The mise-en-scene tells the
viewer a lot about the film. Firstly the use of the knife which is very close to
the centre of the poster revealing its significance. Including a weapon
instantly indicates to the viewer the type of themes will be used in the film
and making it obvious as to what the genre of the film will be. The use of a
knife has an ambiguous interpretation as the audience can see it as a weapon,,
however the way the knife is positioned so it appears to be reflection of the
characters face making the audience think and interpret it as a mirror
portraying vanity and pride. Considering that, the tag-line for the movie is
‘Killer Looks’. This excites the curiosity of the viewer as they are uncertain
of the role of the character.
The costume plays a
significant role of identifying what type of character he is. It gives a vivid
sense of professionalism and intelligence, suggesting that the character is a
career focused, respected and business-like character. This character is played
by Christian Bale, a well-known actor in the film industry. Using a well-known
actor encourages people to watch the movie, and as the main character is viewed
as attractive, it encourages females to watch the movie; this widens the target
audience of the movie. The notion of glamour is indicated through the use of the
sparkles that surround the knife. This ensures that the audience’s attention
will be mostly on the knife, which suggests that the knife is of high
importance, emphasising the glamourised approach to the object.
The use of colour on this
poster closely follows the conventions of the thriller genre. This is done by
the use of dark colours, such as black, grey and red. This helps reveal to the
audience that the film is a thriller as the colour suggests the type of
narrative likely to be included. The use of red in the background and on his tie
symbolises the idea of death, danger, blood etc. which hints towards the plot of
the film. The use of low and high key lighting also creates an atmosphere
surrounding by showing light areas on the key features of the poster such as the
knife, there is also light on one side of his face, whereas the other side is
dark, suggesting a mysterious and suspicious character.
Lastly, the font of the
title and tag line matches and accentuates the themes portrayed in the poster.
The tag line has used a simple, italic font making it appear fancy and
glamorous. The colour makes it stand out against the black suit, which makes it
more eye catching for the audience.
