Researching Drama Thriller Film Openings #5

American Beauty starts with a grainy and vintage capture camera recording of a young girl lying in bed. Conversing and dialogue between the young girl and the unidentified individual, the audience understands the female character is video calling a man. The young girl complains of her father and the man states: "Do you want me to kill him?" Replying, the young girl pauses as an element of suspense and replies, "Yeah. Would you?" The dialogue between the character and the undisclosed identity of the male figure provides the opening scene with an eerie, unsettling curiosity that engages further viewing. Following, in simple red straight-colored font, with a black screen behind, titles; "American Beauty". Introduced to a landscape-long shot of the setting from above addition to the monotone voice-over, the audience acknowledges the plainness and simplicity of the town. The meticulously manicured lawns and cookie-cutter houses paint a picture-perfect American life. However, the camera lingers on the cracks in the facade hinting at the dysfunction and unhappiness beneath the surface. "In less than a year, I'll be dead." The narrator mentions such a statement possibly correlating to the previous scene of intending to commit a murder. 

Girl Interrupted - The fogged window, architected in a jail-like structure, introduces the primary visual of the film's opening. The soft and somber music in the background reflects the sad expressions on the close-up shots of the young girl's faces. Shattered glass on the floor and almost updated sering are both symbolic features and details elevating the location's setting and environment. The voiceover of a young female during the film opening, questioning the audience, all announced in a meloncoly enunciation. Her dialogue is fragmented and cryptic, hinting at underlying mental struggles and a desire to resist authority. At the end of the voiceover, the female character refers to herself as a "Girl Interpreted". This scene is cold and sterile, dominated by its dim lighting. The grim environment emphasizes the clinical nature of the young girl's confinement and creates a sense of detachment from the outside world.