Opening Sequences (Easter homework section A)

How far do the opening sequences of the films you have studies in this topic introduce their key messages and values? – By Michael O'Neill

 

The opening sequences of ‘Get Carter’ and ‘Bullet Boy’ could be considered similar in the sense that they both clearly show the differences between the life of luxury and freedom and the life of crime. The opening sequence of Bullet Boy focuses on the main character ‘Ricky’ during his release from prison, the first thing I noticed was that during the opening scenes all characters who hold some form of “authority” are white (this could be seen as a message from the director to expose that although we live in the age of diversity and equality, racism is still around).

The first area of scenery the audience are introduced to is the British countryside, I believe this is used to represent freedom and how Ricky believes that after leaving prison his sense of freedom is returned. However the director/writer chose to have ‘Wisdom’ (the character Ricky considers to be his best friend) collect him from prison as opposed to a law abiding citizen like ‘Beverly’ (Ricky’s mother) because the character is used to show that no matter far they try to escape it, crime will always find its way to reclaim its victims.

Still focusing on the countryside scene, it is significant as it very cleverly comments on economic lifestyle. Ricky’s younger brother ‘Curtis’ is introduced to the audience in the back of Wisdoms car (it is probably important to mention that as Curtis would so willingly sneak into the boot of a car driven by someone considered as a criminal that Curtis was probably raised with no sense of danger). Eventually Wisdom discovers Curtis and orders him to leave; Curtis’s response is “I don’t know where I am” indicating that he doesn’t leave the city often (this could be for a number of reasons, financial difficulties being the one I chose to believe).

As the sequence progresses the audience is shown the hometown of the characters, the area is highly claustrophobic, rural area. The sequence is shot via Ricky’s point of view; this is to show how he generally feels about the town. I believe if the film was shot through the eyes of Curtis the story would be completely different and have an innocent approach on a child who unknowingly lives around crime.

The main theme of this film is that crime never pays. This is evident throughout the film as the characters are not rich, do no value materialistic things and in the end crime ruins their lives (Ricky is murdered and Curtis seems highly affected suggesting that the cycle is still going on).

I will now talk about the opening sequence of ‘Get Carter’:

The opening of ‘Get Carter’ shows our principal ‘Jack Carter’ on a train heading to Newcastle. Jack is seen sitting in a first class cabin and is seen wearing a suit. However it is explained how he came to achieve this wealth earlier in the film as Jack is seen viewing a pornographic film with other men who could be considered ‘rich’ and ‘sophisticated’. It is also revealed that Jack is originally from the north as one of the men says “just ask Jack”.

Jack speaks with an accent that does not originate from his hometown as he often speaks in a “proper” accent. Alike the opening to Bullet Boy the film clearly shows the difference between class through the usage of scenery. Alike bullet boy the train rain is made to show Jacks journey from a privileged society (the free, rich looking countryside) to the rural industrialised city of Newcastle.