Sherlock Holmes - Thriller Analysis

Sherlock Holmes (the 2009 film re-make) is a Crime Thriller which also has elements of action, adventure and mystery. There is a lot of violence and mystery as well as death. It also features dark magic and crime solving giving the film it's thriller genre.

The lighting is mostly dark, but natural to the setting. Everything is dirty and dingy as it is set in the industrial period in central London so the air is generally misty and polluted but this effect fits with the ambiance of the film. Although the film is mainly low lighting, in scenes when discussing Irene Adler, Holmes' love interest, the lighting is very bright; this could signify that the film is set through his eyes meaning most things seem dull to him apart from Irene. 

There are a lot of mid shots to show the full view of the scene as well as panning when characters are walking to/from the camera. There are also crane shots when a new location is introduced. At intense moments of speech, the camera is close-up to their face with the light focused on them also. In one moment, Dr. Watson pauses as he realizes something. To emphasize this, the camera zoom from a mid shot to a close-up of his face while the sound increases till it stops as the zoom stops. 

There is a lot of eerie music throughout the film to emphasise the mystery of the plot. There a chilling non-diegetic sounds inserted to exaggerate moment. When Holmes is describing his process of attack, all diegetic noise is dimmed and he becomes the voice of god narrating his actions, the movement is also slowed. During a fight scene, there is quirky non-diegetic music which speeds up as the fight progresses; the diegetic sound is decreased but the punches and hits are exaggerated, adding to the raciness of the scene. During a chase scene, the edits are fast and so the non-diegetic music increases pace to add anticipation.

The editing of the film is generally slow, although it becomes quick during fights and chases adding pace. There is a scene where Holmes is fighting with a large french man and at a couple of moments, a comic sub-title appears on the screen, as the character's are speaking french, reading 'one moment please' as they are fighting.