Analysis of film opening (within my genre)

The clip I will be analysing is the opening sequence to the thriller movie, Inception.

When the movie starts the first thing we as an audience are introduced to is the non-diegetic sound, the sound itself is very dramatic string based, tense music. This is effective in the fact that it creates an emotional reaction of tension, unease and suspense for the audience, which is good in the build-up to meeting the characters.

When the non-diegetic sound finishes we are then shown a mid-shot of the sea waves, this paired alongside with the diegetic sound of waves clashing against the rocks. The setting and location is effective and also links to genre as in thriller genre films, the main character tends to be isolated or deserted of some sort (for example in Shutter Island the main character was located on a very distant island).

Very quickly, we are then introduced to the main character and protagonist, who is lying on the shore, this giving the impression that he has just woken up after being washed up on the shore, to add on to that, there is further diegetic sound, but this time of children. The protagonist does an eye line match to reveal that he is looking at two children, which clearly indicates that this character is linked or has some form of relationship with these children. However, in the shot of the children, the colour is much brighter and it is in slight soft focus, this indicating that the children are most likely just figments of his imagination or a flashback. This is effective as it increases the level of curiosity for the audience as we are only been revealed a little amount of information, which also creates enigma codes in our head such as “how did he get there” or “who are those kids”, these unanswered questions making us want to further on which the film.

The camera then does a low angle shot of what appears to be someone linked to some type of police force, dressed in all black. This character is Asian, has a gun in his head and taps the protagonist on the back with it (to wake him up fully/get his attention, this is done in a low angle shot). This is effective in showing the power and superiority that the antagonist has at this point, also representing the protagonist as quite weak at this point, particularly with the high angle shot of the guy dressed in all black looking down on him with him lying on the back.

We then see a mid-shot of another Asian guy dressed in full black (this indicating that the two men work for the same man/industry) who calls him, however in another language, this being effective in the fact it further adds to the sense of mystery and suspense as the audience – at this point – no little to know information, and the people who do know information are most likely the men dressed in all black, however we cannot understand them which limits us. We are then introduced to an entirely new setting, the lighting is very low-key and we cannot see the face of who the people are talking to, who appears to be the ‘head guy’, or their ‘master’,  this also adding a very dark, sinister mood as the audience are not able to see the faces of peoples, making them feel in the dark as there is that sense of the ‘unknown’. However, because of the setting, at this point the audience have most likely established and recognised who is the protagonist and antagonist of the film.

When the head antagonist and protagonist finally meet, the idea of the antagonist having way more power and threat compared to the protagonist carries on, as the antagonist is on one side of the table, in an all-black suit (black connoting death and evil, linking up to the fact he is the antagonist, and his suit signifying he is a man of authority who hold much power over people), also with a weapon of a gun by his side, whilst the protagonist is on the other side of the table, this time with his head covered, frantically eating a bowl of food.

As the dialogue between the two start to begin, it becomes clear that the antagonist real agenda with the protagonist circulates around what appears to be a metal spinner that was found in the protagonist’s pocket when he was on the shore, this being paired with long shots of the spinner and also low based tense non-diegetic sound in the background. This is effective as it finally gives away part of the plot however doesn’t reveal too much. There is then another dialogue heard, but it is not coming from this current scene, however follows on to the next one, which is infact a flashback scene (this being very significant within the genre as flash back scenes, and sometimes scenes from the future are very significant within the thriller genre as they are one of the thriller conventions, specifically used to confuse and manipulate the audience, particularly as thrillers are emotion-driven). The protagonist is in this flashback scene and the setting seems to be the exact same, with the person who he is with also being of an Asian background, this indicating that this is not the first time the protagonist has been at this location and that he has a background or history with these people.

The dialogue that goes on within this flashback scene is of dreams and what happens when a person is in the ‘dream state’, this being effective as it follows and reveals more information about the narrative, this also signifying that the film may have a very dark, eerie and possibly supernatural atmosphere to it. The protagonist seems to be making a proposal to get into the mind-set of the person he is discussing the deal with, but very soon, things start to get very strange.

The room appears to start shaking and hyperbolic sound is used for the rattling of the table and also for the protagonist’s watch ticking, this suggesting that the location that they are in is not normal.