Sherlock Holmes Opening Scene Analysis

 

Sherlock Holmes is a 2009 film labelled as an action mystery. It stars Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law. The film opens with a creative way of showing the production companies involved in making the film, with each companies logo panned across on a paved floor as if they are part of the brickwork. Background music that will become the main theme music of the film and the main character starts, which sounds like an off-key or slightly broken piano. The music is fast paced, has an air of mystery to it and has an old feeling to it, which matches the films historical setting in Victorian London. The olden style brickwork in the shot also matches the music and the location together. In the same shot the camera pans up from the bricked pavement to show three carriages pulled by horses moving quickly through narrow streets at night time. It is clear from the speed they are travelling at, the metal bars on the back of the carriages and the policemen on top of the carriage that this is official and important business. The same shot that opened the film continues, zooming fast down the road after the last carriage until the audience can see through the metal bars. The camera passes a seemingly random small fire on its pursuit of the carriage, which connotes danger and action. The background music also builds pace and volume as the camera moves faster, to build audience anticipation and expectations of action. Through the metal bars we see two men, both wearing Victorian style hats and costumes, adding to the realism of the film.

The next shot shows a closeup of a shotgun being loaded by one of the men in the carriage, followed by a pistol being checked by the other. This tells the audience these men are expecting confrontation at wherever they are going, and raises questions as to where they're going and why. A series of short shots show another man running, although it is not clear whether it is away from something or towards something. Match on action is used in the editing when we see the character running past a small fire from a side-on perspective that only shows his legs, then have a long shot of the character from behind that shows the same small fire just behind him. This makes the transition between shots less noticeable. Another editing technique used is crosscutting. Close-up shots of the horses as they run are interspersed between shots of the man running, which draws comparisons between the 2 events as both groups of people are in a frantic rush, this helps to build tension. Lighting is used effectively at showing brief glimpses of the running man without revealing the character entirely. We already know the character is important due to his prevalence in the shots, but not fully revealing him adds mystery. Another shot of a pistol being loaded reinforces the idea of danger and action onto the audience. We cut back to the running man in a closeup, then a long shot, then back to a closeup. The change in shots makes an otherwise simple shot more interesting to watch. The man jumps off a small ledge and rolls forward, and when he straightens up the camera changes to a closeup of the characters face, revealing him to be Sherlock Holmes.

The films opening scene checks off one of the requirements for all action films, a chase scene. Although nobody actually seems to be being chased, the speed of the carriages and the pace of the shots certainly match that of a chase scene. This opener also raises questions for the audience as they've been thrown straight into the action without any real explanation or set-up.