile manner . He does not respond or fight back but cowers away. The strong impact this has on him foreshadows that something will happen to his family forcing him into the same position as the suspect. Their demise is implicated at the end of the opening-How will he avenge their deaths? Will he let revenge engulf his strong sense of Justice?

9.The narrative presents extra ordinary events in ordinary situations/settings ABIT

At the end of the opening, the detective's wife can be seen cooking food at their house, a condominium unit. This location setting is highly relatable to the audience due to the fact that the amount of Condominiums and apartments are increasing along with their inhabitants, especially in Thailand. Suddenly, the lights turn off and a loud metalllic crash can be heard which is quite ambiguous as we do not know what happens to her afterwards.

10.The micro-elements are used to build suspense YES

Mise-en-scene: CREDIT TEXT

I had intentions of using the credit texts to convey the psychological state of the Detective. Prior to the interrogation they are almost in sync to his actions and the non-diegetic background music, showing his experienced skill and straightforwardly nature of following things on to the point. During the early part of the interrogation, the detective still remains with power in his fists but after his suspect's rebuttal, he is completely devastated. He is brought into a case where he had no direct involvement in triggering. He wants to show sympathy for the suspect (if he was stuck in that situation, he would likely have done the same thing) but feels the crushing pressure of the "Third Party" who threaten to do "bad things" to him.  This forces him to pick  between his family's safety or to wave the hammer of justice which forces him to become very stressed out and call off the interrogation. After this point, the animation of the credit texts becomes more and more intense through ways such as moving, changing in opacity and colour. Another  crime thriller opening doing something similar is Se7en, which was my inspiration for animating the texts this way.

 TOP LEFT: The difference between the credit texts before and after the interrogation.

BELOW: The opening credits to Se7en (1997) which also uses animated credit texts

HANDCUFF SMASH (cinematography and sound)

The suspect's desperation for power and self defense is shown through the use of cinematography and diegetic sound. Once she is pressured to the point of confessing to the murder, she smashes her handcuffs on the table and stands up making her height almost equal to that of the detective's and that their power is now equal. The Diegetic sound of the metallic handcuffs hitting the table is put at a high volume in order to create tension as a sudden rise in volume can mean that something significant has happened. A track-shot is used in order to make the frame shake like the table in the scene causing a link between the realms of fiction and reality.

-LIGHT MANIPULATION:

Once the detective enters the interrogation room, he clicks his fingers which turns on the lights. This is used for him to establish his dominance at the beginning as he is able to even manipulate his own environment. The light also acts as a metaphor for hope and Justice and by doing this action, it suggests that the detective will the be the one imposing justice on to the suspect.

High Angle zoom

Looking deeper into it's sub-genre (Crime Thrillers) , only some of the conventions are visible

Red Herrings

A common trope in crime thrillers and drama is the “ Red Herring”  which is defined as something that will steer the audience to a false conclusion.  An example of a crime drama or thriller that uses the  “Red Herring” trope would be The Usual Suspects (1995). A criminal named Keyser Söze sets a ship ablaze as he kills a man. Only 2 survivors remain, one named Roger 'Verbal' Kint who is questioned by the FBI. After telling the whole story, he reveals that he himself is Keyser and drives away from the police station.In this film, it is used towards Apisorn Udomprecha/Dennis Lee/The Suspect, the so called “Antagonist”. The idea is portrayed throughout the opening at an overly obvious level, fooling the audience to believe thats she is  through the use of the Micro-elements. The fact that she smirks as the detective leaves suggest that she had planned the interrogation in order to tamper with his inner fragility and foreshadows his family's demise. When actually there is a "Third Party" involved in this too!

Close ups and Chiaroscuros

The close up I have used in the introduction of the suspect is a reference to the interrogation of Clyde Shelton in Law Abiding Citizen. The close up enables the audience to see his vengeful, and angry facial expression (the face of a man who saw his family's murder).
Contextually, both Clyde and Apisorn share the same motives for the crimes they've committed-Their families. Although Clyde is shown to have lost his family through the trailer, it is unknown if Apisorn has lost hers but the fact that she is a mother may imply that she has lost her husband and wants to protect her children-the only "family" she has left.

