drama film openings

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The film opening of The Perks of Being a Wallflower starts with music playing a some scenic shots of a tunnel where the credits are displayed as well as the title of the movie. Then the main character Charlie is shown where we are given an inner monologue of what he is thinking and he is primarily shown with medium and close up shots. The medium shots display the background of his house which tells the audience that he seems like just any other teenage boy. Meanwhile the close ups along with the inner monologue creates the sense that we are able to peek into the mind of Charlie and really get a feel and figure out what he is thinking. The monologue given by charlie states that he spent time in the hospital, this is foreshadowing for later parts of the movie and gives an inside on some past traumas Charlie has experienced and endured. The opening scene ends with Charlie starting his first day of high school. The opening does this to primarily develop Charlie's character and background, but secondarily develops the scene a little, such as his house and his high school.

Beautiful Boy

The opening of Beautiful boy begins with David, or the father in this story, seeking understanding on the effects of drugs on his son, primarily crystal meth. Throughout the scene, the camera seems to get closer to David, this could be because as he is seeking understanding he is realizing the pressure and the situation better and realizing that he no longer knows his son like he used to. I say this because earlier in the scene he mentions how he thought he knew his son inside and out but no longer does. The opening then cuts to a year prior where his son is missing and he has to call a hospital to figure out if he was sent there. This opening, similar to Perks of Being a Wallflower, mainly develops character, although instead of developing only David, the opening also develops his son.

Interstellar

The opening for Interstellar was different than both Beautiful Boy and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This opening focused more on developing the setting and context of the film with a narrator describing how they used to live from the future. The opening sequence begins with the title card and then a close up of an older lady from the future describing her past. The scene cuts to a dream the main character was experiencing, this also introduces the main character and gives some background to him establishing that he was a pilot. The scene makes it clear that it was a dream since the pilot scene ends with the main character waking up from bed. The narration starts once again establishing that they had lots of corn and the world was very dry, thus the large dust storms they mention.