20/09/11 - Costumes

I thought that it would be helpful to research into costumes that vulnerable characters and those greatly involved in the movie have worn in other films, to give me a better idea of what would be suitable for our characters to wear. I will look at various images from different 'thriller' movies, and note important things about their clothing. I decided to look at two films that were released within the last 10 years, which feature a girl being kidnapped.

The two films I chose were:

• Taken
  Taken is a 2008 action thriller film. A former spy relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been forced into the slave trade. After reluctantly agreeing to let his 17-year-old daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), go to France with her best friend, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is horrified to hear that she is kidnapped by an Albanian gang whose specialty is prostitution rings. With only 96 hours to go before he'll never find her again, Bryan rushes to France to save her. As a former CIA agent, he has all the skills necessary to rescue her - if he can only find her.
• Man On Fire
  Man on Fire is a 2004 American thriller film. In Mexico City, the former CIA assassin and presently an alcoholic decadent man John Creasy (Denzel Washington) is hired by the industrialist Samuel Ramos, with the recommendation of his old friend Rayburn, to be the bodyguard of his young daughter Pita and his wife Lisa. Pita changes the behavior of the cold Creasy, making him live and smile again, and he feels a great affection for her. When the girl is kidnapped Creasy swears to kill each one responsible for the abduction.

TakenWhen looking at this particular film, I focused on the character Kim, as she is the main character that becomes vulnerable and defenceless when she is kidnapped. She is the same situation as our main character in our own thriller trailer, as she seems quiet because of her seemingly sheltered life. When she is finally granted permission to travel to France with her close friend, her guarded life comes to end, unfortunately leading to tragedy.

Here she can be seen wearing a fairly plain dress with a small print, and a pastel coloured jumper. She is also wearing an Alice Band, which we tend to associate with younger girls. Additionally, she is only wearing a few accessories, one being the headband, and the other being the small necklace.

These two pictures show her wearing a small denim jacket with plain white jeans and a blue top. Her entire outfit features fairly pale colours, with no outrageous patterns or bold colours. Her style seems to reflect her sheltered upbringing, as her outfit would not be one we would associate with 17 year olds in this modern society. Clothes usually allow modern teenagers to express themselves, resulting in whacky styles and trends, while Kim's is rather plain and safe.

Here we can see Kim wearing no makeup, which also reinforces her fairly quiet and reserved personality. Furthermore, her hair always appears to be down, requiring no styling, which is something that we would probably use in our own trailer. Kim's clothing really represents her vulnerable personality, as the clothing is what you would associate with a younger girl.

Man On Fire

Although the main character that is eventually kidnapped is younger than our own character, I felt that she would still have the same characteristics of someone who is vulnerable and helpless. Pita is the daughter of a wealthy family that requires a bodyguard to keep her safe.

Like the main character (Kim) in Taken, Pita (Dakota Fanning) can be seen wearing very little makeup. While some would have been required, her appearance has been kept very plain, to represent her innocent and young personality. Her hair, like Kim's, has not been styled, and has been left to fall down naturally to frame her face. The same technique was used in Taken.

Her jacket is a simple denim one, which matches her bag. Her entire outfit has been kept fairly basic, which emphasises her vulnerability during this particular moment. Her hair remaining down allows it to blow in the wind as she runs from danger, adding to the sense of tension and suspense. This is something that we could consider doing with our own actress.

Her dress is plain white, with a simple pattern printed on it. All of the colours used for her outfit are dull and plain, which could put emphasis on the fact that despite her family being well-known and in danger, she is just a normal girl. As our own actress will be in a similar situation, we could try and reproduce the same elements with her appearance.



Both characters, despite the difference in their ages, wear similar outfits that show their quiet, and innocent personalities. As both characters are subjected to being kidnapped, they experience the same traumatic situation, resulting in those they love becoming involved in finding them.
When creating a costume for our character that is kidnapped, (Lily, played by Georgi) I will take into consideration my research. For example, we could:

• Keep the clothing light in colour, and possibly use pastel colours to imply innocence. Other colours like red and black could also be used, to imply danger.
• Ensure that the amount of components to the outfit itself are kept to a minimum.
• Apply little or no makeup to the actress, and keep the hairstyle simple.