Textual analysis of episode

Textual Analysis


Inside No.9 - Season 1, Episode 2



Audience positioning: Omniscient positioning - audience sees all



Genre: Anthology - Dark humour


Narrative: Audience follows the story of 2 robbers that enter a very rich mans house, and attempt to steal a very expensive painting. However, the two have chosen a bad time to come to the house, as the man and his much younger wife are experiencing issues in their relationship. The episode has no dialogue, only diegetic music and ambient sounds. |We follow the two robbers as the cut out the painting and replace it with a cheap replica. The scene I am analysing is the point at which, the man, angry that his wife wouldn't kiss him, and scared that she may leave, shoots her. While this is all going on, the robbers are still attempting to get the painting out of the house, when a new character is introduced, a dumb and deaf cleaning man comes to the door of the house. The man asks his to clean up the blood from the shooting as he disposes with the body, as he is doing so he catches the robbers in the act, and they have no other choice but to kill him as well. Finally, the two attempt to escape, when the innocent cleaning man shoots them both, answers a phone call to his boss saying the only line in the episode "the job is done" and taking the cheap replica painting.


Representation: There is restricted use of ethnicity in this episode, all the characters involved are white. There is a subtle concentration of class and social status, as those less well off attempt to take from someone who has more. As well as this, the woman is stereotypically represented as the weak victim, and the men are those with the power.



Key scene: 21 minutes 45 seconds - 23 minutes 30 seconds




Micro Elements:

• Mise-en-scene: 
• The costume and hair and make up of the man and his wife are very neat and make the characters seem as though they look after themselves and have a lot of money. This point is supported by the expensive look of the setting they are in, giving the assumption the episode had a high production value. The lighting in this scene is high key, which is not typical of such dark themes. The scene has quite a restricted colour pallet, using mainly blues, white and black.

• Editing:
• The scene uses fairly frequent jump cuts to switch perspectives, from the robbers to the couple. The editing pace speeds up in the build up to the key conflict, slows immediately after and the quickens again to show the robbers confusion and decision making as they try to get out of sight. The editing in this sequence is pretty basic, and draws no attention away from the narrative.

• Camerawork:
• The scene, for the most part, is filmed at a medium-long shot. However, there are a few close up shots, for example of the women's face just as the man attempts to kiss her and she moves away. Most of the shots of the robbers in this sequence is filmed at a slight low angle, as the robbers are coming down the stairs, and towards the camera.