Symbolism Within the Modern Thriller 'Panic Room'

Panic Room was created in 2002 and directed by David Fincher. It is the story of a mother and daughter who are trapped in their own panic room by three criminals. I am looking at the symbolism used in a screenshot from the film and how it highlights the films thriller genre.

This screenshot is taken from a scene where one of the criminals is trying to listen to the protaganists within the panic room. The lighting is low key and casts a harsh and imposing shadow on the wall. It shows the antagonist as powerful and evil as shadows connotes darkness. Also because the shadow is bigger than he is, the audience are made to believe he has a lot of evil within him.

The mirror behind him is cracked. Since mirrors reflect your image back at you the audience can see the shattered mirror as reflecting his inner feelings at this point in the film. His facial expression is angry and frustrated and his sanity is beginning to crack, just like the mirror.

The setting is very clean and refined, also the walls are white. Because the house belongs to the protaganists, it shows the audience what kind of people they are. The colour white symbolises purity and innocence which highlights the fact that they are the good people and that the audience should sympathise with them.

In this shot, the antagonist is wearing all black, including black gloves. The gloves highlight him as a criminal but because he is in black he is shown as the bad guy. Also the black costume contrasts against the white house and shows not only he does not belong in the house but that he is the monster the audience should be afriad of because he is a dark prescence in the house. Another point is that his hair is corn rowed, which is a stereotypical hairstyle for gang youths and thugs. Once again it highlights the fact that he is a criminal.

by Bethany