Taking Lives is a 2004 film, starring Ethan Hawke and Angelina Jolie, of the Psychological Thriller Genre. The tagline of the film, "He would kill to be you", points towards the plot - A young man who kills people, steals their identity and then kills again, and a detectives strive to catch him while becoming embroiled in an romantic relationship with him.
The film conforms to the the common conventions of the Thriller Genre in a number of ways such as the heavy use of suspense and tension but also subverts to the genre by using a female lead and rare action sequences.
One way in which the film conforms to the conventions of the thriller genre is the heavy use of suspense, thrills and twists in the story. Combined with the dramatic musical composition by Phillip Glass, Taking Lives keeps surprising the audience with jumps after heavy use of suspense. The tone of the music would change in particularly suspenseful scenes becoming louder as the scene approached the climatic event which was designed to make the audience jump. In some scenes there would be no climatic event, the false anticipation lulling the audience into a state of false security which would often work to the director, D. J. Caruso's, advantage. Memorable jumpy moments include the scene in which Jolies protagonist lies down on a bed before hands suddenly punch through the mattress either side of her and the scene in which she searchs the murderers apartment. There is also a number of puzzles for the audience to solve, most obviously the identity of the killer. This also provides the major twist in the film, a character we have been led to believe to be 'good' being revealed to be the murderer. All of these factors are reflective of techniques commonly used in the thriller genre.
Another factor reflective of the Thriller Genre is the protagonist of the story. The protagonist is a relatively 'normal person', an FBI agent, a common convention of thrillers as it allows the audience to engage, to an extent, with the protagonist despite their heroic acts. There is also the exploitation of her insecurities which help the audience to engage with her, another common factor of the Thriller genre such as her romantic feelings and usual proffesional approach. She is however, shown as brave, strong and intelligent, all common coventions of protagonists in the thriller genre.
Perhaps the most obvious way in which Taking Lives subverts to the common conventions of the thriller genre is the same as one of the ways in which it conforms - The Protagonist. Jolies character is a woman, uncommon in most thriller films. This could perhaps be percieved as a weakness and defers from the common male stereotype percieved in dangerous situations.
Another way in which Taking Lives subverts to the conventions of the thriller genre is the lack of action sequences. There is only three major action scenes throughout the whole film, uncommon of the genre, with the focus primarily sticking to thrills as opposed to action. However, it could be said that this is due to the psychological nature of the film.
In Conclusion, Taking Lives primarily conforms to the common conventions of the thriller genre. Although it offers some subversions, these are few and far between.
