Comparing Film opening sequences (No Country For Old Men, 50 First Dates and Girl, Interrupted)

I looked at No Country for Old Men, which is a sub-genre of the Western and Horror field; Girl Interrupted, which comes under the category of a biography, and 50 First Dates, which is a Romantic Comedy.


I found that No Country for Old Men and girl interrupted did in fact share some qualities.
Firstly I found that the music in both films conveys serious/dramatic themes to the audience. The contrasting element is that No Country for Old Men opens with music that is sinister and serious, whereas although Girl Interrupted opens with a serious tone it also gives the audience the impression that the story which is about to unfold will have a deeper meaning, rather than being just horrific and gory.
The directors have made it very clear to the audience what to expect from the films. They have done this purely through music and tonal qualities; we know Girl, Interrupted will be some sort of life story from the poignancy of the music, and that No Country for Old Men will contain elements of the western genre combined with horror undertones through the menacing pitches.
Completely contrasting both films, the Rom/Com I chose to look at opens with very playful music, consequently suggesting a light-hearted film. Combinations of Hawaiian strumming instruments are used to set the scene and from this the spectators know that the film will not follow a serious attitude- quite the opposite.
The opening to 50 First Dates is very significant in setting the scene- it opens with a long shot of a very romantic, peaceful looking sunset on a sandy beach surrounded by palm trees, and within the first few minutes of the film, sex is the main topic of all conversations among the women that are featured. They are all discussing the same man they slept with, in a comical fashion- Henry Roth (played by Adam Sandler). This accentuates the offhand/joking manner we can expect to see throughout.
The characters in all three films are conventional to their genre; Even though No Country for Old Men is a sub-genre of western and horror, the way in which the characters are represented brings the two together in such a way that we know the film is not going to be one dimensional.
In the opening scene, we see a sheriff- conventional iconography of the ‘Western genre’- who appears to be very relaxed and calm. As the audience, we know he is a sheriff due to clear icons such as his uniform and the office he is in.
Another vital clue that this film is a Western is the Deep South American accent; when we watch a western, this is the accent we can expect to hear.
The horror aspect comes into play when we meet Anton Chigurh (played by Javier Bardem) who is the antagonistic villain. We know this because he is dressed in black from head to toe- The directors have paid close attention to detail here- even his hair and eyebrows are jet black. To me this suggests that there is no goodness or remorse at all. His clothing contrasts that of the sheriff’s as well, which is very light and neutral, a definite connotation of good versus evil.
Girl, Interrupted shares some similarities with No Country For Old Men in that the first thing we see is a close up shot looking through metal bars- giving the effect of being trapped or of feeling claustrophobic- The film is set in a mental institution, which is a place that I would associate with these feelings.
The sky is very dark and gloomy and the whole opening could fit nicely into the horror category. As soon as we meet the characters though, we know this is not right; we see a close up of our protagonist cradling another patient in her arms (this patient is played by Angelina Jolie). This reassures the audience that there is no reason to be afraid in a literal sense. Susanna (played by Winona Ryder)- the protagonist carries an aura of confidence and solidarity.
The actresses in this film are all very renowned and would play a bit role in the selling the film and winning over the public.
Susanna is portrayed as being thoughtful and she is the character we identify with,her mannerisms plainly direct the audience to feel close to her, almost to the extent they feel that they are her, or can feel everything that she feels.
The directors have achieved this through non-diegetic sound; In the opening, Susanna asks rhetorical questions that everyone will have wanted to ask during a time of anxiety or confusion; we admire her for this confidence and strong sense of identity. We are almost in awe of her whole presence.
Moving on to the character representation in 50 First Dates where we meet women who are depicted as being needy and utterly obsessed by men. This is a conventional feature of a Rom/Com as it is not realistic and it means the directors can portray the women in the film as being ‘the same as the rest’ or as though they have no value or personality.
From this character representation, we know that the protagonist (Henry Roth- the topic of conversation for the women) is going to fall for somebody who will have original qualities and won’t be so needy or male-obsessed.
The tones in 50 first dates are light and easy to manage; the film seems to be following the structure of your stereotypical Rom/Com quite religiously. As do all three films I have compared and contrasted.
Personally, I found all films very successful in their efforts to reach their target audience and be box-office hits. A lot of this was achieved through whom they chose to cast in their films- they have all used world-renowned actors/actresses. These would be major selling points for all three films.
I thought that the films were all very conventional and followed the guidelines of their genre consistently- they all featured conventional icons and music to their genre.
For me, the music is what makes a film- for instance, you could watch a horror without the music and you wouldn’t be scared. So during the opening of each film, I felt that the music played a big role in setting the scene and I generally think the directors were successful in their attempts at making their films a triumph in the cinema.