"The Customer is Always Right"

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"The Customer is Always Right"

                The infamous world created under the title of Sin City became a motion picture that set the precedent for every movie originating from a comic series. The play on screenshots, color, angles, lighting, and ambience created by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez  remain fresh in my memory to this day. Just by watching the opening scene The Customer is Always Right the audience begins to understand what kind of thrill they are in for.

                Notice the background The Salesmen (Josh Hartnett) comes from. The entire space is black and white. The light floods the windows and leaves a glare for the audience, as if to project the mystery yet happiness Hartnett brings with him. Much light shines on our protagonists from behind, as if to show that the other direction can provide a solution. The building behind the characters is also blurry, so as to make that secondary in the scenario to the characters themselves.

                Why did Miller and Rodriguez choose to make the customer (Marley Shelton) the color stain of this picture? Notice her eyes, glowing green in the darkness of night, The stark red dress, and the bright red lips. However her skin is still black and white. It seems Miller and Rodriguez wanted to portray the importance of a woman through her color, and yet present the superficiality of the dress and the lipstick.

                The confident, sly look on the face of The Salesmen tends to intrigue the curious-minded audience. Why is he smiling? Does he know something the woman does not? Does the hairstyle imply his future intentions in this scene?

                The relationship between our protagonists is not yet defined. It seems as if the man knows he can help the woman. As he approaches her, she does not seem scared, but deep in thought, staring out into oblivion. Her cigarette continues to burn as if to represent that one cannot escape time.

                Enough with the analysis, we have a scene to watch! Keep in mind the elements I have presented. Notice how Miller and Rodriguez use their angles, lighting, color, and such, to present a picture that has yet to be matched in its brilliance:

                

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