Sin City opening scene.

Analyse how the opening of Sin City uses film noir conventions and how it sets up audience expectations.


The opening scene to the film Sin City has many characteristics of film noir despite the fact it has recently been made. The directors Robert Rodrigues and Frank Miller, who wrote the graphic novels that the film is based upon, send the message to the audience of the films dark theme using conventions of film noir.

Before even seeing the very first shot the viewer is exposed to the sounds of the city, traffic and police sirens. This is a very clever technique because without viewing anything the audience can very quickly guess that the film is in a city and due to the sirens, one that is full of crime.

The lighting in this scene is very typical of film noir. There is a contrast between bright white light and extreme dark. One example would be the light from the inside of the building being very bright and the balcony outside being very dark. This gives the effect that the two characters on the balcony outside are isolated, cut off or in a totally separate world. A second example is the contrast between light and dark on the male character’s face. Half of his face is hidden in darkness as if to suggest he has a dark side or is two faces. It also makes the character look far more sinister.

The female character featured at the beginning of the film is very typical of a film noir femme fatale. She is wearing a long red dress which draws the audience’s attention to her because it is the only thing in colour against the black background. Just like in most film noirs the female character, with the roll of the femme fatale, has an air of danger and mystery about her. Just like the woman in this scene is seemingly typical of film noir so is the man. He is wearing a smart but stylish black suit but has no colour on him what so ever. This makes him appear more hidden and less noticeable to the viewer, as if he doesn’t want to be noticed.


Guns are very typical props used in film noir.

The props used in this scene are iconic, stereotypical ones that are used in film noir all the time. The cigarettes are used as a connection between the male and female character, the male is very flirtatious about the way he lights the woman’s cigarette. This lures the viewer into thinking he is genuine about what he is saying.

The camera angles are also used to create a connection between the characters. A lot of close ups are used focusing on the characters eyes, this gives the effect that both the characters are looking very closely at each other and is also very flirtatious. There are also close ups on the props such as the gun and the lighting of the cigarette to draw extra attention towards them.

The use of film noir conventions in the beginning of this film has a great effect on the audience and the way it sets up their expectations of what is about to happen and for the rest of the film. Both directors have done very well in achieving this in my opinion and I think it is a fantastic opening.