Mr & Mrs Smith Trailer Analysis

Mr & Mrs Smith was released in 2005 and is considered a ‘romantic action comedy’. The film stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a bored married couple who learn that they are both assassins hired by competing agencies to kill each other. The narrative bares similarities to our production, such as a female lead and suggestion of romance. Their love story is obviously more prominent than ours as it’s centered round a couple, but we have nevertheless identified that we could learn a lot from a successful action film’s trailer such as this.

The trailer begins with a short sequence of mid-close shots of the two protagonists. The content of the shots focus first on Brad Pitts face, then his waistline displaying a gun, the first suggestion of action. This is followed by two of the producers logos and then onto Angelina Jolie. There is a shot of her face, then her body, then the top of her stocking which also shows a gun. They are short in length and the rhythmic transitions almost create a sense of a heart beating, this establishes suspense and intensity which subtly rises as the editing becomes ever so slightly quicker.
Coincidentally, we came up with an opener that could be likened to this section; our ‘make up scene’, presents the image of a seemingly normal woman getting ready. Close ups acknowledge her sexuality before the normality allusion is contradicted by the revelation of her gun- it is an early example of the contrast in genre and audience appeal we involve. We could consider adopting the films quickening editing techniques to improve suspense.
With regard to the mise en scene; Brad Pitt wears sunglasses which implies mysteriousness and perhaps secrecy- as well as sex appeal – he looks cool, is a big name star, and will immediately attract a female audience. The same goes for a male audience with Angelina Jolie, her feminine side is accentuated by her outfit, its quite revealing and stockings will always have sexy connotations. The juxtaposition of both these characters so early in the trailer hints they are the main characters and also is the first sign of the romance element.
This again coincides with appealing to a wider audience; stereotypically, there is romance for females, action for males, and a heartthrob for each, equaling a widespread target audience and more chance of success resultantly. This is something, therefore, that we are keen to explore so as not to exclude certain audience segments. In order to avoid that happening and to display our capabilities through a range of genres, we have a romantic edge and a dimension of vulnerability in Lola- she maintains her sex appeal to men but is hopefully not intimidating to women. This is not intended to be patronizing as we are aware there is an appeal in the sense of empowerment or ‘girl power’ for women seeing a female lead; this is still relevant in our piece, but we believe introducing a taste of her sensitive side will enhance audience engagement with the character.
The sound is non diegetic music which is low and minimal to begin with, building anticipation and complimenting the editing method. The action theme is put to full effect when a booming male voice reads the subtitle that has now come on ‘They are the worlds most deadly assassins’ confirming our suspicions that they aren’t your average couple. The caption is complimented by snap shots of them as if taken by someone following them whilst they’re undercover. There is then an action packed montage complete with helicopters, rocket launchers, explosions and so forth, and a loud and thrilling soundtrack is played alongside this. The shots are varied in distance and angles, and again there is quick editing which achieves excitement and tells the audience there is a lot going on- they’re not going to be bored, and it also is a way of teasing the audience by only showing it in short bursts.
We are currently in the process of trying to finalize the wording for our captions, this is such a typical feature of action films and we want to get them right. I like the assisting snapshot idea too; it would be effective in portraying that Lola is an undercover assassin like it does for Mr & Mrs Smith. We will follow the same blueprint for our action montage, I’m confident we can combat our low budget by using numerous camera techniques/angles/compositions and keeping the shots short and sharp so as to not emphasize our lack of special effects! We are also at the moment looking for some exhilarating music to heighten the mood, this is important and will have a massive bearing on the feel of the whole piece.
The trailer then takes an interesting turn, the caption reads ‘their identities are a secret’… ‘even from each other’, the action music is cut at this point and a more cheery, lighthearted tune ensues. There are scenes of the couple doing everyday things such as brushing their teeth and having a meal together; the juxtaposition of this scene against the previous high-intensity shots has a humorous outcome. This is epitomized when the music cuts again and there is emphasis on some short dialogue: ‘Did you change something?’ I added peas’… ‘ahh…. Peas’, at which the music starts again more up tempo than ever, accompanied by more typical action shots and hints of the plot. The action/comedy theme has been established.
I think a comedic twist could be something we may look into as the genre is so generically appealing, and would heighten our attraction to a widespread audience. It’s a tried and tested formula seen in many action films, an example being Rush Hour 1, 2 & 3.