Codes and
conventions of the crime thriller genre Kieran
Drury
The
Crime Thriller genre has many different codes and conventions that can belong to
the stylistics of mise en scene, setting, sound and so on. As my creative piece
is going to belong to the crime thriller sub genre I must use the appropriate
codes and conventions to show that my film belongs to this genre. The genre I’m
looking at specifically is the British crime thriller genre with films such as
Snatch and Lock Stock and two smoking Barrels (Ritchie) rather than the American
crime thriller with films such as The Departed (Scorsese).
One
of the main conventions of the Crime Thriller is the use of specific props,
especially weapons; throughout the crime thriller genre many weapons are used as
props to convey different things. There are many conventional weapon props such
as bladed weapons such as knives to show character seriousness and willingness
to murder and blunt weapons to define the low level thugs and to show brutality.
Finally probably the most used convention of the crime thriller genre is the use
of guns. Guns conventionally within this genre reflect the power of the
character, the bigger or more complex the gun the more powerful the character is
the usual trend, however they can also be used to invert expectations and create
humour. Humour is also a convention of the crime thriller genre as it is used
throughout the films to counter balance the seriousness of the murders and crime
occurring within the films.
This
clip from Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels below is an example of how
conventional weapon props can be used to show power and to create humour in a
crime thriller. As seen in the clip most of the serious criminals have sawn-off
shotguns a gun typically used by criminals in the crime thriller genre. This
shows that these characters are serious about there work and ready to kill to
achieve there goals. The fact that the amateur drug dealers have an air rifle to
defend their money and drugs creates humour as it is completely ineffective
against the serious criminals and unexpected by the audience. By using the air
rifle prop and the characters reactions to it, Lock Stock creates humour
achieving one of its main conventions.
Another prop that is a convention of the crime thriller genre is the use of costume. The more powerful and sophisticated/experienced criminals are usually dressed in expensive suits, whereas the less experienced criminals (conventionally the protagonist/s) are usually dressed in relatively normal/cheap clothes, this is well illustrated in the following screenshots from Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
In these screenshots below from Snatch we can see that the less powerful characters are dressed in casual gear to signify that they pose no great threat to the character. The protagonist however is dressed in an expensive black suit to show his power and the danger he poses to the character. This use of costume is a typical convention of the crime thriller and is one of the most effective ways to suggest character importance and the characters power within the diegesis.
Another prop that is a convention of the crime thriller genre is the use of costume. The more powerful and sophisticated/experienced criminals are usually dressed in expensive suits, whereas the less experienced criminals (conventionally the protagonist/s) are usually dressed in relatively normal/cheap clothes, this is well illustrated in the following screenshots from Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
In these screenshots below from Snatch we can see that the less powerful characters are dressed in casual gear to signify that they pose no great threat to the character. The protagonist however is dressed in an expensive black suit to show his power and the danger he poses to the character. This use of costume is a typical convention of the crime thriller and is one of the most effective ways to suggest character importance and the characters power within the diegesis.
In these two screenshots from Lock Stock we can see that the
most powerful gangster in the film is wearing a black suit which is almost
exactly the same as the attire the antagonist wears in snatch. This would
suggest that suits are certainly a convention of the crime thriller genre. Also
in the second screenshot we can see the low level unimportant thug in Lock Stock
dressed in tatty, old clothing similar to that worn in the screenshot from
snatch. This also shows that specific costumes or style of costume are
conventions of the crime thriller genre.
Within
the crime thriller genre another convention would be use of certain settings,
especially the British crime thriller. Both Snatch and Lock Stock are both set
in large urban cities and many more non British crime thriller films are also
set in large cities, for example The Departed. The reason for this convention
would be that it allows the audience to see the secret crime infrastructure
which operates right under the noses of average people; this increases the
thrill for the audience and thus achieves the aims of a thriller. As can be seen
below by a screenshot of city from Lock Stock
Another conventional setting within this genre is the use of dark and seedy interiors, usually gambling dens or places where criminals hide their stashes or plan their crimes as seen in this screenshot from Lock Stock.
However
this can be juxtaposed against another conventional setting from the crime
thriller genre which is the grandeur and obvious expensiveness of where the head
gangster/antagonists reside.
