Analysis Of The Opening Scene Of American Beauty (1999) essays

Analysis Of The Opening Scene Of American Beauty (1999) essays 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 characters 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 the scene before. The camera does not give a focus on any particular house yet, as it is trying to come across as though this is an average family from an ordinary suburb. The next scene is of Lester lying in bed and the camera is looking down on him as to when the camera was at level with his daughter in the previous scenes. This shows how the character is interpreted by sections of society whereas many people would be on literally the same level as Jane, many people would look down on Lester. The camera shows the whole bed and there is nobody lying next to Lester. This shows that even in the beginning of the film that the relationship between him and his partner is not that close. 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. This emp hasizes the fact that the props and setting is genuine. In bed, Les...