b) Genre/Atmosphere

The opening scene of 'The Limey' conveys a tone of seriousness that will continue throughout the rest of the movie. The screen is pitch black, with an unknown male voice demanding information about "Jenny". The voice is serious and insistent, allerting the viewer to the possibility that something negative has happened to "Jenny", or the unnamed man. This adds tension, and an air of mystery, to the scene, as the viewer begins to ponder about what has become of "Jenny", and ultimately who is the man seeking to find out about her. The air of mystery hightens throughout the scene, as small visual clues are revealed concerning the mysterious man. We see him arriving at the airport, later revealed as LAX, and this leads the viewer to believe that the unnamed man is arriving for the first time in the country. This is also shown when the man gets a taxi, and gazes around during the ride, as if taking in his surroundings. Another visual clue as to the man's identity, is when he pulls out a British Passport, once he is in his seemingly close motel room, thus confirming that he is not from Los Angeles, or the United States. Furthermore, as the scene progresses from near beginning to end, we hear the sounds of the band 'The Who', and their song 'The Seeker', with lyrics such as:
"I've looked under chairs,
I've looked under tables,
I've tried to find the key,
To fifty million fables,"
And,
"Focusing on nowhere,
Investigating miles,
I'm a seeker,
I'm a really desperate man,".
As this echoes throughout, it substitutes, to a certain degree, the lack of dialogue throughout the opening scene. The lyrics seem to reflect what the unidentifiable man is doing, and as these lyrics are accompanied by the shot of the man pulling out a news paper clipping, which reads "Woman Dies on Mulholland", it gives the viewer an idea that the mysterious, foreign man is on a mission to investigate the story of the woman who died on Mulholland. This also links with the dialogue heard at the start of the scene, about the man looking for "Jenny". The dark tone, and mood, of mystery, and seriousness is evident thoughout the opening scene of 'The Limey', and is conveyed both subtly, and boldly with the different editing, acting, and musical accompanyment.