Watchmen (Snyder, 2009, US) Opening Sequence Analysis [Genre: Thriller]

This close up of a silenced gun and 'Hustler' magazine give us information about the character. The gun shows that he has a more violent lifestyle than the average person as normal people do not have guns on their coffee table. The fact that this prop is easily accessible to the character may imply that he is either untidy or that he feels the need to be protected, even when he is watching TV in his apartment. The 'Hustler' magazine demonstrates that he is most likely a bachelor and doesn't have any other family living with him in the house.

Another shot that is shown early on, before we know much about the character and setting is the television screen. The news broadcast mentions 'Soviets Violate Territorial Waters'. This implies to the audience that the film is set around the time of the cold war.  The TV set itself reinforces this point as it is clearly not a TV that somebody would have in modern times.

The diegetic music from the TV within the sequence is very calm and soft, along with the slow pace of shots, this makes the audience feel comfortable and relaxed. Therefore, the loud sound of the door being smashed in is shocking for the audience as it is not expected.

 

The intruding character is concealed from the audience through elements of mise-en-scene such as the dark, black costume of the character; and the use of low key lighting to completely hide his face. This adds an element of mystery to the character. Especially given his following performance of violently attacking the Edward Blake with a high degree of skill.

Blake's reaction to this unknown characters violent entrance is surprising to the audience, as his performance implies he expected this attack to happen. This is also shown by the character's dialogue "Just a matter of time, I s'pose"

The eyeline match between Blake and the gun demonstrates the fact that he has a plan of attack to fight back against the intruder. This allows the audience to get an impression of what he is about to do before he does it.

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The contrapuntal music begins as being diegetic, as it is played on the TV, however, after the television of shot, the music becomes non-diegetic as it is louder and of a better quality. This music is unusual as it does not match the violent and gorey visuals that accompany it. This use of sound makes the audience curious and makes them become interested in the movie.

The performance given by Blake after he has been brutally attacked is also unusual given the premise. He is smile and laughing, despite being in a lot of pain.

The prop of the smiley face badge is one other contrast between the general theme of the scene. This is because connotations of the a smiley face are happiness and joy, whereas the fight scene that has just occurred do not follow this theme.