Analysing Opening Sequences and Enigma - 'The Usual Suspects'

The second opening scene that focuses on creating enigma that I will be looking at is from Bryan Singer's 'The Usual Suspects'.

The film opens with a very dark sequence of the water at night accompanied by some mysterious music. The low key lighting hides key detail about the setting from the audience which indicates to the audience that this may be in the 'thriller' or 'crime' genre. 

The screen then fades to black further leaving the audience in the dark about key plot details, location and characters. This is then followed by a close up shot of someone lighting matches, the lighting is still very low key and the audience are not introduced to this mysterious man. 

The setting is very dimly lit and looks like a run-down industrial area, further creating both mystery and tension for the audience as this location does not look particularly safe. 

When the mysterious shadowy man, who is filmed in such a way that his identity remains an enigma, sets the location on fire the audience are not privy to why this is happening. There is also a dead body in the background and we do not know who it is and why he is dead. This introduction creates enigma for the audience as we do not know why any of the events are happening; like the beginning of 'Inception' we are seeing effects before causes and the meaning only becomes clear later in the narrative.