Romance Opening Scene Analysis: Dear John

Romance Opening Analysis: Dear John

The opening scene starts with the distribution company then the scene cuts into a close up of a wounded soldier who is laying on the floor; we are able to see that he’s injured with several gunshot wound  and bleeding whilst his friend tries to wake him up making sure he’s alive. There is a slow and sad non diegetic sound played with the voice over to make the scene seem melancholy, he says that he thought about someone important before he got shot and blacked out.  The coins relates to that significant someone who is very close to him. The shot becomes canted to suggest that the wounded solider is instable to stand on his own feet then the shot rotates all the way so we are at the eye-level with the character. Once the soldier tries to make the wounded soldier sit upright we are able to see the setting followed by the camera slowly zooming at a high angle toward the main protagonist to make the character seem weak and vulnerable as they’re struggling and in danger of getting killed.

The scene blurs as the soldier re-calls his childhood, a close up is used to see his relaxed facial expression as coins begins to fall over him then the shot turn into an extreme shot of the coins. The voice over informs the audience that he went on a trip to the U.S Mint with that person who‘s very close to him. There is various close up of the machinery which allows us to see the stages of how the coins are made then the scene cuts into a close up of the boy’s face while he watches it being produced, he finds it fascinated. The scene is followed by an extreme close up of him hand holding one of the coins, the camera focuses on the detail of the coin.

There is an extreme close up of his eye and we’re able to see that his head is bleeding suggesting that he’s severely injured. The soldier begins to moves his eyes and trying to become aware of his surrounding while the camera turn into a close up of he’s friend is shaking him, shouting and patting his cheeks trying to wake him up; we can see the desperation in his voice as he tries to move him into safety. The voice over states that he’s is a coin of United States, the scene returns back to a close up of the coins being poured of out the container and then there is a close up of the machine adding the detail on the coin. In the next sequence the scene is blurred by the steam, we are able to see the from someone’s perspective staring toward the sky then the scene cuts, we see the soldier staring toward the sky. The scene zooms slowly towards the soldier who is lying on the floor bleeding and he’s getting wet from the rain. John’s voice over states all the different injuries he has had due to being a soldier.  The camera slowing zooms toward his face which is just staring without blinking or showing any expression which could suggest that he’s died or hurt badly, he also states that he’s not in perfect condition which shows that he’s not mentally and physically stable. The scene then fades out which shows that he blacked out because he states this in the voice over and before he did he thought out someone very significant to him.

The scene cuts shows an extreme shot of the setting showing a beautiful view of the sun rising and we are able to see that it’s set at a beach, there is a non-diegetic sound playing in the background which is upbeat but it gives a peaceful effect. at this moment the audience is not sure if this is a flashback or a flash forward which creates suspence and draws the audience in as they're curious on the plot. In the next scene a medium shot is used so we’re able to see him surfing, we are also able to hear the sound of the waves which mixes with the non-diegetic sound which make the scene dramatic. Once he gets out of the water a long shot is used so the audience are able to see a full shot of the main protagonist then it cuts into an extreme long shot which shows his surroundings. Over the shot is used when John is seen looking at the sea so we can see from his perspective, then the scene cuts into a medium shot of him relaxing whilst staring into the horizon however he’s distracted by a group of people which suggest that there is a female protagonist as this is a cliché of a romance film plot. The shot returns back to John who looks like he’s interested as he stares at the blonde girl who the focus of the group which suggests that she is the female lead that John is going to fall in love with. A high angle shot shows the girl's bag falling into the sea, few minutes later then a long shot is used to show John diving into the sea and fetching the bag for her even though she didn't ask him to, he's a stereotypical main male protagonist - he's muscular and strong suggesting he shows dominance by helping out the female protagonist. The female protagonist is shames the less impressive guy while she waits for John to come out of the water and she thanks for his help which suggests that this is the starts of the love story.