Thriller opening sequence

analysis: The dark knight

rises

By Giordano Boscarelli

Key information

Release date:July 20, 2012 (United Kingdom)

Director:Christopher Nolan
Running time:2h 45m
Film series:Dark Knight trilogy
Featured songs:Gotham's Reckoning,The Fire Rises

Plot summary:
8 years after the events of The Dark Knight find Gotham at a time of peace.
This is due to Batman taking the fall for Harvey Dent's murder. However, a
new evil force named Bane has arrived in Gotham and aims to take over the
city and expose the truth behind who Harvey Dent really was. Now that Wayne
Manor has been completely rebuilt - Bruce Wayne has become almost
reclusive, rarely leaving the estate. And with Bane taking over the city by
force, it forces Batman to come out of retirement. But his allies are few and far
apart. An elusive jewel thief by the name of Selina Kyle could be the key to
stopping Bane - but whose side is she on?

The first minute of the Dark Knight Rises focuses predominantly on

establishing the scene and building suspense for the following narrative, using
conventions of the thriller genre. The establishing shot at the beginning of the
scene sets the theme of isolation for the rest of the scene; a key component of
thriller movies. In doing so, the audience know that if something was to go
wrong, there would be no one around to help, showing this is a dangerous
situation and therefore building suspense.
This is followed by a long shot of a Government agent. The agents clothes
represent him as a weaker and vulnerable character due to the mellow
connotations of the colour blue a common representation for the victim in a
thriller movie. However, this is a sharp contrast from the middle ground
behind him; the armed guards represent him as a powerful character with a lot
of authority, due to the connotations of violence and murder connected to
guns. Finally, the camera slowly moves towards the Government agent during
this section of the scene, placing a further emphasis on his role in the
narrative.

At 1:37 in the opening scene, the focus is placed on these three characters.
They are represented in such a way that it is clear to the audience that one of
these will be the villain of the movies. For instance, this section of the scene
uses darker colours than, and because dark colours have connotations of evil,
mystery and a possible threat, these characters are represented as such. This
follows the thriller convention of displaying the villain in dark lighting.
The conventional thriller theme of entrapment is shown in the confinement of
the space they are in the characters are pushed against each other due to the
lack of space. They also fill the space they are in, representing them as key
characters in the narrative. For this reason, a lot of mystery shrouds the
narrative because the two concepts of them being the villain but at the same
time being trapped doesnt represent them as a threat: how can they cause any
hard while they are trapped? This engages the audience with the narrative.
Furthermore, the diegetic music during the opening few seconds gradually
builds another typical thriller convention which this time builds suspense for
when the mystery clouding these three characters is revealed.

At 2:18 in the opening scene, the representation of power in the government

agent is once again reaffirmed, but this time shows the presupposed villains in
the shot also. The theme of confinement and entrapment also become more
prevalent due to the small space inside the plane, raising the tension of the
scene because there is it becomes more apparent there is no escape should
something go wrong.
Themes of death and murder are emphasised in this section of the scene. The
middle ground and foreground are used effectively to clearly represent the
current power imbalance between the presupposed villains and the
Government agent, due to the villains being lower down in the shot. This
imbalance forces the themes of death and murder due to the more powerful
character (the Government agent) holding the gun which carries connotations
of violence, aggression and, of course, death. Death and murder are typical
thriller themes, following the conventions of thrillers once more.

At 3:30, the roles between the now revealed Bane and the Government agent changes the
previous representations of the characters. In this particular shot, for example, bane is now
shown at a lower camera angle and is the most prominent part of the shot, now representing him
as a powerful character as opposed to the trapped on he was before. This follows the typical
thriller narrative convention of deception: the audience were lead to believe that Bane was weak.
Additionally, the reveal of Banes face is slow which builds tension and suspense as the audience
is left waiting for the mystery to be revealed. This also emphasises how much fear Bane puts in
people, because the slow movement of the agent could represent him as being scared or fearful
of what lies underneath the bag.
Banes threatening representation prior to this is once again shown in these shots. His staring
and tone of voice detail him significantly as a character, certainly at 2:50 when Bane reveals his
intentions to be Crashing this plane. The wide- eyed stare shows he isnt hiding anything he
wants the agent to know he isnt bluffing and does so by keeping eye contact all the time (which
also strikes fear into the agent). The tone of Banes voice when he says this also represents him
as a psychotic character, which fits the conventional traits of the main villain in thriller movies.
He lifts his voice slightly, as people do when they say something with absolute certainty after
being asked a question, showing his confidence in his ability that he can and will crash the plane,
reaffirming the fear the audience relates to Bane. This breaks the tension of the scene and places
the focus onto the action.

At 4:18 seconds, the audience can appreciate the enormity of the situation.
The establishing shot shown above represents the power Bane now has over
the situation, represented in the size difference between his plane and that of
the Government. It reaffirms the themes of death and destruction because of
how real the situation is becoming, as shown in this shot. It also continues the
deception, because the amount of power Bane had over the situation was, as
previously mentioned, made to appear minimal when actually at this point it is
very clear he has a lot.
Furthermore, the diegetic music now changes to a piece with a faster pace and
increased volume, with sharper notes played on violins. From this point
onwards, very quick bursts of action are shown instead of long, drawn out
monologues. When these to features of the scene are combined, the overall
pace of the scene is increased, emphasising the action and therefore
danger/risk of death within the scene. This follows thriller conventions due to
the typical narrative of death.

The greatest example of Banes power within the scene is shown at 5:05. A
point of view shot now places the audience directly below him, once more
emphasising his power and control over the scene. It also makes the audience
appreciate the fear that any remaining survivors must feel because they are in
the same position that character is in, making the threat Bane poses even
greater.
A camera shake is additionally used in conjunction with the low angle shot to
further the powerful representation of Bane, because it makes him seem so
much bigger than he actually is. As well as this, the music stops for this
section of the scene, allowing all the focus and appreciation to be placed upon
this representation of Bane and nothing else. It is a crucial part of the movie to
foreshadow Banes character for the rest of the film, and is done by giving a
lasting impression.