Analysis of a Contemporary Thriller Scene - Tell No One (Chase Scene)

At the beginning of the scene there is a lot of camera movement with the camera panning quite quickly, perhaps to emphasize the quick decision the character is making and also the rush within the situation. Throughout the chase, a hand-held camera is used to create a documentary feel, a sense of realism. The camera seems to be strapped to the characters chest whilst he’s running to perhaps force the audience to favour the character, and see his view. Also there are various over-the-shoulder shots used, making the audience see what he sees, and feel sympathy for him as it is a wrongful accusation, and he has no proof of his innocence. There are many close-up shots used within this scene, to show facial expressions, which may be a technique used to replace the need for dialogue, as there is minimal dialogue present during the chase.

The scene uses Propp’s character function theory by presenting a villain and a hero in a very distinct way, which confused the audience in the identification of who the villain is, and who the hero is. Through the use of mice-en-scene, the protagonist, who is running away, is shown to be sympathized with. He seems innocent as he climbed out of what seemed to be a doctor’s office, and was seen to be talking to a child in a friendly way, making him seem more like the hero in the film. On the other hand, the man chasing the protagonist is presented in a negative way, as he looks rough and sweaty, and also he has a gun in his back pocket which portrays him as the villain. This is ironic as the man chasing the protagonist is a policeman, whose role is to protect society, acting as a hero. However, in this scene, the policeman is shown to be a villain despite him fulfilling his role as a policeman, and so the audiences feel that he’s the ‘bad guy’.

The non-diagetic music in the scene mimics the man running, as at some points in the scene, the music is silent, showing his safety and that he’s not being chased. The silence is then interrupted with the beat again, showing that the chase is back on. Also, the music seems to create a tense atmosphere, to match the tense situation within the scene. The diagetic music within the scene makes the audience feel more connected with the character as they are hearing what the characters are hearing; for example, the sounds of cars, showing the busy environment.