donnie darko

The opening sequence of Donnie Darko begins with an establishing shot that introduces the setting. It seems to be a serene environment and the camera then pans to reveal something resting on top of the ground. At first glance, it seems unidentifiable as to what or who it is, which successfully compels the audience to continue watching the film as it builds a mysterious atmosphere. The camera moves closer to the body very gradually, slowly allowing the audience to gather that there is a male body in the middle of the mountains. His central position in the frame emphasises to the audience that he is the main character, Donnie Darko. His facial expressions and costume help esablish the character profile by making him seem quite eccentric, as it is not usual to wake up in the middle of a forest. The music that accompanies the introduction of the character is quite eerie and haunting and primarily piano based, which builds suspense and adds to the mysterious atmosphere as well as fitting the psychological thriller-fantasy genre that the movie falls under. As the camera continues to pan, Donnie's facial expressions initially make him look confused, suggesting that he is unaccustomed to waking up this way, which challenges the audience into questioning why that has happened. The confused expression then morphs into a smirk, which shows that he recognises what has happened. This still manages to keep the audience interested as they are unaware of what's going on, making them want to continue watching in efforts to further understand the character and his situation. High key lighting is used to transition from the title to a shot of Donnie riding his bike. The music becomes contrastingly upbeat as he rides through the forest into a typical suburban neighbourhood. Unknowingly, the audience can already gain an insight into the narrative of the film through the lyrics of the song that are heard - "Fate / Up against your will / Through the thick and thin / He will wait until / You give yourself to him." Fate is vital concept throughout the film, which has already been highlighted cleverly through the opening sequence. A board that reads "Middlesex Halloween Carnival" hints at what type of movie this will be, as it becomes obvious to the audience that it is set in October, and Halloween is commonly associated with the supernatural. Minor characters are seen during Donnie's journey, and the fact that the camera is following him the entire time could be to show that the rest of the film will also revolve around his journey through a particular event in his life. Donnie's family is then introduced to the audience; his sister is seen jumping on a trampoline whilst his mother is reading. The normality of this contrasts against Donnie's behaviour and makes the audience question why isn't seen as being normal either. The family also seems unalarmed by Donnie's appearance, further suggesting that this is a regular occurence. What I enjoyed about this opening sequence was that Donnie's eccentric and quirky character was introduced without even a minimal use of dialogue, which is something that we can hopefully achieve in our own opening sequence.