The Beach
Dir: Danny Boyle
Ok this time I will actually concentrate on the credits, because I got a little bit carried away on the last review. The Beach's opening sequence focuses on the idea of how the travelling Leonardo DiCaprio is always surrounded by people and commotion, yet still emotionally alone. The credits appear in a blue haze on a black background, located in the bottom right hand corner of the street, in an attempt to draw our eyes away from the dark surroundings to the bright lights; a foreshadowing of the themes of the film, as DiCaprio searches for a magical Nirvana in what he perceives to be an unfriendly and cruel world. Credits continue to flash in a bright and waver form throughout the opening sequence, perhaps so that they seem hopeful amongst the imposing and dimly-lit background of Bangkok.
Silhouetting against a bright white backlight is used to introduce the audience to DiCaprio's stationary character, as other silhouettes and cars race at hyper speed, and this is yet another reference to the fact that the protagonist will end up completely removed, both mentally and physically, from normal society later in the film. Therefore attributes of the character's personality are already shown visually.
There is a first person narration, so the audience can share the central characters thoughts and visions, but this distracts from the credits on the side. Thumping music sets the fast pace that DiCaprio finds himself in, and diegetic sounds are incorporated into the rhythm of the music so as not disrupt the pace, as the character himself has no room for disruption of his travels. The camera tracks him walking down the street market of Bangkok, from both front and behind shots to show how the character responds to the environment around him, and even how this environment responds to him.
The two other main characters, Francoise and Etienne, are shown going into their hotel room as DiCaprio, and as he enters his room the scene cuts to the title shot. Thus the relationship between the main characters have been hinted and key ideas have been established with DiCaprio's narration before the end of the opening scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObKpwmZkl24
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