Taking Lives Analysis

In what ways does “Taking Lives” conform to or subvert from what you believe to be the forms and conventions of the Thriller Genre?
“Taking Lives” is a 2004 thriller film in which an FBI profiler, played by Angelina Jolie, is summoned to track down a killer in Montreal, who assumes the lives and identities of the people he kills as he travels across North America. This forces Illeana to adjust to working in a strange city with a police team with which she doesn't really fit in. This film is very much a run-of-the-mill thriller that sticks pretty much within the confines of its overworked genre.
One way in which “Taking Lives” conforms to the conventions of the Thriller genre is the location. Thrillers often take place wholly or partly in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, Polar Regions, or high seas. “Taking Lives”, set it Montreal, Canada, is no exception.
Another way in which “Taking Lives” conforms to the conventions of the Thriller genre is the use of an “FBI Detective” main character. The heroes in most thrillers are frequently "hard men" accustomed to danger: law enforcement officers, spies, soldiers, seamen or aviators.
Another way in which the choice of character conforms to a typical thriller would be their imperfection as a human. Most thrillers usually have a quite psyhologically detached lead character (i.e. Illeana has pictures of dead bodies on the walls about her apartment). The main character can sometimes relate to the murderer/villain (Angelina Jolie’s character killed a burglar when she was young. Another example of this would be Se7en, in which. Loads have mental issues surrounding them.
A way in which the choice of character does show subversion, however, is the use of a female as the main character, as most Thrillers traditionally have a male lead, though it is apparent that “breaking-the-mould” female lead has become rousingly popular. Examples of this would be the 1979 film “Alien” and the 1991 film “Silence of the Lambs”.
“Taking Lives” conforms to the conventions of the Thriller genre in the way that suspense is created in order to draw the audience in, through the use of non-digetic sounds, such as eerie music or, in contrast, complete silence. This is used particularly well in the scene in which Angelina Jolie’s character enters the old house, looking for clues (a cliché in itself). Whilst she is searching, there is no visible movement of anything other than Jolie. It is only when she lies down, when the audience’s mind is at rest, that a pair of hand suddenly emerge from the bed, grabbing her. This plays on the audiences fear, and adds to the enjoyment of the film as a whole.
Another way in which ““Taking Lives”” subdues to the normal conventions of a thriller would be its “big twist” at the end, the “innocent is guilty” number was easy enough to predict. This is utilised to keep the audience guessing till the very end, in which the “her pregnancy was a trap” card was well played. Another example where a twist is utilised would be “Se7en”, in which the “head in a box” scene has become particularly famous for shocking the audience.
In conclusion, I think it’s safe to agree that “Taking Lives” is a generic thriller, which conforms to most of the forms and conventions of the genre.