This is an analysis of the opening to the thriller Gone Girl

1. Kirsty Reeve

2. The whole film opens with the title
sequences.
Straight away from this the audience is
put into a sense of emergency
because each of the names on the
screen lasts for 3 seconds and then
fades out to the next. The audience is
forced to rush to try and read the
names on the screen.
The non diegetic soundtrack
adds to the tension of the film
because it is eerie which also
adds to the sense of emergency.

3. The first shot of characters that the
audience see is a blonde females head
with a males hand stroking her hair.
Without the need of dialogue it creates
tension because of the slowness of
movement of his hand. This immediately
makes people refer to the stereotype of
a relationship because this shot shows
that the male has power
Whilst this action is taking place there is a non-diegetic
soundtrack with the words “I picture cracking her lovely
skull”
This immediately adds a psychopathic image towards
the male in this shot because of the violence within the
dialogue
However when he announces
that this is his “wife” it makes
the audience realise that their
marriage is breaking down and
they/the man is not happy with
their relationship.

4. In the next shot the
woman turns round to look
towards the man as if she
heard what he was saying
(“I picture cracking he
lovely skull”)
A sense of deception is brought into this shot
because the audience first assume that this shot is
a point of view shot, however the female isn’t
looking to the camera and giving eye contact which
makes the audience question the trust for the
character.

5. This shot of the water adds a sense of mystery and a fear of the
unknown.
It makes the viewer feels as if something bad is going to happen that
you wouldn’t expect to by looking at the surface

6. The establishing shots o the neighbourhood
makes the audience think that they play an
important role in the problem/situation that
is going to unfold in the rest of the film.
As these shots play on the non diegetic
soundtrack gets louder which increases
the tension and eeriness of the film.
Fast paced editing is used and
increases the feeling of abandonment
(which is a common feeling in a
thriller film).
These shots could also suggest that
the film partially focusses on the
neighbourhood that is shown.

7. The pan of clock suggests that the characters in the film haven’t got a lot of time or
again a sense of emergency.
During this shot there is soundscape of animal noises which makes the whole scene
more realistic but makes the viewer feel as if they are there.
The fact that animal noises are used suggests that there is no one around which carries
on the feeling of abandonment.

8. This long shot of the
male character
suggests to the
viewer that he is the
speaker of the
voiceover.
Throughout the start of the
film he is motivating the cuts
and is in full focus throughout
which suggests that he is
going to hold prevalence in
the film.
The characters facial
expressions makes it seem
that he is despondent and
disconnected with his
marriage/relationship with
the female
As he is the first
character that we
fully see suggests that
he is going to play
one of the main
character roles in the
thriller.