Sin City Analysis

Film Title:Sin city
Director:Robert Rodriguez
Title Designer:Frank Miller






Camera – distance, angle, movement…

The opening long shot of the female protagonist on the balcony establishes the environment as very dreary and sinister. Throughout the extract mid shots and close ups were most common. This enables the audience to engage in the conversation and see the characters reactions to eachother during the ambigous conversation. The zooming in is effective in creating suspence as it shows the tension in rising in the female even though we dont yet know why. The panning up from the women to the males face as she leans into him shows he is the dominant figure whereas earlier on there was a mid shot of the women in the forground with the male in the background showing her hold over him.The combination of zooming out and a low angle shot is very dramatic and allows the audience to take in what has happened during the climatic scene.The camera also becomes more shakey to increase realism and show that the situation is no longer calm.

Editing – speed, style…


The editing used is predomnantly straight cuts which increases realsim and continuity.It also reinforces the situation as very calm and refelcts the characters mood. Even during the murder the editing doesnt change much other than a flash of white as the gun goes off. This suggests that this is something the male character does on a regular basis and is the norm in this city.

Sound – effects, musical score…

The sound used in this extract is very subttle but effective. The sombre non diegetic music is parralel to the scene and reinforces the environment as very dreary and dark and also creates a mysterious tone, further strengthened by the non-diegetic male narrator and by the limited diegetic sound such as the rain and the firing of the gun. The fact that overall the extract is very quiet emphasises the gun shot, this would be used to shock the audience as there are no signs that this is about to happen as the pace of the music does not change.

Mise-en-scene – props, costume, setting, lighting, colour…

The red dress/lipstick the female is wearing stands out against the black and white surroundings, this connotes danger or conversley passion and romance. Another interpretation, taking into account her murder, could be that that red dress is acting like a bullseye and stands out as if she wants to be seen and is an easy target. The tuxedo the male is wearing connotes sophistication and is stereo typical of a spie or hitman. The cigarrette the women is given is symbolic as it is a tradition to give somone a cigarrete before they are killed. The silver gun is almost glowing against dull backdrop and has no blood on it after the kill, this connotes a clean kill as if it were rehearsed.

Special Effects – CGI, animation…

The black and white colouring is effective in making the extract more sinister (similar to film noir) as the red appears very harsh against it. It adds to the mysterious tone and emphasises the bold red that connotes danger which is typical of a thriller.