Analysis stills from the opening of ‘No Country For Old Men’

 

This is a long shot showing a police sheriff arresting a man and placing him in the back of his car.  It the first shot the audience see of any people, suggesting they must be important. This shot instantly has the audience asking question for example what crime has been committed? This has been done because it gets the audience interested in what going on and makes them want to watch the rest of this film to get the answers to their question. It is also very typical for thriller openings create mystery from the first couple of shots. The two characters in this shot have been made to clearly represent two different types of people. The sheriff is wearing a typical uniform for his job and it’s very smart and clean. This show the audience the sheriff takes his job seriously and he is a professional. Whereas, the other man in this shot is wearing very dark clothing. This suggests to the audience that he is bad and mysterious. Also what interesting about the man who has been arrested is that he doesn’t seem fazed and he isn’t even trying to struggle. Suggesting that he has been arrested before meaning he has committed crimes before. The setting of this shot is in the middle of desert and in the background there is a road which seems to lead nowhere.  Showing the audience that this place isn’t very well populated and makes them think, if something went wrong, who would sort it out (making as perfect place to commit a crime).

 

This close up showing what looks like some kind gas tank. This shot has be used to create more mystery and confusion for the audience. It does this because we don’t know exactly what it is, if it’s the reason why the man has been arrested or why someone would be in possession of it. Also this shot suggest to the audience that it is a key prop for the film which also suggest that person who owns it can’t be ‘normal’.

After being arrested, the man strangles the sheriff with his handcuffs, showing the audience a bird’s eye view shot of what happening.  This is the first shot the audience get to see the arrest man’s face properly, epimerising the mystery of him. The face he is pulling is looks like he is determined to kill that man. This tells the audience that he must be a psychopath to be able to commit this crime and suggest that this isn’t the first time he has killed someone. Also the face he is pulling looks creepy and haunting, making the audience fear him.  The sheriff who is being strangled looks distressed and struggling to fight back, this makes the audience have sympathy for him as they know he going to be brutally murdered.

This is another bird’s eye view shot showing the killers wrists after killing the sheriff.  It show the audience how much strength the killer had to have to strangle the sheriff and he doesn’t seem in any pain or distress by his injuries. Showing the audience wants again that he must be some kind of psychopath to go through that pain to kill someone. Also it makes the audience think about will anything stop him when killing someone?

This is another bird’s eye view shot showing the dead’s sheriffs legs with skid makes around him, showing the audience how much of a struggles his death was, making them sympathise with the sheriff. Also it again shows how much strength and determination the killer has to commit this crime.