Greg's Thriller Analysis (Dragon Tattoo)

Greg's Analysis

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

From this screenshot of the girl (the first shot we see of her), we (the spectators) are positioned behind her, and she is wearing a hood over head, so we can't see her. So the first question we ask is 'who is she?'. Also, it is clear that she is walking in the dark, that with the dark clothes and the way she keeps her head down, I am getting a sense that she is the antagonist with a dark secret. The next question I have about her is, 'why is she being so secretive?'.

This makes this an effective thriller opening because it raises questions that will probably be answered during the rest of the film.

Another way I know this is a thriller opening is because of the colours we see. There are only very dark colours and the lights don't illuminate as much as a light normally would. This adds a sense of mystery and suspense to the sequence, and also makes us ask the question 'where is she?'.

In this shot, we see she is walking down a tunnel, where there is no one else. This also tells me she is being secretive because she isn't using main roads

In this shot, there is a very small depth of field used. The focus is on the person second closest to us. I think this gives us a clue that this is the same person we've been following, and we still can't see her face.