Analysis Of The Opening Scene Of American Beauty (1999)
I decided to analyze the opening section of American Beauty. The film starts straight into Jane being filmed by her neighbour who she is having a conversation with. By starting the film with the use of a hand held video camera effect, it makes the film seem much more authentic. Jane is lying on a bed and does not show the whole of her body; this may suggest that she is not the main character but a significant player in the main character's life. She is dressed in black and blue colours, which suggests her character to be quite dark and mysterious. The lighting is dark and muted, which expresses a melancholic mood. Her make up is plain and there is no emphasis on particular features. Jane is staring into the camera, which is meant to engage the audience. The scene then cuts to the title of the film in red text on a black background that are colours associated with death. The next scene is showing the whole neighbourhood in which the family live. The lighting is bright and real, in contrast to th
Her bedroom is if the colour orange and looks like a typical teenager's bedroom. The scene cuts to his wife, Carolyn, in the front yard cutting red roses. The lighting is much brighter and seems unrealistic showing Carolyn, herself to be unrealistic unlike her husband and daughter. The camera then focuses on Lester putting his feet into slippers because it shows that he has his feet firmly on the ground (it's real life) and is not living in some fantasy. The next scene shows Jane in her bedroom on the computer looking at breast implants. The camera shows the whole bed and there is nobody lying next to Lester. However, the arrogant body language that he has shows that he does not care about the relationship. The lighting of this scene is convincing because it is real daylight. The camera now zooms in and focuses on Lester and leaves Carolyn out of focus. This emphasizes the fact that the props and setting is genuine. The next scene shows Lester in the shower, which, implies to the audience that the film is going to be looking closely at Lester and his life. There is a close up of Carolyn holding the rose and the rose is a key focus throughout the whole film. Their house has a white picket fence, which is usually associated with an average, happy family, living in the suburbs. The camera has not focused on Lester, which could mean that Lester is not the focus of Carolyn's life.
Common topics in this essay:
American Beauty,
,
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scene cuts,
red roses,
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talking neighbours,
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