Case Study - The Bourne Identity

The Bourne Identity is a thriller directed by Doug Liman. It is a thriller which falls into the sub-genres of action, crime, and mystery. Common thriller generic conventions occurring in this film include the narrative of the film, centred around the crime of what was supposed to be the murder of 'Jason Bourne'. Themes of identity - Jason is picked up by a fishing boat and saved with the removal of a bullet only to wake with amnesia. An important enigma is set up in the opening which is further complicated only to be resolved towards the end (his identity). The plot of the film which is developed throughout is finding his identity, though this is only part of the narrative which is further explored through the antagonists. Protagonist Jason Bourne not only attempts to find out his true identity but also wants to find out who is after him and for what reason, this is a mystery to him as a sufferer from amnesia and he must encounter a number of obstacles to discover his identity and what he 'used to be' which explains why he is on the run, and from whom he is running.

Micro elements are also combined to develop the elements of a thriller. For example, in the opening scene the diegetic sound of the storm combined with the dark lighting instantly sets an atmosphere for the audience - we anticipate danger through the weather and perhaps even a factor of the unknown (implications of his identity) with the dark lighting. Another feature of editing is the camerawork, low angles are used frequently in the opening scene which also create a sense of mystery, the surroundings are hidden from the viewers which creates tension, an important element of thrillers, this keeps the audience asking questions and wanting to watch on and know what is happening/going to happen. Editing transitions are also adapted to build suspense, transitions are quite slow and nothing too exciting happens too early on however this is particularly effective with the alternatively contrasting loud music and sound which create excitement making it appear as though this is building to a dramatic composition. These features of micro elements are evident throughout the film - varying with the scene and atmosphere, handheld camerawork/steady-cam and fast pans as well as crane shots and quick-cut transitions are used during high action-packed scenes such as the car chase accompanied with loud diegetic and non-diegetic sound to create excitement whereas slower transitions are accompanied with low volume sound for the calm scenes building suspense. Here is the scene towards the beginning which i closely analysed: