Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Film Trailer Representation & Institution.
The Sherlock Holmes film trailer was released in 2009 to advertise the future release of a
feature film with the same title based on the original characters and story by Arthur Conan
Doyle. The film was produced by the influential production companies Warner Brothers
Pictures, Village Roadshow and Silver Pictures. These production companies are very
successful and would therefore have a large impact on the production as a whole. For
example, they could provide a very large budget of an estimated $90,000,000. This would
mean that the production would have more leverage in getting very high quality stars for the
film as well as technology such as cameras for slow motion scenes. One of these stars would
be the directing talent, Guy Ritchie who is famously known for his work on previously
successful films “RocknRolla” and “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”. Also, The Oscar
winning composer Hans Zimmer was used to create the soundtrack for the film and the
trailer due to his widely known success in creating film music that combines traditional
orchestral music with modern electronic music. They would also use well known actors to
appeal to a wide audience and to represent the characters from Conan Doyle’s stories such
as Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong. The institutional choices
helped to make the film successful, gaining approximately £3,081,072 in the opening
weekend in the UK.
Vladimir ProPP’s CharaCter theory
Propp’s theory states that in every story there are characters that fit the stereotype of one
of seven main characterisations. His theory started from his earlier research into fairy tales
in which these characters were noticeably represented and then moved onto other fiction
stories. Each character plays an important role in the narrative and the representations of
these characters may influence the audiences reaction that that character. The seven main
characters are :
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Hero
Villain
Helper
Princess
Donor
False Hero
Dispatcher
Hero
The hero in the trailer is represented by the character Sherlock Holmes. We know that he is the hero
because his name is in the title, making it very clear that the film is very strongly focused on this character.
This is anchored down by the fact that his character has the most screen time in the trailer. We see his
character more than any other and this shows his vast importance and role in the story. Another code
that anchors down this is at one point in the trailer, the music completely drops out in the place of
Holmes’ dialogue, which shows how nothing is as important as what he has to say. A typical hero also has
to be willing to fight, and Sherlock Holmes fits into this expectation. We see Sherlock Dive out of a
window into the river Thames near the start of the trailer, this high action stunt is dangerous and shows a
fearless quality to his character as well as representing him as an action hero. We also see him in a
number of violent fight scenes, both with and without weapons. This shows again his fearlessness and
also his fighting ability when it comes to protecting himself. Typical things for a hero.
The institutional choice of Robert Downey Jr. For this role helps to anchor down this representation and
characterisation. He is well known for his role in previous action films such as “Iron Man” where he
played a lead role that would be demanding in terms of stunts, which helps him to play the role of
Sherlock Holmes well. The fact he is very famous would make it hard for the production companies to
secure him, however, a $9 million salary for the role seems to help.
Helper
Dr. John Watson fits the representation of the typical helper character. Stereotypically the helper is as
their title suggests, the character that helps the hero on their journey. On many occasions we see Dr.
Watson helping Holmes, one clear example of this is when we see Holmes’ character struggling to pick
a lock on a door, but then Watson steps in and kicks down the door, therefore physically helping
Holmes with something. Immediately after this, Dr. Watson's role as the helper is anchored down by
Holmes’ dialogue, “Always good to see you Watson” and a visual code of the two characters shaking
hands. These codes all anchor down the fact that the two characters have a close relationship and that
in the past Holmes has had to look to Dr. Watson for help, a quality of a typical helper, when they stand
by the hero even when times get hard and give them help when they really need it.
The institutional choice of actor for this role would be very significant to the way the relationship
between the hero and helper is portrayed to the audience. The choice of Jude Law for the role is very
significant. The two actors would need to have a good level of natural chemistry for the relationship
between them to be believable. Jude law is very successful within the industry and this would bring in
a large fan base to the film as well as acting talent that would help to make the film more appealing.