Time for Some Drama!

Drama Film Openings 

My partner and I have officially decided on the drama film genre! So, let's check out some film openings from drama films!

Trainspotting (1996)

Director: Danny Boyle

Heroin addict Mark Renton moves to London from Edinburgh to try achieving sobriety but has a hard time doing so because of his unreliable friends.

This film opening jumps straight into the action by showing Mark running from the cops. This drew me in because I immediately started wondering why he was running away. The action-packed, chaotic film opening paired with the upbeat nondiegetic music illustrates the rush Mark feels when taking drugs. There was parallelisms of Mark falling backwards while comsuming drugs to him falling backwards during a soccer game. This relates the ecstasy of real-life events to the ecstasy he tries reaching with drugs. What I found interesting about this opening is that certain parts of the voiceover is juxtaposed with the scene. For example, at the time stamp 0:27, Mark says " Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed-interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home." while clearly not taking care of his health and standing in an unfurnished, damaged home. This is a strong way of hinting that his addiction is the reason he makes that suggestion. Asking "But why would I want to do a thing like that?" once officially falling to the floor reveals his saracasm as he clearly has an answer to that question and regrets becoming a heroin addict. You can even hear the arrogance he feels towards his younger self and his decisions when he says it. This moment, along with the juxtapositions between the voiceover and scenes, confirms that Mark regrets being a heroin addict and not choosing a mundane, "normal" lifestyle. 

A quick establishing shot at the beginning of the film opening reveals that Mark lives in a crowded city and freezing the shots and displaying the characters' names introduces each character. So, it is clear that the purpose of this film opening is to introduce the characters and setting of the film. There is a really well-done job of introducing the main character (Mark Mark) with a voiceover and clips of him in a police chase and having a drug addiction because it gives key insight into who he was by using visual techniques and who he is now through auditory techniques (voiceover) while making it clear what the main issue of the film is about. This is a creative way to lead into the rest of the film because it shows why he wants to achieve sobriety. What I wonder the most about this film opening is how a serious drug addict gained the self-awareness to realize he no longer wants to do drugs.

The Social Network (2010)

Director: David Fincher

Mark Zuckerburg, a Harvard undergraduate student, works on a social networking site that later becomes Facebook. His success leads to him becoming a billionaire, but he also faces personal issues and lawsuits. 

This opening scene jumps straight into the action as Mark Zuckerburg and his girlfriend are out eating and have an arguement about Mark's pride and insults. Of course, audiences can imagine the outcome of this movie as today Mark Zuckerburg is the billiionaire owner of Facebook. The arguement is extremely fast-paced and forces you to pay attention to keep up. It finally slows down once Erica tells Mark:

"You are probably going to be a very successful computer person. You're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true."

This ends up being the trigger that really makes Mark mad and start working on building his social networking site. I love how the actress spoke at a slower pace for these lines because it makes it clear that this is a major moment and the trigger that leads into the rest of the movie. 

The yellow, lowkey lighting makes it hard to clearly see both characters. I like how the lighting is used to hint towards how Erica's assumption about Mark is wrong and she cannot clearly see his potential and the potential in his idea.

This arguement is a really good way of introducing the characters, specifically through dialogue that is developed through shot/countershots and over-the-shoulder shots. Erica is portrayed as the girlfriend and now ex-girlfriend who does not believe in her boyfriend's potential and is not willing to wait for it because of his disrespect towards her. Mark is portrayed as someone who does not think before they speak as he blindly insults his girlfriend. He is someone with an idea and potential and has confidence in it too.

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Director: Kenneth Lonergan

Lee Chandler's moves back to Manchester-by-the-Sea where he lived for many years to raise his nephew Patrick after his older brother passesd away. While in his hometown, he has to deal with his past life that separated him from his wife, Randi.

The film opens with a flashback of Lee, his brother Joe, and his nephew Patrick on a boat. This part is not shown in the clip above, but it cuts to present-day when Lee is working as a janitor and continues on with the plot when he finds out his brother died and he is moving back home to take care of his nephew. 

The establishing shots of the sea make the setting clear. I love how the characters' voices slowly and slowly become more clear. You can tell the producers wants audiences to hear the conversation as they made it clear to here when in reality the boat is far away and one should not be able to hear their voices. They did this so audiences can identify the loving and playful relationship between Lee and Chandler and understand why Patrick was left in Lee's hands. The way it is still slightly difficult to hear the conversation forces audiences to pay attention. 

The bluish-gray hue and calm music paired together creates a sense of depression. That signaled to me that there is something off about this clip or that will happen later in the film. Despite it there being music and quiet dialogue, the sense of "peace before the storm" added emotionality to the film opening.

Although the characters are not identified, the relationship between them is. I really like the thinking behind this film opening for a drama that begins with a character's normal life then shows the character face a major obstacle, especially emotional ones.

Reflection

After researching these film openings, I noticed that dramas have some sort of establishing shot to define the setting of the film. If there is no establishing shot, the setting is revealed with mise-en-scene. For example, The Social Network had booths, waiters walking with food, a lot of talking, and lowkey lighting to make it clear that Mark and Erica are in a restaurant at night. Mark even mentioned Erica goes to "BU" which is Boston University, so audiences know they are at a restaurant at night in Boston. They also introduce the characters. Trainspotting did this quite explicitly while The Social Network revealed their personalities and names by subtley revealing them through an arguement. For film openings that don't reveal characters' identities, they reveal the relationship between two characters, like in Manchester by the Sea. Also, all the film openings immediately introduced some kind of issue that would be examined throughout the plot.

What I love the most about the film openings is the parallelism in Trainspotting because it makes me appreciate the thought that went into making the film. I love how dramas match the music and lighting to the character's emotional state or hint what to expect in the film. Like in Trainspotting, the upbeat music showed the rush that Mark felt and in Manchester by the Sea the soft music and bluish-gray hue hinted that something unexpected and depressing was to come. These are all techniques I want to look into when developing my film opening.

Sources:

-Film4. (1996). *Trainspotting – Opening scene* [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaP7qmsQbSI

-Rotten Tomatoes. (n.d.). *Trainspotting – Cast & crew*. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trainspotting#cast-and-crew

-Sony Pictures Classics. (2016). *Manchester by the Sea – Opening scene* [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVzqzNzPGM4

-Rotten Tomatoes. (n.d.). *Manchester by the Sea*. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/manchester_by_the_sea

-Columbia Pictures. (2010). *The Social Network – Opening scene* [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUFqhChmHCc

-Rotten Tomatoes. (n.d.). *The Social Network*. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the-social-network