I shall be reviewing the thriller The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo, while taking into consideration the five macro elements. In addition I shall be referring to the micro element as a point of reference.
Representation varies drastically throughout this film, either by the way certain characters act towards each other, and what the audience are able to assume from this. Lisabeth Sandler, one of the major characters within the story is represented in multiple forms ranging from antisocial yet intelligent to vulnerable and dangerous. One of the ways by which she is represented in this form is through the use of mise en scene. She mainly uses computers as props constantly throughout the film; this connotes her level of intelligence in comparison to other major characters. Furthermore it emphasises her level of importance within the film as key plots of information derive from her being the technical analyst. Another way in which she is represented is through mise en scene once again during her rape scene with Nils Bjurman, and her performance during that scene portrays a different side of the character we see in the majority of the film. We denote her screaming,shouting, as well as being violently being struck with an object. This then allows us to connote a sense of vulnerability and fear within her character, subverting from the dominant figure we've seen through other segments in the film. In addition as an audience we're capable of empathising with her character because her performance allows you to fell what her character is feeling at an emotional level. In relation to thriller her character both subverts and conforms as a protagonist due to the fact that at multiple points within the film she is dominant, yet as mentioned previously in rape scenes she clearly shown as the vulnerable an inferior character,which is usually evident within thriller, especially in comparison to the antagonists.
Narrative within the film once again varies as audience are constantly on the edges of their seats while at other points they're sometimes one step ahead of the characters. In the majority of the film the story is fairly linear, but at times the story is non-linear. This is consistently depicted through the use of editing, when certain characters have a flash back that provides important information to the story. This is a common convention found within thrillers in order to throw the audiences off track or even to give them greater levels of detail especially when enigma codes are evident. Another form of narrative used within the film is omniscient narration and this is represented and denoted by the use of editing, when they're cross cutting at the point were we as the audience have discovered that Martin Vanger was the one behind all the race hate killing, yet Lisabeth didn't. This allows the story to be tipped in our favour because it allows us to ponder the possibilities of whether she'll find out in time, therefore making the film more tense, and dramatic. Furthermore this is commonly used within thriller to allow the audience to have more information than the character in order for us to ponder the consequences as well as move the story forward.
The thriller genre is evident within the film throughout the use of different convention that allow the film to call its self a thriller. One of the thriller conventions used within the film are enigma codes. This are represented through the use of a close up on Lisabeth's face when searching through the evidence. This connotes a sense of confusion within the audience as more information is required, and we're unable to obtain it therefore the narration becomes restricted. Another convention that i noticed within the film was the use of a red herring; this is denoted when Bloomkvist discovers that Martin is the killer, and its a race against time for Lisabeth to save him. For the film this allows them to be capable of deceiving the audience in order to achieve a sense of mystery and confusion in a way that they don't expect; this is something that is usually evident within thriller films in order to achieve the further sense of mystery. Another use of thriller conventions are action codes, which act up the enigma codes. These are denoted at the very last segment of the film at different points e,g when they find the missing girl, and discover the reason behind why she had left. This allows the audience to fully understand the plot of the film, and answers all the questions raised previously in the film. This is a common convention found in thriller in order to retain the interest of the audience in order to make them want to know what's going to happen or even why something has taken place.
The target audience for this film must have initially been aimed at a Swedish audience as the location, characters are all predominately set within some region of Sweden. Furthermore due to the numerous amount of graphic rape scene it seems to be aimed at a much older audience who world be capable of dealing with such scenes, such as 16-40 year old, as well as the fact that the characters within the film are within this age range. In addition there are some sex scenes which could appeal to mainly males but due to the real life issues presented within the film, such as rape, that could essentially be target at females.
The production company affects the film because its an independent film studio in Sweden, that while aiming at the Swedish demographic were able to appeal to a more global audience, and make a far larger impact that expected from an independent film studio. This has significance due to the fact that the scenes within the film because their budget would've been low assuming that they weren't able to use amazing locations, like Hollywood films or have high end technical advancements. This reduced the storyline to not having such a global scope (showing why it was based in Sweden) however making it seem more personal, which is usually evident within thrillers in order for the audience to relate.
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