Wallander (‘Firewall’ 7th December)

By Megan Harris

Mise en SceneThe mise en scene in this episode tells the audience the different types of characters. So

first of all the two girls; there is one girl who is wearing a leather jacket with very messy hair and having red streaks in her hair. In my eyes i see her to have more control and power over the situation as in her facial expressions she seems much angrier and from her her whole presence. Also the fact that she is the one carrying the knife and who drops the knife shows that she was the one who's taking full responsibility. In comparison to the other girl, she is wearing a hoodie and jeans more of the normal typical chav clothing, however from her facial expressions she seems more scared than the other girl. Also, her presence shows us that she has had no control over the situation and the fact that she is not holding the knife tells the audience the she is more of a follower. However, the blood on each of their clothing shows that they both have had something to do with this attack and the fact that they don’t look back shows they have no remorse for this guy showing that he must of done something wrong, but it also get the audience answering why this random taxi driver has something to do with these teenage girls? The image behind the taxi and behind the girls shows it to be a cold and bleak setting, which links to what has happened and showing that death is close however, it does confuse the audience that it's in such a random setting.

CinematographyIn this episode of 'Wallander' it uses effective cinematography straight from the

beginning from where they do an extreme long shot of the moors/fields showing the audience where this episode is starting off at, therefore showing the audience the setting. Next going through the beginning scene, in this random taxi that we don't know about there are big close ups of different objects in the taxi. This tells the audience the characteristics of this taxi driver and what he carries on him, his name, his family (the key chain with him and his son on). But also there is blood on each of these objects that something bad has happened, and he is hurt. At the same time as these close ups of the different objects it uses a cross cutting between the objects and the girls walking away from the taxi. This could represent the fact that the girls have something to do with this crime as there is a lot of exaggeration on the blood on each of the objects. The last close up in this part of the beginning sequence, is of the unconscious guy and his hand moving showing that he is not dead and that he is in a lot of pain as he can only move his hand a little bit. This therefore shows that the girls have not got away so easily.

EditingThe editing in this episode link to the situation in what is going on meaning that an

attack has happened so the editing has been used to clearly show this attack. First of all, when the girls are walking away from this abandoned taxi the speed of them is very fast paced showing a sign of panic and trying to get away fast showing that they didn't have anything to do with it. This performance informs the audience that they are more guilty, as they are not honest in what they are doing, and the this remorse being shown shows that they don't really have any care that they have hurt a guy. Another effective use of editing is used in the cross cutting between the girls walking and the close up shots of the different objects in the taxi. The pace of the objects in comparison to the girls walking away from the car is slower as the objects are very valuable and meaningful to the taxi driver. It also emphasizes the identity of the taxi driver showing that he has a family and that he has a name so people know him. However, in comparison to the fast paced walking of the girls it shows the theme of remorse and anger because they have not looked back and they are trying to get away quick so no one notices it was them.

SoundThe sounds in this episode straight away tell us the atmosphere and what

is going to happen next. So straight away at the beginning of this episode it uses non-diagetic music when the camera goes across the moors/fields, which brings up the tension and gets the audience hooked to screen as it would want to make them want to know whats going to happen next. Another sound that is really effective is the non-diagetic sound of the girls breathing as it is very heavy and very noisy, which could show mixed emotions of them being scared that they have done it or angry; but overall it shows that they are speechless for what they have done. Right at the end of the beginning sequence they use a sting when she drops the knife. This is very effective and stood out for me as it impacted the message of what's going on, and it makes it quite scary including the sting making the audience want to know why she had a knife and why they hurt the taxi driver.