Source Code- 2011, Duncan Jones

Is the opening to 'Source Code' effective? How does it build suspense and how does the director ensure you want to continue watching?


By looking at movies in the thriller genre I can effectively see what I can bring to  my own thriller film.
Source Code is an action thriller centered on a soldier (Jake Gyllenhaal) who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.
The film starts with a good establishing shot of Chicago and then the train and continues to switch back and forth between the two locations, this makes the viewer guess that these to aspects play a main role in the film.

The viewer can get a clue to where he is because we can hear train sounds in the distance. The music then becomes more classical and mysterious as he tries to figure out where he is, dark tones make the viewer question whats going on with this man.

The pace of the music quickens when we sense something isn't right and gradually as we find out more about the bomber and the 'source code' programme the music starts to become darker.

The trailer has many edits (over 100) this portrays to the viewer that it's going to be a high octane/fast pace movie. In the actual movie, only some events have quick edits, more last for longer. For example when the soda can is opened the attention is quickly transferred to that. During the face to face conversations that aren't shown in the trailer, the edits are fewer so the viewer can concentrate on what they are talking about. The pace quickens or slows to reflect the characters feelings at the time.