Romance Opening - Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook 

This film in its opening 2 minutes doesn’t follow the conventions of a romance; there is no bright colours and blue skies instead a dull plain hospital. We are still able to identify that it is a romance through small features, like the use of music and the character talking about his recent love life and how he wants it back.

At the start of the film little information is given about the character personality, although we understand that he is regretful of how his life turned out and how he wants to return to his past. We understand he is in love with someone when he is talking to himself bout true love. When the main character disobeys orders we immediately see independence and stubbornness within his personality. We as the viewers feel sorry for him and feel happy for him in a way that he wants to turn his life around by no longer taking pills. During the fitness scene we see he is determined. When the camera focuses on a discharge approval form from a mental hospital, we see that this character has been ill, but has managed to return to mental wellbeing; except his voice and body language are rigid suggesting he is rather uncomfortable in life and not in touch with many emotions.

Very start of the film the first thing we indentify is the sound, starting off with calm non diegetic music suggesting everything is un disturbed, without any visual yet we hear a males voice who we assume is the main character because we don’t see him we immediate create an enigma enticing the audience to take interest in this character. He is talking about his family and the past, dwelling upon it suggesting he misses it and wants to return to his past we wonder what’s happened to is life to make him want to go back in time. Diegetic knock occurs followed by a man’s voice giving the main character orders that he chooses to ignore as he carries on talking to himself, we see no one is with him therefore he we get the sense he may be mentally ill, as well as the characters repeating the sentence “I’m better now, I’m better now” supports idea of mental illness and wanting to return to his family. We immediately feel sorry for this man.

 Hearing a distant authoritative voice again who is giving him orders about seeing a doctor confirms the predicated location of a hospital .Once he is finished talking to himself non diegetic music starts to play, it’s a mellow low pitched piano linking with the romance genre then a guitar is added on top of the music suggesting the scene is building up to something. As the scene progresses more music is introduced especially during his work out, the music is light hearted with tones of relief linking to this characters emotions that he is happy he is getting his life back to how it was becoming content with the new him although when the new character is introduced sound decreased in pace and tempo suggesting this character brings upset to him causing drama within the scene.

First Shot we see fades into a mid-shot of a man’s back obtaining idea of mystery as the shot stays on this man we concentrate a lot on what he is saying as there’s not much detail to focus on except a man’s plain black clothed shoulders, short hair and a window. Mise-en-scene is very basic so far due to the plain tidy room although we do notice the bars on the windows furthering the idea of a hospital. Camera scans the room giving audience a feel for his living condition. Then a fast past pan around the side of his face then stopping with a close up of his expressionless face, leaving him vulnerable for the audience to judge him, audience focuses on his eyes as they are slightly red and look miserable connoting his heart ache the audience now feels emotionally closer to this character. This character then looks down hiding his face connoting he is self conscious and no longer wants to be judged. Quickly the scene changes, going from him  having a long intense evaluation on life to running down the stairs this suggests that he gets distracted quickly and can’t stay on one thought path for long.

Mid-shot as well as point of view shot of a pill he is being asked to take although being a simply shot has a large effect he then spits out the pill, and doesn’t want their help, he feels he  can get better on his own. A tracking shot entering a group discussion makes audience feel a part of the scene. Then focuses on one man who is obsessively talking about his hair showing he too has mental issues. Leads on to a tilt shot of him working out, becoming not only physically fitter but mentally healthier.

 Low angle shot of him on the floor in a new characters shadow create idea dominance and importance to the new character following onto a mid shot of 3 people, the main character being as the back suggesting he is less important and being treating like a child as the people in front decide what to do with his even though he is obviously old enough to make his own mind up, causing main character to be frustrating and his mental well being to spiral downwards. We start to connect part of his problems to this new female character, who associate to be his mother.