The American - Textual Analysis - Ross

This scene begins with a slow moving camera angle getting closer and closer to their cabin which seems to be in the wilderness, there is snow but the location is unknown to the viewer throughout.

The sound of this scene is very different to your typical thriller scene. The music is a slow, piano piece, and this upon being combined with the slow editing pace due to the nature of the scene makes you wonder what could be thriller at all about this.

However throughout the opening few minutes you notice the man shown always has a straight face, he simply either looks un-interested or how I see it, very anxious knowing danger is not far away. One of the ways this is shown is with the low angle looking up at him in the bedroom when the women involved raps her arms around his neck. In this shot he is sat with an uncomfortable facial expression.

The location also adds to this as they are in the middle of nowhere and use the some extreme long shots and wide shots show us this throughout the scene. Another way the setting provokes danger is because their cabin is surrounded by hills, this means that anyone attacking has the height advantage right away and has many places to hide.

The slow pace editing soon comes to an end as they are walking across the snow, a silenced sniper shot is heard, the women is in instant panic however as I said earlier the man involved is seemingly prepared as if he might have been expecting something, he has a gun on him and is clearly experienced in warfare.