Case Studies- Panic Room

Panic Room
Mise en scene The mise en scene in the first scene is that of urban city life, and thus is reflective of modern day life. And so the fact that it is of the thriller genre makes it that much more ‘closer to home’ for the viewer. Whatever disequilibrium that is soon to come in this narrative will have the viewer wondering could this happen to me?
The big expensive, elite looking buildings is in a sense intimidating as they are so big, this allows the viewer to infer of a destructive antagonist. The use of this daunting or powerful inner city mise en scene, tells the audience something bad is going to happen and so we become on edge, and anticipate for a destructive of frightening disequilibrium.

The mise en scene changes from the elite powerful looking buildings to the city. We are introduced to two characters that are dressed in opposite types of clothing but both are reflective of a modern woman in an urban society. All they are dressed very differently. For example one is dressed in a more flamboyant coat whereas the other is dressed in all black clothing. This suggests to me that the one dressed in all black clothing is most aware of her surroundings. And the other one is more likely to be exploited by the antagonist later on in this narrative.



Sound - There is the use of daunting deep instruments in the non-diegetic sound used for this opening sequence. The deep music connotes destructive power and links in with the city we are being introduced. When we associate with urban settings we don’t expect the dark and deep music that we infer to represent power and danger. We normally associate this music with a rural and unattractive mise en scene.

Camera Angles - Camera angles in this first scene are used to immense effect to create tension, suspense and a feeling of stalking. There are many point of view shots used in a montage- style fashion. We are being introduced to the setting and the high angle shot connotes a sense of superiority making the viewer feel inferior and most importantly enticing them into the narrative. There is one last tilt from a high angle shot to a mid-shot of two women. This sudden change creates a sense of normality. It is normal as the audience are able to familiarise themselves with the setting as oppose to the opening scene and the camera movement. The camera in this scene is taking on human characteristics; we feel that we are somewhat the eyes of the antagonist, stalking this city. We link the opening establishing shots with the two very apparent normal women. Although the use of high angles tilts make us fearful and also not safe from the antagonist’s wrath even though we know no physical harm will come to us.

The women are in dialogue and some sense of urgency is portrayed by the director through tracking. This sense of urgency on the surface to the viewer does not seem unusual as modern day women have been portrayed as having busy lifestyles. But if the viewer is an active consumer then they would link this urgency with the opening scene and infer of something out of the ordinary.
In the next scene there is a wide shot, but what is most interesting is the positioning of the characters. The man is represented as superior as he is standing at the top of the stairs. The two ladies are below him seem inferior. This suggests a conflict soon to come in the narrative between both females as the protagonists and not necessarily this man but a male antagonist.
There is then a gradual zoom from a medium shot to a close-up. This conveys her facial expression which is one of enigmas. This also makes the audience feel uneasy, but it may lead the viewer to connect with this character as the female is aware of something untoward that is coming her way.