Analysis of Film Opening

                                                  Hitch

 

Hitch is a 2005 romantic-comedy starring Will Smith. He plays a 'love therapist', a man who teaches other men how to 'sweep women off of their feet'. The opening scene introduces the audience to Will Smiths character, Alex, and gives them an idea as to what he does and the methods he uses. Throughout this scene, Alex is made to sound extremely experienced in the area of women, as his narration details his knowledge about relationships, showing his expertise. he begins by narrating over a brief montage of different men admiring specific women from a distance which is then usually followed by a dismissive response from the chosen woman. This is a convention of romance films, where one romantic lead doesnt show an interest in the other. In every different situation shown it is always the man admiring the woman rather than vice versa, making women seem more powerful than men.

The location is shown to be in America in a city environment, likely New York. This is shown through the classic yellow taxi cab identified with New York in many classic films. New York is a popular setting for many romance films, as it has a mass market appeal as many people across the world can identify with New York. We then see the lockers in an apartment block. A woman we have followed through parts of the montage leaves the foreground of the shot, as she does this Alex enters the foreground in close-up, also becoming the focus pull of the shot. This shot is the first time we see Alex and during this scene he is the only person in the shot - other than briefly referring back to the men and women we saw before. By doing this, it shows his domincance and ability to entice and attract people towards him. The narration continues, although it is now delivered directly to the audience in a soliloquy from Alex, breaking the fourth wall.

Alex's costume is a suit, showing he is a professional in his line of work. The lack of tie and undone top button on his shirt also suggests a laid back attitude. In other words, the audience is supposed to look at Alex as a cool character. He is also shown as very mysterious in the clip because he only interracts with his 'clients' and speaks directly to the audience, other than this he doesnt speak to anyone making the audience think he doesnt have close friends or family. We know of his importance because he gets the prevalence of the shots as soon as he is introduced, and is mainly shown in close-up. The audience also sees his intelligence and methods in the introduction. Alex uses a dog to lure another dog to him, that belongs to the woman shown in the montage. He then hands the dog to a man outside her apartment block, who then lays in front of a cab with her dog in his hands, so the woman believes he dived in front of it to save her dog.

We see 2 quick shots of Alex shaking hands with the other 2 men shown in the montage, which suggests he is popular and successful in what he does. The next shot is a long shot of the man handing the dog back to the woman, which then pans downwards and puts the foreground in focus to show Alex talking again to the camera. He talks about the "basic principles" and tells the audience how any man can get any woman, which provides the hope and inspiration many of the target market look for in a romance film. The opening scene ends with an establishing shot of the famous New York skyline, confirming the setting of the film.