Analysis of 'Brick'

Brick, 2005- Rian Johnson

The opening scene of Brick was very simple, but effective. To draw the viewer in from the start, the director used: the conventions of a thriller, camera work, editing, sound, and mise en scene and I will be discussing these aspects.

Conventions
Straight away, the audience begins to wonder what happened, and how these two charactors ended up in this situation. A common convention of films is to show the ending at the beginning, and then show the eveents leading up to this situation.
 
Camera
The whole of the opening is filmed using close ups and midshots.

Editing
The edit at the end of the scene foreshadows the next scene which builds tension for the audience. The slow edits also raise tension and suspense as it makes the audience ask questions.

Mise-en-Scene
The actors in this scene were wearing scruffy looking clothes, quite casual wear, in an underpass. It arouses suspicion and makes the audience worry and feel concerned as to why they are in such a secluded place.
Sound
There is only non diegetic sound in this opening, only music is heard and there is no diologue. This makes the audience feel a sense of unease as the music is calming and yet pschotic.