Film Opening 1 - Love Actually

Film One - Love Actually

Love Actually was made in 2003 by Richard Curtis. It had a budget of $40 million dollars and made $59,365,105 in the US and $246,942,017 worldwide.
The opening scene is 1 minute and 10 seconds long, very short compared to other films but exceptionally powerful.



The first thing we hear is very soft, classical music. This makes the viewer feel relaxed and comfortable. This is coupled with the initial images of people hugging, smiling and running towards each other creates a sense of warmth and smile that you can't keep off your face. This is suggestive of a more mature target audience and sets the general theme for the entire film, we know it's going to be one that makes us smile and laugh and leaves us with an overpowering sense of wellbeing.

Then, around 20 seconds in, when this feeling has been established we get the voiceover. This is written so that he could be talking to anyone, no matter their age, gender or race and creates a feeling of inclusion in the film for the viewer, inviting them to consider their own loves and the love that surrounds them. The speaker talks clearly and in RP (received pronunciation) which makes it easy to listen to and comforting. The informal language used such as, "I have a sneaky feeling..." makes the audience feel equal and involved and it adds to the ease of listening - there are no difficult words or complex phrases to understand. It's simple, calm and comforting, like a father speaking to his children. This, again, relaxes the audience. It also introduces us to one of the main characters - Hugh  Grant - where we learn his opinions of the world we live in. This is significant later in the film as we find out he is the prime minister and we can see his calm, collected and appreciative attitude to love really come across in his character.

In this shot we see a man with his son in the first third of the shot. The lighting on them is harsh and the background is blue showing the possible cruelty and scrutiny of life. Despite this the boy is clinging to his dad and kissing his cheek, a huge sign of compassion that cancels out the severe background. The fact that we can't see either of their faces gives it a universal relevance, once again inviting the audience to think about the love that surrounds them.

The title is immediately brought into the film at the end of the opening scene with the phrase, "Love actually is all around." This is a play on the song lyrics from, "Love is all around," by Wet Wet Wet which is covered in the film by Bill Nighy for his character's christmas 'hit'. This is intertextuality and adds to the 'real - life' feel of the film. The line refers to the fact that people will listen and even sing to the lyrics of the song without ever really hearing or considering them. The emphasis on the word "Is," in the voiceover suggests that we think about the meaning of the words rather than just accepting them as lyrics, opening the audience's mind up once again to their own relationships - partner, parent, child or friend - creating a feeling of happiness and, well, love.

The scene is made up of lots of short, close up shots of people hugging, smiling and kissing. This reflects the huge amount of love in the world and all the lives that are completed by it. The close-ups also show how nothing else really matters in the world if you're with someone you love. There are also lots of different angles - people hugging from the back, the side and the front - which links to how love is all around.
Also, the camera is not always smooth; there are some shots where it follows people running or embracing and it's jerky which is suggestive of a handheld camera. This is similar to the kind of camera work used in documentaries and links to the real life reflection of love shown in the film and hints to the fact that these are real life people in Heathrow airport. This connotes the ordinariness of love, it shows real life and links to the voice over about how it's not, "Particularly dignified or newsworthy." This is also shown by how people are not always in the thirds or the centre of a shot, they move around to the top bottom and either side and are sometimes obstructed by others, again showing the imperfections in love.

Additionally, the camera focuses on the people who are interacting giving us a shallow depth of field - the main focus of that particular shot - whilst everything around them is out of focus. This connotes how, in the presence of love, the rest of the world can fall away into insignificance, highlighting the power of this one, single emotion.

The transitions cut between shots rather than fade and the number of different shots can create quite a hectic, jerky feeling that contrasts with the soft, calming music playing behind. This connotes how, even in the most unromantic, stressful, overwhelming places, love is there, guiding us through. It also shows the unpredictability and spontaneity of love and shows it in real life rather than in stereotypical romance films.

The general colour of the scene is blue which has connotations of sadness and loss, again linking to how "Love actually is all around," even in the places we would never expect to find it.

The people onscreen are in normal clothes and look quite bedraggled - ladened down with bags and hair falling out. This shows how love goes beyond looks and beauty, "It's not particularly dignified," and again challenges those inbuilt stereotypes about glamorous love stories and opens our eyes to the reality of real love.

The opening scene doesn't actually tell the audience anything about the characters or the story, creating a narrative enigma,  it just introduces us to the central theme of the film and how it is breaking the rules usually associated with romance films. Although it does this, it's still very clear to the viewer that this is a romance film.

The final frame of the first scene is three people hugging as a background to the title "Love actually," which fades to black making the letters stand out even more boldly. The title starts as the voiceover line, "Love actually is all around," with the word, "Is," in red (making us consider the lyrics' meaning) and slowly the other words fade out to just leave the title which physically puts the title into context.

The font is red, sans-serif and all the letters are lower case showing the simplicity of love in the real world. The word, "Love," is in red playing to red's connotations of love and passion and, "Actually," is in white which links to the Christmas setting of the film as the two colours combined give a very festive feel.
At the end of the screen the picture very softly fades to black and then fades into the following scene, it's almost so soft we don't even notice it happening. This links to how we don't notice that, "Love actually is all around."