Another well known conventions of crime thrillers is the use of chiaroscuro or "Dramatic Contrast"

Hand Helds

Throughout the interrogation, most of the cinematography is done through the use of handhelds. This is a direct reference to the cinematography style used by the filmmaker Paul Green Grass who is famous for his usage of this filming technique. Another interrogation scene which uses handhelds can be seen in the film The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
I chose to use handhelds in the interrogation for multiple reasons. -Handhelds are often used in documentaries and engages the audience into the film realm. It enables them to see the detective and suspect's clash for power in more detail -Metaphorically, hand-held shots are constantly shaking or moving which conveys the theme of instability. This can be the instability within the 2 characters' relationships in the opening; their social polarizations, attitudes and lack of sympathy towards each other or, the instability within our society and the judiciary system. Corruption has always remained a significant problem. People can run away from their crimes just by tossing piles of money. Crime rates have decreased in no ways.

Use of Parallel Editing

-Using Mise-En-Scene and the "Show Don't Tell" technique

Combining the use of Mise-En-Scene and Cinematography

These 2 mid-shots show the similarities and differences between the detective and suspect during the interrogation.

Suspect

Settings

Crime thrillers are often set in urban areas to enforce the idea of being realistic and that it could even happen to the audience themselves. My film is set in the city centre of Bangkok. Another movie that uses this convention is Zodiac, being set in San Francisco.

2. Challenging Conventions

Breaking the 180 Degree Rule

180 Degree shots are often used in the conversation and interrogation scenes of a crime thriller. It shows the continuity of the discussion. In my film I decisively broke this rule in order to confuse the audience and put them in the same emotional state as the protagonist. It is broken when the suspect/ goes "If it were your family, you'd do it too." This makes the quote stand out more as it is stated when the audience are at the point of confusion in the interrogation scene. Furthermore, it completely alters the power status between the characters. With his family/weakness brought into this, he cowers calling off the interrogation.

Sympathy towards the "Antagonist"

Conventionally, the Villains in Crime Thrillers are painted to be loathed by the audience. Take John Doe from Se7en as an example. At the final part of the film he talks of killing David Mill's wife and putting her head into a box in a very calm tone as he watches the deceased's husband fill up with rage and say the iconic line-"What's in the box?". We as the audience see the inhuman side of him making us detest him even more as he has exploited the protagonist (David)'s weak spot to it's core. These are the types of villains who's death makes the audience cheer loudly as they are made to be hated.

via GIPHY

Although a murderer who has had a history of committing crimes, the suspect's motives are ironically highly relatable to the audience themselves. When forced to confess her guilt, she yells "I had to do it, I had to do it for my family". By the end she even manages to convince the Detective into sympathizing with her motive. The audience likely have a family which they love and want to protect like the 2 characters do.

David Thewlis as Inspector Goole in the
2025 version of an Inspector calls. 

Character portrayal 

The Detectives in a crime thriller tend to have a more cynical and experienced attitude. An example of this would be Inspector Goole from the British drama "An Inspector calls". He is able to see through every antics and traps laid at him by the Birlings, a rich, upper class family, even the "I know your boss" threats. In the end, he manages to force the Birlings into confessing their responsibility for the suicide of Eva Smith, leaving them in a state of anguish and confusion.  On the other hand, the  detective in my film is quite naïve, thinking that justice can be fully implemented but society will always be flawed and that cannot be changed. Unlike Goole, he loses to his suspect and falls for the trap set by the oligarchy.

The way that he replies to his wife is quite unconventional of how a middle aged detective would speak . An argument against this is that the simplistic language shows the closeness of the bond between him and his wife as people tend to use more simplistic language when talking to close friends/family.