Film Openings Genre Inspo

     Though I want to create a film opening that isn't only a psychological drama but also a period piece, I'm going to dedicate the mood board to doing research for the period elements and the film openings research for psychological dramas. The genre has so many different interpretations, and I wish to find and be inspired by movie openings focusing on unreliable narrators.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

    

    Just so happening to be my personal favorite movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a psychological drama having to do with two lovers who erased each other from their memories. The movie sort of moves backward, so the opening is them meeting again as complete strangers, and the rest of the movie is the story of what happened and how. In the opening, Joel is an unreliable narrator because he makes decisions without knowing why, and lots of aspects like his car being broken, pages ripped out of his journal, and impulsively going to an empty beach show that there are factors behind his actions that the viewers haven't been exposed to yet. In my movie opening, I want to incorporate random and unexpected decisions made by my main character that wouldn't sort of make sense with the way she seems to be. Initially, I thought I didn't want much dialogue in my opening because I wanted it to be guided by music, but I'm really attracted to the idea of a voiceover where my character doesn't really know what's going on either. The lack of knowledge might be caused by a sickness or a sort of drug that caused her to forget recent events. I also noticed the entire movie opening is shot with a handheld camera, making it almost seem like he is being documented in his world or the audience watching him in secret. I noticed this when he was running to the train impulsively. It was a high-angle shot from above the bridge while he ran below and then a shot from downstairs while he was running on the bridge. At every point, the camera seemed hidden. It reminds me of the way the movie Project X was filmed; one of the characters was filming the entire event as if he was making a documentary on the entire party. It gives a sort of subtle uneasiness, which I really liked. Apologies if I wrote too much; I don't know if you can tell how much I love this movie.

Pearl (2022)

    This opening is the perfect example of what I had in mind when describing the girl who's not who she seems to be. In this opening, Pearl is first portrayed as living on a perfect little farm, dressing in her beautiful dresses and living an ideal life until her mom tells her to feed the animals and pops her bubble. After that, she becomes this innocent picture again performing for her farm animals and pretending to be a star until a goose sneaks into the farm, and she kills it and feeds it to an alligator. One would never expect such a hopeful, beautiful, innocent-looking girl to be so deathly and aggressive. It is similar to the way the movie Emma. does contrast. In Emma., she seems to have a perfect, easy life, yet the editing and dialogue portray a gloomy, moody tone, like how the mise-en-scene in Pearl is bright and happy, the music is beautiful, and she looks adorable while she's slaughtering an animal with a pitchfork. I noticed a theme in the title of just their names, which is similar to the presentation I want for my character, so the title being her name could definitely be an option.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

    Requiem for a Dream's opening is a really great example of what I was looking for when it comes to music. I had an idea of a perfectly normal scene with dramatic and mysterious music in the background to serve the purpose of hinting at something the audience isn't being told. I've never seen this movie, but if I were to watch this movie opening without music, I'd think it's something along the lines of two friends going somewhere to sell this TV. However, the low and dramatic music sets a foreboding tone, implying that there's more to what's being shown. Despite the kind old ladies wearing bright colors and the setting seeming like a hot summer day, the music provokes suspicion in the viewer. On some occasions, dialogue can simply not compare to the effect music has on a visual scene, which is why I'm looking to focus on the music instead of the words.