Analysis Of Kiss Me Deadly (first 3 minutes)

When the clip starts we see a mid shot of the woman’s feet as she runs, this adds and air of mystery for the audience as they would wonder who it is and where she is running from/to and why. Next we see a mid shot of the woman’s upper half so we can now identify from her facial expressions that she is desperate and may be running from danger. It is a typical convention of film noir to use music to play a big part in creating the atmosphere, here orchestral music is added to exaggerate the mood, when the woman is running the pace quickens and when she stops the music slows and thins out, the drums stop and string instruments are used. On top of this, you can hear the woman’s breathing loudly most of the way through the clip. This was probably added in post-production to make the heavy breathing louder than usual so her fear and panic is exaggerated to the viewers.

When the woman stops the car a p.o.v. shot shows the driver’s point of view of the car stopping in front of the woman, making the audience feel like they are in the car, part of the action, and involved in the film. This type of shot makes the film immersive which in hand makes this genre of film popular. Through mise en scene the stereotypical ‘tough’ man is shown as the woman is obviously upset and he is more worried about his car. The woman’s voiceover would have been added in post-production, this is highly expected from a film noir as the voiceovers add information in a way that doesn’t have to include the characters within the story so dramatic irony can be created.

As this is an old film, black and white was the only option and this has became another convention of film noir. The titles role down in white as a contrast to the dark background. During this you can hear the ambient sound of the woman panting loudly and non-diegetic music is used to create the mood of the film. This scene where they are both sat in the car may have been done on-set with a projector screen as it would have been easier to film than attaching a camera to a moving car.

The scene with the policemen gets the audience interested as we know the officer is talking about the woman- this involves the audience as it makes them feel like they are in on a secret.