An opening sequence to any film is the decider between watching on or choosing another film. It has to be captivating enough yet not disclose the plot too soon, give you an insight to the characters personality yet not yet show why. Gone Baby Gone is easily one of my favorite opening sequences. It shows all the conventions of a gripping opening sequence that will lead on to an as equally gripping and moving story line. The narrative functions in the first 3 minutes 16 seconds gives you just the right amount of information to form an opinion of the film.
The initial shot fades from black to a row of houses with balconies. It’s plain and quite with no people or movement. The mise-en-scene shows a picture of the American flag in the foreground stuck to a building, in the back ground more buildings, a peaceful pink sky and a bird flying past. The bird flying through this city has connotations of freedom, either what the city has or wants, we are not sure yet. Within the first 20 seconds the location is established and a tranquil feel is set.This and the first shot suggests the calmness and peace over the city, that there is not much action that happens there. Possibly foreboding that something could disrupt this. The first shot of characters we are introduced to, is a close up of a man outside smoking, followed by an upwards tilt of a woman standing next to him. At this point, slow thoughtful, non-diegetic sound starts to play. It fits in with the first shots of the city and the feeling it creates for the audience as well as the expression on the first characters that we see.
The next montage of shots shows a variety of people, races and ages, along with the time, and the class of the area we have been introduced to. A medium shot of a man looking out on to the street from his balcony, a long shot of an elderly woman and her dog also on her balcony looking out on to the street and a low angle shot of two young boys looking out of a window. All of whom looking as though they are waiting for something to happen in their neighborhood, are wearing simple clothes and their houses look quite run down.
At this point voice over is introduced, a soft male voice who starts: “I always believed it was the things you don’t chose, that makes you who you are”. By saying ‘believed’, the thought is that he no longer believes it, and opens the question as to why. We are yet to see this man, but know that he will have something to do with the story.
The camera then cuts to an over the shoulder shot of a young girl sitting on a mans knee, playing with his hat. We don’t see this mans face which suggests he is not significant to the story line, but has significance in the opening setting this feeling of community. “Your city, your neighborhood, your family”, spoken by the voice over with emphasis on the word ‘family’ as if he is trying to suggest your city and neighborhood to be part of your family as illustrated by the rest of the sequence. The title credits appear from here, simple and small, not to distract you from the the story being introduced.
The camera then pans a large wall, fully decorated with what could be paintings of black Americans. At the end of this pan a white woman is painting, suggesting again this sense of community, and mix cultural diversity. We start to get the feeling now that this is a close knit, welcoming, friendly community.
The camera then cuts to a group of boys, and through a mid shot, pans across the group so we see they are a variety of cultures and ages. Again this sense of community and equality. Here more conventions are displayed as the actors names are appearing in the opening credits.
The next shot is a track shot of a church as the voice over uses the word ‘souls’, religion is a topic brought up again during the opening, making it a possible theme for the film. The next sequence of shots, a long shot followed by a mid shot of a man teaching children how to play baseball. Followed by a mid shot of a barber and a hairdresser as if we are looking at them through the window of the shop.
Most of the sequence is filmed at the same level not many high or low angle shots, suggesting that everyone in that community is on the same level.
Another shot of what looks like should be over the city, yet is blocked by buildings, shows the title and again the bird as a symbol of freedom. Soon after, a road of traffic and an introduction to the voice over, who we assume is the main character. The camera tracks Casey Affleck towards a couple of people while he, as the voice over, says “I lived on this block my whole life”. We now know his connection to the city, “when your job is to find people who are missing”, and his job. This also gives the audience a clue as to what the film is about. The camera track Casey Affleck again past a school of children playing. The camera then changes angle so we see his face looking at the children.
After this another montage shows more people in the community, playing together, making fun out of the things they have. Until a shot of a police man and a picture on the ground of a young girl creates new questions about the plot of the film. Still with this sense of community, the camera tracks around the cameramen and the public before tracking down, past teddies, to a picture of a young girl with the words ‘Missing girl’. From what Casey Afflecks character told us earlier about his job, the audience is able to predict that he will have something to do with finding her. The final shot shows a close up of the missing girls mother giving a statement to the news about her daughter.
From the first 3 minutes 16 seconds we, as an audience, have been introduced to the main character(s), the location, the story line and we know who the actors etc are from the opening credits.
