Comments

First off, the screenwriting format may be a little off in some of these. Some are shooting scripts, some are not. In any case, the focus is to see how these movies use various techniques for their opening.

Fargo

1) Fargo opens with an image of the omnipresent snow we will see throughout the movie.

2) Here’s a brief synopsis of the basic plotline. Jerry is having financial problems, so he has set up a plot to have his wife kidnapped and held for ransom (to be paid by his rich father-in-law).

3) Will this plot work? Certainly, the problems Jerry has (a) filling out the hotel ledger with his alias and (b) dealing with Carl and Grimsrud indicate Jerry will have problems successfully pulling off a kidnapping plot. Nice foreshadowing.

Erin Brockovich

1) Here is an example of opening with dialogue/character. Notice how Erin’s dialogue helps establish her character.

2) The noted screenwriter William Goldman advises aspiring screenwriters to always enter a scene as late as possible. For example, in Erin Brockovich we don’t begin the scene with Erin in the waiting room prior to her job interview. Instead, we enter in medias res (in the middle of the action). And from Dr. Jaffe’s first line of dialogue, we know she isn’t going to get the job. Yet, we see her determination as she desperately tried to convince him to hire her. Her determination will prove critical as the movie progresses.

3) Note how the parking ticket and broken nail effectively end the opening scene and cement the audience’s empathy for Erin.

4) Observe how Erin’s wardrobe reflects her character.

5) Notice how the characters are described in direction in Erin Brockovich.

Snow Falling on Cedar Mountain

1) This is an example of opening with action. Notice how the screenwriter manages to keep a lot of white space on the page despite having no dialogue for the first page and a half.

2) Also, note how visual the direction is.

Silence of the Lambs

1) What technique does screenwriter Ted Tally use to open Silence of the Lambs?

Do you think it is effective? Why or why not?

2) What does Clarice’s indecision about what to do with her cap tell us about her character?

3) Notice how much exposition Tally is able to deliver without seeming to.