Rhys Birdy - Textual Analysis – Conventions and Media Language of a Thriller Film (Drive)

The film Drive was set in 2011 and is a crime thriller, and the main star is Ryan Gosling and has got critical acclaim.

For the first 10 seconds of Drive, there is an establishing shot of a city with a lot of skyscrapers for the start of the opening. There are non-Diegetic sounds, it is upbeat and quick music, instruments of drums and electronic keyboard and guitar which runs through the first minute of the opening, this type of music is counter typical of a thriller opening with it saying Ryan Gosling in pink on the screen. It then has a mid shot which shows the character in the car however we don’t know who he is which emphasises the enigma portrayed, the man is wearing casual clothes which shows realism and the title Drive coming up. For the next minute there are the same shots with the same character but the audience does not know if he is the protagonist or the antagonist or any form of mistaken identity. There are other shots used such as the over the shoulder shot and the mid shot used consecutively which for a thriller is used a lot to add the suspense and mystery in the opening and the non-diegetic sounds still being portrayed. There are no editing techniques really used till this point because there are limited camerawork and sound is the same which shows that the opening is very simple and real when the audience watches. There is then a bird’s eye view of a highway which for a thriller is counter typical because normally in an opening they add more suspense and terror upon the audience. Now the non-diegetic has changed to a woman singing which is counter typical of an opening. There is some slow motion used when on the camera shot which is typical in an opening because it builds up the tension being portrayed. Then he is going to the elevator and there is a point of view shot being used which is a good editing technique and typical and creates realism in an opening. The enigma factor is there but the audience know that he is perhaps the main character. Then when he enters the hotel room, he drops the bag and leaves with the over the shoulder shot used. In this opening there are a lot of shots that are behind him and a lot of slow motion when waling and going through the camerawork, it adds that enigma therefore there is no mistaken identity.

To conclude, the opening of Drive has very limited camerawork, and mise en scene, as the opening was meant to be as realistic as possible and have that enigma being used and the audience not knowing if the character is the antagonist or protagonist.