momento

Momento

The opening to this film is shot in reverse it shows the outcome then works backwards to the point of where it began. The film does not go in the typical order of a film, beginning, middle, end, it is non linear, it involves flashbacks. You can tell it is a thriller because it does have some of the common typical conventions you see in a thriller film, you can see a gun, blood, bullets and broken windows, these devices all start to make you question why they are there? Who are the people? Why is someone dead? The camera uses jump shots and close ups to draw your attention directly to what is focused on. There is a slow tilt from the camera to the face building tension as to the identity of the person holding the camera, there are also high and low angle shots, from looking down on the dead body which is defenceless and looking up to the man with the gun who has all the power. The film is in reverse which gives a complicated narration, the editing uses dissolves to blend together 2 shots and makes the transition quite smooth, the editing also uses shot reverse shot to add to the tension. The main character is dressed in a cream suit so he seems like a calm person his visual appearance does not give the audience any reason to think that he is violent or dangerous, because the audience would infer this by the colour red but he does not wear red. In the Mise en Scene there are many devices used to create suspense, there is a photo of a body covered in blood that is fading, the building the characters enter is a rusty run down looking place it seems desolate and shack like, the interior of the building has cracked walls and broken photo frames it doesn't seem like a good place to be. Parts of the flashbacks are shot in black and white trying to imply that it is not a very clear story.