Analysis of Film Opening – Looper

(This is a short clip of Looper's opening scene, I couldn't find a longer one online of which I talk about in my analysis)

 

Looper is a hybrid film and fits into the categories of five genres: thriller, action, sci-fi, crime and noir. Released in 2012, Looper is set in 2044 Kansas, USA.

The opening scene is fast and abrupt. A young man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) waits in an open field, then seconds later another man appears out of thin air, bagged and tied, and the young man shoots and kills him without hesitation. This leaves the audience confused and left to think what they will of the first few moments as the film title cuts for a few more seconds. Following the title screen is a voiceover of the young man explaining time travel and his job to the audience, informing them what he had just done and what he does with the body next. It is important that the order of events was shown this way. The sudden death of the unknown man catches the attention of the audience, as they will be eager to discover an answer for the young man’s actions in such an early point in the movie, only to be followed by a detailed explanation, making the viewer feel involved in the story, now that they know what’s happening.

The male protagonist is the only important character introduced in the first few minutes. His role of the protagonist is obvious to the audience, not in the first minute, but after the title screen, when he talks personally to the viewers through voiceover. This makes his role clear, as no other character would create a relationship with the audience like that.

A large amount of information is given to the audience in the opening sequence as a whole; it gives the reader a setting, time and a main understanding of what the story is. The information concerning the main plot (closing your own loop) is deliberately withheld, otherwise too much would be given away in the first few minutes and the audience would have too much information given to them in such a small amount of time. The details given about the story so far were perfect, and the way it was given created anticipation keeping the viewers interested and wanting more.