Analysis of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' Trailer

The trailer of the Swedish version of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' starts with a wide shot of the back of a girl, dressed in black, walking down an underground tunnel at night. This signifies her mysterious character and the feeling of someone watching her as the point of view shot suggests this, creating a sense of paranoia in the first few seconds of the trailer, being aspects of the genre of a thriller. The shots of the mysterious girl scrolling through code like text on a computer and her rapid typing displays fast cuts generating a fast pace to the trailer which is another signifier of a thriller. The medium long shot of the girl sitting still is filmed from a distance to include the passing of a black shadows across the screen which adds another element of mystery of the unidentified character within the scene as the viewer feels as if the girl is trapped. The next scene contrasts massively with this last shot showing the violent attitude of the girl as she punches a man. The shot of the girl swifting through lots of possessions hints at the activity of the girl medelling in someone's business. The next medium long shot of the girl displays her to be looking at a computer showing a map combined with codes and the eyeline match, zooming in on the screen, shows the codes and maps in more detail suggesting that the thriller combines stalking as the next shot shown focuses on the a man in the street, seen to be walking in the opposite direction to the rest of the public signifying the character to be of importance and a possible target in the film. The next couple of shots display the camera lens to follow the man's actions, followed by the sight of multiple shots of him which presents the process of the man being stalked which is a definite signifier of a thriller. The fast cut black and white, grainy shots of a woman at the window of a house introduces another aspect of mystery as she is not formally introduced in the trailer and therefore must be linked to the man being stalked which is a typical signifier of a thriller, a lost or missing girl or the possible death of a woman. The next shot of girl's wounded leg shows the detail of blood being a typical signifier of a thriller, emphasising the danger and violence of the action involved in the movie. The added shots of a car chase at night also emphasise the action in the movie, whilst the time of day is when most crime and mysterious events happen which suits the genre of a thriller well. The next two shots display the characters in the isolated settings, the man in a snowy landscape, alone whilst another figure is walking across a bridge, also alone. This suggests the characters share the feeling of isolation at atleast one point in the film. The end of the trailer comes to a climax with numerous fast cut and paced shots of various actions such as gun shooting, smashing windows, kissing, snatching and ending with a shot of the main character being purposely injured in the neck and showing her pain in her facial expression. These shots sum up events of the movie as well as associating the storyline of the movie to the genre of a thriller.