State of play: analysis of thriller conventions

The film State of play is a crime thriller featuring elements of mystery and action.
This trailer includes many of the conventions of the thriller genre.

A very important aspect of the thriller genre is the aspect of enima or mystery. This is used to create a sense of tension in the audience leaving them unknowing about what really happened. one way this is presented is near the beginning of the trailer. The camera fades to black repeatedly and cuts to a different image while heavy music throbs in the background with a deep bassy tone. The camera slowly zooms on an area of the film before quickly cutting. The music stops as two gushots are fired. This creates a large amount of tension with the gunshots being exadurated by the sudden lack of music.

The man firing the bullets also creates mystery. He is seen wearing a long dark cloak with a very blank facial expression. The audience do not know who he is or why he is shooting but they know he must be an antagonist because he clearly feels no remorse in killing somene.

After this the pace starts up. The film is clearly of the crime thriller genre. One of the first shots is of a group of police. The shot used is an establishing shot, setting the scene so the audience know what is happening.The camera repeatedly cuts to seperate images which keeps the pace moving fast. The music is also quick giving the impression of a requirement for speed, that maybe the killer will strike again.

Through all this there is a sense of realism still. All of the locations are down to earth, an office, a busy street. This lets the audience relate to the mise en scene, they fell like they have a connection with the characters and locations.

However, the trailer also uses theater of the mind. The audience never discover who was killed in the beggining of the trailer and are left wondering as to what has really happened. The trailer also never reveales the identity of the gunman creating a sense of suspense and mystery. This gunman is also shown again later on, however he is only portrayed with a silhouette in a dark alley way. This creates mystery and tension especially as the voiceover states that he is a proffesional at what he is doing.

The audience can also relate to the protagonist. Rather than being a stong and muscled soldier, he is an ordinary man. This is shown in his fear. In a scene in the trailer he is being pursued by a gunman, presumably the killer from the opening scene. Rather than facing him and having a fight, he is clearly in fear for his life. He is hiding and breathing heavily and the audience can better relate to the character because of this. in that sense the audience can never relate to the gunman, a cold, hard killer, which suggests that he is intended to be the antagonist and the audience is meant to turn against him.

The final scene is very conventional of the thriller genre. Dramatic, suspenceful music throbs in the background while the digetic dialogue suggests that the characters are turning against the protagonist but he is still determined to carry on. This makes the audience side with him.