Film genre analysis

America Psycho

At the beginning of the scene there is a lot of white around the house, white is quite a pure colour to have, but also gives the audience the impression that the owner is very clean and tidy. The music playing over the top of the scene is very relaxed and light-hearted, this creates a contrast for the audience, as they are expecting something to happen, due to the genre of the film. Again, like the neutral colours of the walls and the furniture, the music is very simple and controlled, adding to the idea that the character is very precise with things they do. During the scene, there is a voice over, the audience get the idea that the voice is of the man being shown, as he introduces a bit about himself. This is very effective, as it gives the audience an idea on how the character functions. There are a range of shots during the first glimpse of the man, this is because they have the camera following him to the bathroom, this is effective as it gives the feeling that the audience are following him also. From what the voice over, and the audience are seeing, we can clearly see that the character has a set routine for the morning, not only does this show that he is very compulsive with things he does , it also shows that he has a lot of pride in his appearance, and believes it is important to look after yourself. I think the purpose of the relaxing music and showing the morning routine, is to portray the man as a normal person, so that when the audience realise his real identity, they get more of a shock. There is a lot of light in the opening scene, this may be because they want to portray the man as a normal/happy person, but really he has a dark exterior. I believe that the face mask part of the scene is very important and relevant to the film, this is because the peeling away of the mask, may represent his outer layer, whereas, if you dig deeper, he has hidden secrets and a whole different persona. The character gives a dramatic stare at the end of the scene, this causes tension for the audience as they may believe that something is about to happen, due to the pro-longed camera shot.