G321: Research into Thriller Films- Mock Exam

‘The Client’ is a 1994 thriller-mystery film on the book written by John Grisham. It was produced by Alcor Films and Warner Bros in the USA, most scenes are shot in Memphis and this is shown through the use of dialogue, street signs and the tribute to Elvis Presley. The film is a UK 15 certificate although shows no extreme violence, instead it shows character’s reactions to the violence and the effect it has on them, this could be because the story involves two young boys so may also have a younger audience. The story follows a young ‘Mark Sway’ as he witnesses a suicide after being told informed of the location of a US Senator’s body, shot by a mafia hit-man. As the FBI and lawyers come after him, he hires himself female lawyer ‘Reggie Love’, the film focuses on this relationship and the threats that Mark receives.

Joel Schumacher uses a hospital lift in one particular scene. This conforms to the convention of claustrophobic spaces. There are a variety of close ups showing a hand come round the corner, a knife pressed to the boy’s back and the killer’s face as he threatens the boy. The lighting is cleverly used; it is non-ambient red lighting from the emergency light in the lift. This represents danger and predetermines something fatal could happen. The building-up, high pitched music keeps the audience on edge and creates a sense of fear. The killer wears a surgeon’s mask on his face and a bandana on his head, hiding his identity and creating a suspicious, threatening image. In another scene, Mark and Reggie are searching a deserted boathouse, where the body is hidden. Schumacher creates a desolate setting, using shadows, silence and the only ambient light coming from the moon. It is an unglamorous, broken boathouse by a river and woods, showing little escape. Warning signs are hung around by the residents saying ‘Danger’ and ‘You will be shot’, these reinforce the danger that the characters are in. Diegetic sound is used as the characters creep around, stepping on creaky floorboards and heavily breathing. This adds to the tension and fear of being caught. Three of the mafia men arrive, kept in darkness and only seen by their silhouettes and shadows; this keeps their identity hidden and shows their suspicious, menacing images. The camera in this sequence is mostly tracking the characters, showing events from their point of view, making it seem realistic and involving the audience. There are close ups of the victims faces, showing their fear and vulnerability. A tilt shot shows the mafia men digging up the body from a high angle, presenting their actions as wrong and mixed up. It shows them as the ‘bad guys’. Mark is filmed from a low angle shot when climbing into the boathouse; this is predetermining him as the hero, when the situation is finally overcome.

The film is told from Mark Sway, the child’s point of view, showing his perspective of lawyers and police. Flashbacks are shown of the children seeing the man committing suicide and the evidence left at the scene, this reminds the audience what happened and reinforces whatever action is being taken. It is also in view of the child’s brother, suffering from post traumatic stress, who is remembering the images he has seen.

Schumacher uses a scene from ‘Coma’, a medical thriller from 1978, in which the killer chasing Mark is locked in a refrigerator in the hospital. This reference shows that Schumacher wants the scenes set in the hospital to reflect those of a hospital thriller, reinforcing the genre of these particular scenes whilst paying tribute to the director of ‘Coma’, Michael Crichton.

Although Memphis is shown in a friendly, West American way, where people join together to help one another out, it is seen also as a dingy, poor place with people living in trailer parks or on the street. It pays tribute to Elvis Presley, showing his character more than once, in full Elvis costume, complaining about his guitar being ruined. Memphis is contrasted with upper class neighbourhoods in New Orleans, where the body is found. The hospital is promoted, as it is clean and friendly and the staff are shown to help Mark and his family.
‘The Client’ uses the traditional ideology of the child lead, in danger, pulling through and becoming the hero with the help of the sympathetic female cohort. He is then safe, going into the witness protection programme with his family and his brother’s improving health. This would please the audience after they have developed a sense of sympathy for the boy and his troubles.

There are many stereotypes in the film, the lawyers and attorneys are presented as liars, through the way they question Mark and Mark’s view of his mother’s divorce lawyers. ‘Reverend’ Roy Foltrigg, the DA, is seen as slick and manipulative, flirting with Reggie Love to get around her and her client. However, he is also seen as fierce, only using Mark’s knowledge to further his own political ambitions. Reggie is shown as being motivated by her past of a broken marriage, drug and alcohol addictions. Her and Mark, helping his mother, after having an abusive, alcoholic father, both have sad background stories, to engage the audience and encourage sympathy for the characters. Dianne Sway, Mark’s mother, is a single mother, who works in a sweat shop; is always losing her job; living in a trailer park with two (less than ordinary) sons and had her children at a very young age. This is a very stereotypical view of single mothers and may offend some who can cope well. Her social situation and struggle is used again to evoke sympathy from the audience and show her vulnerability. Mark Sway is presented as a street wise kid, leading his younger brother astray. His costume reinforces his tough image, with a gold hoop earring, ripped vest tops and oversized ‘Led Zepelin’ t-shirts. This represents boys as the tougher gender, although Mark acts older than most boys his age. In one scene in the prisons, two cells are shown full of entirely black women, in their orange overalls, all yelling at Mark. This illustrates the racism in America and at that time, although the guards were also black, showing the segregation between blacks and whites and how black people were negatively represented because they were associated with crime. The ‘bad guys’ in this film are also very cliché, wearing black leather and modelling ugly, barbed wire tattoos and greasy hair, the response is one of disgust and dislike.

Females aged 18-29 are shown to have found this film most appealing. This is due to the rare, strong female role of Reggie Love, the lawyer. It goes against the stereotypical male lawyer role, and through this, provides a second mother figure for Mark. Females can relate to this, and using such an intelligent female role, will encourage them to watch it. It is rare with thriller films such as Along Came a Spider and Fight Club, for females to rate it higher, as men enjoy the action and violence, whereas women tend to prefer the relationships and sympathy. This film focuses strongly on the relationships between Mark and Reggie, and the Sway family, which brought in a larger female audience. Most reviews of the film are positive, although concerned with the number of stereotypes and clichés. Many watched it for the cast and the fact that it is a John Grisham story. The target audience therefore, would be John Grisham fans, or people who enjoy thrillers about law and justice. They may also enjoy ‘The Firm’ and ‘The Pelican Brief’, both law based adaptations of the Grisham books.