Kill Bill Sequence Micro Feature Analysis
The first post credits scene in Kill Bill shows the protagonist assassinating the second target on her list of revenge. We start off with an establishing shot of the location of the scene, which is a typical suburban area in America. A yellow car then pulls up in front of the house. The colour of the car can be associated with the notion of something rising. This connects with the Bride as she is rising from her near death experience to once again become strong and seek revenge on those who betrayed her.
When we see the Bride in the car she is staring intently with a look of anger, whilst tightly gripping the steering wheel. This tells us that she is determined to do what she has come here for and that she is very driven. She is wearing a red top, which can be associated with anger but also courage; she must definitely show courage if she is to defeat her enemies. She is also wearing a gold jacket, this colour can be associated with courage, confidence and willpower. These are all character traits of the bride.
As the Bride walks up to the door we can see toys on the lawn, which would imply that a child lives in the house. While the Bride is waiting at the door she has an unwavering look of determination, this connotes that she is fully prepared and ready for what she is going to do. We can hear a woman on the other side of the door, she has a tone of happiness and joy in her voice. This connotes that she has left whatever shady past she had behind her. The woman is wearing a blue tracksuit which can be associated with sadness or guilt. This connotes that she feels remorse for the things she has done.
When she opens the door the woman has a look of surprise, indicating that she was not expecting the bride. The camera then immediately cuts back to the bride and zooms into an extreme close up of her eyes. At the same time we can hear sharp, striking music which is non-diegetic and also an example of parallel sound. The sequences then cross fades with another that is presented in a red wash. This identifies a flashback. We see the woman hit the bride in the flashback and she is knocked to the grounded wounded, whilst we can see the extreme close up of her eyes and can still hear the parallel sound. This combines to create the feeling that the two characters have a history together, and that the bride has a personal vendetta against her implied by the extreme close up and the colour of the flashback which can represent anger.
The two fight in the woman’s house. We can see that the walls of the living room are also painted blue, continuing the connotations of sadness and guilt. The walls of her kitchen are yellow which can be associated with enjoyment of life. This connotes that she leads a better life than the one she left behind her.
The fight leads back into the living room and the camera moves to the side to show a two-shot. The women stand on opposite sides which connotes that they are on opposing sides one good and the other evil. In the shot we can see outside the window which is important as a school bus pulls up to drop off the woman’s daughter. The yellow school bus entering the scene could symbolise how her daughter has made her life happier.
When the woman realises her daughter is approaching she gives the bride a pleading look to stop fighting. The bride driven face lets up and she gives a sigh before hiding the knife in front of her daughter who comes into the house. This connotes that the bride has a conscience and moral standards; this also helps to show she is on the side of good.
The child daughter is wearing predominantly pink, which connotes sweetness and innocence.
