The Girl on the Train is a drama thriller film, it was produced in 2016 and was directed by Tate Taylor; the film was based on the book written by Paula Hawkins. The film was produced by Dreamworks, and starred Emily Blunt and Rebecca Ferguson, and made a gross profit of $75,311,445.
Image
The main image of this poster shows a female looking out of a window; we can assume that this is the window of a train because of the title of the movie, though this isn't certain. Due to the title 'The girl on the train', the fact that there is a female looking out of what we assume is a train window, it signifies that tis is the main character mentioned in the title; as a result it suggests that she is heavily involved in the narrative of the film. This is also evident because the face of the woman is located in the first third of the poster, meaning that the audiences eye is immediately drawn to her - signifying her significance.
The body language displayed by the female is negative and reflects a look of concern or fear; this is a stereotypical emotion that thriller films aim to achieve from the audience, and so by portraying this in a character, it allows the audience to form a connection with them and share these emotions.
There is a reflection in the window of the train of a house, and this could be a significant element of the narrative as it is prominent and clear for the audience to see; with the image in the poster being quite minimal, the addition of this reflection would suggest that it is a significant part if the film, particularly because the female's gaze is directed at this reflection. The absence of a secondary image or background would suggest that Emily Blunt is the main focal point of the film.
Mise en scene
The colours used in this poster are mainly monochromic as it contains shades of black and white; this basic and simple colour scheme creates a contrast between the two connotations of the colours - while white reflects purity and innocence, black can have connotations of mystery and darkness, meaning that the audience can struggle to pinpoint the tone of the narrative. The face of the female character is the only light colour present on the poster, which stands out against the dark background; this can draw the audience's gaze to the character which may represent her importance in the film. The audience are unable to view what the female character is wearing, which would suggest that the status or class of the character isn't important in the film.
The poster appears to show rain on the window of the trains, and this is an example of pathetic fallacy; where the weather represents the tone or emotions within the film. As a result its signify that the tone of the film is sinister or sad, giving the audience an insight as to the genre and narrative of the film.
Lighting
The film poster for 'The Girl on The Train' uses mainly low key lighting surrounding the main image of the woman looking out of the train window. The use of low key lighting in the poster reflects the tone of the films and suggests that there is a sinister or mysterious element to the film. Shadows on the face of the woman are created using downward facing lighting, and is a representation of something dark (as used in foreshadowing), foreboding, or evil; again suggesting the tone of the narrative. The only element of high key/ brighter lighting is in presence of the female's face against the glass of the window; the colour is the brightest on the poster.
Typography
The typography of the poster is all in a Sans Serif font, including the title and the tagline; the colour of the texts alternate between an aqua blue and pure white. The typography is a stereotypical font used in most genres of film and it allows clear and legible style that the audience can read. Although the font does provide harsh, clean-cut lines that may reflect the feelings within the narrative. The title of the film is located just below the central point in the poster, and covers the majority of the width of the poster; the length of the title encourages the audience to read the text above and below the title. By stating that the film is based on a best-selling book, it will appeal to a wider target audience as those who also enjoyed the book will be attracted to watch the film. There are elements of text that are a blue colour, and while this can connote happiness and calmness, in American culture blue has evolved as symbol of depression; giving a potential hint as to the tone of the film.
Tagline
The tagline of 'The girl on the Train' is 'What did she see?' and by using a rhetorical question as the tagline it draws the audience in because the question element of the line will engage their attention and encourage them to think about an answer. Intriguing the audience will mean that they are likely to want to find out the answer to the question and therefore will be drawn to watch the film. The tagline relates to the main image of the poster as it refers to 'she' which the audience can assume is referring to Emily Blunt; and the concerned expression she displays may link to something that she has seen.
How does this relate to the film narrative?
The Girl on the Train follows a divorcee when she becomes entangled in a missing persons investigation that promises to send shockwaves throughout her life. In relation to the literate meaning of the title, the image on the poster does relate as it shows a woman looking out of a train window, however it doesn't hint at any of the elements of the narrative such as the missing persons investigation. However, the tagline does hint slightly at the narrative as it signifies that the girl saw something while on the train that was of importance. The choice of colour scheme reflects a negative tone of the narrative, and the minimalistic features on the basic image give very little away in relation to the narrative.
No comments:
Post a Comment