2. Shellie is the ‘damsel in distress’ within the extract of Sin City.This character is presented as
confident, feisty and independent. The mise en scene relating to costume, hair and makeup for
this character screams out provocative.The subject appears to be wearing underwear with an
oversized men’s shirt which is extremely revealing. Her hair and makeup look worn but still
elegant, suggesting of the characters sex appeal and seductive mannerisms. Following on from
the seduction point, Shellie carries out her movements, dialogue and actions very flirtatiously
which uncovers her strong, womanly persona. Despite this characters confident ways, we see a
childish, vulnerable side to Shellie as she becomes reliant on Dwight to fix the situation that
they’re in. High angles are used on Shellie as she is attacked by Jackie-Boy to reveal the
susceptible nature of the character and to prove how her emotions have drastically changed
from being fearless to being scared and weak. Her position in the camera and her body
language of kneeling down also add to the vulnerability which completely contrast to long
shots earlier on showing confident body language with the subject’s hands on her hips.
3. Dwight is the main protagonist in this film; we can see that this subject possesses certain traits
which give off a vibe of relaxation, confidence and braveness. From the start of the scene, the
mise en scene of this character clearly suggests his high status as his costume appears
expensive and upper class; the makeup and hair is very natural to match the theme of normal
people in abnormal situations.The facial expressions of this character are, also, completely
natural which is strange as he is in a very dangerous situation.These calm and composed
expressions show the audience that this character is not at all fazed by the action taking place
and clarifies that he is experienced in this sort of business. The dark colours and shadows used
on this character create mystery and the limited amount of speech showcases the
professionalism of the subject. Dwight is not afraid of Jackie-Boy like Shellie is and the fight
scene that occurs does not affect Dwight in the slightest; he continues to maintain a collected
facial expression and attitude throughout.A lot of close ups are used on this particular
character in order to reveal his calm persona; long shots are utilised to show his sharp actions
and to display his more mature way of handling situations which contrasts with Jackie-Boy’s
shouting method.
4. Jackie-Boy is the antagonist of the film and from the beginning of the scene we can interpret
his unstable, villainous ways. Jackie-boy emerges in a dark lighting which shows us that he is
deceitful and unsafe. The mise en scene of his costume is similar to Dwight’s, which suggests
importance, however, his hair is long and draped over his face whereas Dwight’s is clean cut.
This suggests his insecure and irrational state along with his uncaring attitude and drunken
situation. Jackie-boy’s body language is slow moving and careless; he possesses a prop of a
cigarette revealing to the audience that he is dangerous and also does not take into account his
health or anyone else's. The character’s husky voice suggests of his bad physical state and
further clarifies of his threatening traits.The fact that Jackie-boy believes that hitting Shellie is
acceptable implies that he is aggressive and is the reason why Shellie moved on and is still
apprehensive around him; it shows his strong and powerful side. On the other hand, we are
given a glimpse of weakness from this character as Dwight attacks him; high angles are used
on the subject as, just like Shellie, he kneels on the floor after being assaulted by another
character (Dwight).The fact that his actions backfire and that he ends up in the same position
as Shellie reveals the feeble or vulnerable side of Jackie-boy and adds more expanse to the
character.
