Individual Analysis

Twisted (2004)
Psychological thriller

Newly promoted police inspector Jessica Shepard is searching for a serial killer, and is shocked to discover that men she has recently slept with are victims. The investigation becomes more and more twisted as her partner behaves strangely, and the police commissioner is being asked to remove her from the investigation as she is a prime suspect. All the clues point to her and Jessica begins to suspect that she might be the killer she is looking for.

The film begins showing the titles in a formal white font, with a simple black background. Piano music begins to play and the seagulls are heard. The titles then cut to long-shots of different parts of a large bridge, full of cars and surrounded by mist and seagulls flying together. The piano music begins to speed up and other instruments start to play such as trumpet and guitar, this builds tension. The long-shots of the bridge continue and we see that it is father on in the day, in the early hours of the morning. Long-shots of boats in the river, under the bridge are shown and the a mixture of close-ups and long-shots of sea lions on the rocky shore wailing. There are more long-shots of the city-scape and trams as the white titles continue. We are shown a long-shot of an old man walking a dog, taking a small glimpse into different aspects of this large city, setting the scene. The scene then immediately cuts to an extreme close-up of an eye of a women then back to a long-shot of the seagulls. This is repeated several times until it finally cuts back to a close-up of her eye, the camera then pans to show her other eye where the reflection of the seagulls overhead are shown. There is then a very low-angle shot of the seagulls flying above, suggesting she is looking up at them. The camera then cuts back to the extreme close-up of her eye as the camera tilts down her face we see a tear trickle from her cheek and then as the camera gets further down, revealing more, we see a knife pressed against her pale skin, making a dent in her neck, but not drawing blood. The camera then shows an extreme close-up of the man whispering her ear, he looks dark and has 5o'lock shadow. This contrasts heavily with the whiteness of her skin, suggesting an innocence and purity. The camera is then a medium-shot, it shows the knife beginning to draw blood, she winces and the camera tilts down as he begins to caress her chest and unzip her jacket. It then cuts to a high-angle, long-shot of him holding the knife to her throat, threatening her; the scene is outside an old abandoned factory, the windows are broken and they appear to be next to the shore in a secluded dark spot covered in shadows and old scraps of metal. It then cuts back to a close-up of him touching her stomach, they exchange dialogue and suddenly it cuts to a medium-shot as she flips her over, knocking the knife out of him hand and rendering him defenseless. She is shown in a low-angle shot as she draws her gun and phones the police. Her hair is black, short and she appears very athletic and smartly dressed.

CUT.

There is a medium close-up of her dancing in a crowded bar of people celebrating. This shows a different side to her, a more feminine and fun one. The music is upbeat and happy to go with their mood. The camera tilts up to reveal a taller man who is exchanging dialogue with her, they are friends/co-workers. He is shown in an over-the-shoulder-shot saying, "do that thing again." The camera then shows several medium-shots of the crowd chanting, "do it!" This reveals her popularity among the assumed police force. The camera then cuts to a medium-shot of her as she pulls out her badge and turns, the camera pans to follow her around. It then dollies as it follows the two co-workers toward the bar. A long-shot is shown of a man walking into the bar, as it dollies, it is revealed he is walking toward the two co-workers. He sits at the bar with them and they exchange dialogue in a series of over-the-shoulder-shots between the three, the women is in the middle suggesting conflict between the two men. The first man whom she exchanged dialogue with walks out of the shot and a medium-shot of the two left as the bar is shown, there are several over-the-shoulder-shots as they exchange dialogue. The camera then dollies are she walks off, she is walking behind the camera as she greets several other people in the bar.
A medium-shot of a third man, dressed in a suit with glasses, he looks important, smart and prestigious, powerful. The women and the second man are in a medium-shot, dancing and exchanging dialogue when the third man appears to be walking toward them in the background. There are several over-the-shoulder-shots as they all speak, the third man is always in a low-angle shot, showing his power.
The camera then cuts to a long-shot of the women and the third man walking in a snooker room, the camera pans and followers then around the snooker table toward a couch. There are some over-the-shoulder-shots as they speak, the camera is a close-up also. As they speak there is instances where both of their faces are shown in a close-up together, suggesting a closeness between them.

CUT

A long-shot of outside of the bar is shown. The words, 'TOSCA CAFE' are shown in bright pink neon lights on the side of the building. It is a dark night and the bar looks crowded, people are smoking outside next to a police car pulled up directly at the side of the door.

CUT

The camera then shows a medium-close-up of the detectives and the third man around a table in the bar. It looks like a warm and friendly atmosphere. The third man is the tallest and is speaking the most, showing his power again. The women is seen in the background entering from the snooker room. The camera then pans and zooms around the table toward the women and third man as they stand together. They exchange dialogue and their faces are shown in the same close-up shot again, showing their closeness.

CUT

The women is shown in a long-shot walking down a dark alleyway, neon lights shine in the background and she is dressed in all black, elegantly mixing with the mysterious shadows cast across the bins filled with spilling rubbish bags. She appears confident, strong as though nothing can hurt her, even in a dangerous situation such as this one. The camera dollies as it guides her down the alleyway toward the entrance of a bar. It pans as she greets the large, hells angels lookalike guarding the door.  The shot remains as she walks into the crowd and it then pans as it follows a separate couple walk off the screen. As they disappear another man is shown; he is dark, smoking a cigarette, the camera pans as it follows him past the bouncer and into the bar.

CUT

A high-angle, long-shot of inside the bar is shown. It's full of people dancing, many look like motorcyclists, suggesting a more dangerous bar. The women is the only female shown for more than a few seconds in he the full 15 minutes. This suggests her individuality and how she is a women working in male career, she doesn't fit the general female stereotype. The camera then pans and zooms as she sits at the bar next to a male and female exchanging dialogue, they are shown through medium shots. The man is shown in a close-up as he looks at the women who just sat at the bar, the women he was previously talking to before she sat down is blurred, suggesting he no longer cares for her. He find the other women more attractive. He is tall, dark and handsome. A medium-shot then shows the two women and the man, he is looking at the detective women. He looks at her in an over-the-shoulder-shot. She is shown in a medium-close-up as she gazes back, longingly back into his eyes. A close-up of her sliding him a shot across the bar is shown, he catches it with his hand that sports a musical note tattoo.

CUT

A medium-shot is shown of the man and women. Their bodies are only in view as they tear off each others close in a dark apartment room. They exchange eye contact in a close-up and the shots are mixed between long-shots, medium-shots and medium-close-ups as they make their way toward the bed, the shots get more fast paced as the scene continues. The man is shown in a low-angle shot as they climb onto the bed. He is then shown in a high-angle shot resting over the women, a dark dragon tattoo on his right shoulder blade is revealed.

CUT

A long-shot of a the women walking down an apartment hallway dollies as she walks towards her door. The camera pans as she puts her keys into the door, opens it and walks inside. The camera stops outside the doors as she puts her keys on a table and closes the door into the shot, revealing a golden sign on the door that reads, '3C.'

END OF 15 MINUTES.