Sin City Opening Sequence Analysis

Sin City is a crime action/drama film released on the 1st of April 2005 by Dimension Films and Troublemaker Studios. It was directed by Quentin Tarantino, Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez. This film had a target audience of adults ageing between 18-35, this is because this type of audience would be comfortable with the high level of violence throughout the film. In terms of social economic class, this film would probably appeal mostly to classes of C downwards, such as students as they are looking for excitement which is attained through the films exaggerated themes.

Narrative

Although we can not tell this from the opening sequence, Sin City is an example of non-linear narrative. Unfortunately, character types and binary oppositions are hard to identify in the opening sequence of Sin City as it is all a bit confusing, this however is good in some way as it gives way for some of the enigma codes such: "Who is the man in black and the woman in red?" "Why is the woman in red?" "Why does the man shoot the woman?" "Why does the film start like this and what relevance does it have to the rest of the film?". These questions all hook the audience and make them want to continue watching to find out the answers.

Media Language

The opening scene has very low key lighting and the use of shadows in this neo-noir scene grip the audience. We can hear the non-diegetic sounds of cars and police sirens throughout the scene, we can only see certain diegetic soundssuch as the characters footsteps and voices, the lighting of the woman's cigarette, the rain while they are kissing and the gun being fired.  First of all we have a long establishing shot of the woman on the balcony with the buildings towering over her to show her insignificance. 

We then see another shadowy figure come out from behind the woman and start coming towards her. The fact that the characters face is shadowed, suggests his moral ambiguity to the audience, and the fact that the woman is stood there holding herself shows her loneliness and vulnerability to the audience.

 

We then have a close up shot of the two characters hand as the man offers the woman a cigarette, which sows his power and that he is in control.

Next we have a close up of the woman's face as the man lights her cigarette for her, her eyes turn green which could suggest that the woman is hiding something and that there is more to her than what we first see.

We then have an over the shoulder shot from the point of view of the man which is coordinated to make him seem much taller than the woman which again implies his power in the scene. He is also partially shadowed which suggests something sinister and foreshadows the killing of the woman.

Lastly, we have a crane shot of the two character as the male holds the dead woman's body after he has shot her, he is looking up to the sky, almost as if he is asking for redemption after the murder.