Film : Taken (narrative and thriller signifiers)

Last weekend, I went to the cinema to see a new film called, Taken. It was directed by Pierre Morel and has Liam Nesson (Bryan), Maggie Grace (Kim), Famke Janssen (Lenore), Katie Cassidy (Amanda) starring as the main characters.

The narrative is based on, following an ex- CIA "Preventer", Bryan, who has to find his daughter- Kim- after she is kidnapped by human trafficking/sex-traffickers in Paris. He uses his skills from his past job to find her and will and does kill anyone who gets in his way.

At the beginning, the film started off as a very calm and peaceful atmosphere for the exception of the divorce between him and his ex-wife, Lenore. I believe the reason behind the divorce was because, he was always working and was never home to see his wife and Kim. Between them it was awkward, as Bryan had wanted to spend more time with his daughter but Lenore was reluctant. Lenore was married to her new husband, Stuart who was very well off. I think Bryan saw him as Kim's new father figure, so he wanted to do anything just to be back in Kim's life, (as he had missed most of her childhood).

If looking at the usual narrative of a thriller, after the beginning there is usually an event. This could have been Kim's 17th birthday party where Bryan goes to give her her present. We are shown what it is, so when Stuart springs a surprise present (a horse), we feel sorry for Bryan as he expresses disappointment, perhaps jealousy and sadness through his face expressions. However, there is another event that I think is more important which is when Kim and her friend, Amanda plan a trip to go around Europe, the first place being Paris.

Following the event comes the climax which has to be when Amanda and Kim arrive at Amanda's cousins' flat in Paris. They are supposed to be staying actually with Amanda's cousins but they have gone on holiday too. Kim was not told about this, so this worries her and the fact that her parents thought she would be too. As they are there only by themselves, they are shown very vulnerable as they are just two girls in a place they do not know, and do not know anyone there. On the other hand, whilst arriving in Paris, they do meet a young 'gentleman' called Peter. He appears to be a new arrival to Paris too, so they naively share a cab with him to where they are staying. He then tells them there is a party later that evening, asks them whether they will go, (Amanda says "yes" rapidly without Kim saying anything), he asks which floor their staying on and says he will pick them up later. This is the part where as the audience we notice an obvious corruption has occurred. This is more of the climax...when Amanda receives a call from her father- she confesses that She and Amanda are staying alone and she was not aware of this- she goes around the opposite side of the flat and ends up in a bathroom. In the bathroom, there is a window where if you look through, you can see the opposite side of the flat. Suddenly, about 4 black figures enter the side where Amanda is. They grab Amanda and contain her movement, taking her out of the flat. Kim witnesses this and still being on the phone, screams to Bryan this. The black figures then start walking towards the way in which Kim walked. She tells Bryan this. He tells her to go into the nearest bedroom and hide.

A problem then occurs as Kim is also kidnapped by this random black-clothed men. Bryan, still having an extremely good knowledge of CIA skills, manages to tell Kim to shout to him across her mobile, as many descriptive words about the kidnappers appearances (hair, clothes, voice...). This therefore gives Bryan a starting point in where to find her...or along the lines of having any hope of recovering her.

Following the rest of the film, he finally manages to find her and save her (the resolution), from being exported to another country. They arrive back in the US to be reunited with Kim's mother. The ending was very sweet and happy as Kim had a chance to fulfil her dream of having a chance to be a pop star.

(I missed some of the films plot and narrative, so I didn't give it all away).

LINK TO TRAILER OF FILM:

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3488219417/

Thriller signifiers:

*Twists which could include, when Kim finds out that her and her friend are alone whilst staying in Paris and when we (as the audience) find out that something is up with the Peter guy.

*chasing- on foot and in car

*gun- gun shots

*plenty of violence

*drugs

*sexual tones and atmosphere ~ sex-trafficking.

*corruption

*classic claustrophobia and enclosed spaces~ lift and when he electrocutes a man who belongs to the sex- traffickers.

*Urban setting, in Paris, the flat- very high up so makes it harder to escape

*Night- when a car chase occurs