Analysis of Film Openings: The Inbetweeners Movie

I have chosen to analyse the opening of The Inbetweeners Movie because it is possibly my favourite coming of age movie: it tells a story which anybody who grew up in the 2000s would be able to relate too, and this is the feeling which I want to capture with my own coming of age film. 

The Film4 logo shows that the film is going to be
independent and aimed towards a British audience

The film opening begins with the logo for Film4. This is the independent British company which is a subsidiary of Channel 4, the company who produced the original Inbetweeners TV series. This, and the fact that it is a very British film with themes which are likely to only be understood by a predominantly British audience, explains why it has been produced by a British independent company. The Film4 logo connotes that the film was also made on a small budget, so the audience won't expect to see CGI or the appearance of a star, Hollywood actor. This is likely to please the audience, as if the film was to be produced by a mainstream company, then it would probably lose some of its comedic roots which made the TV series so critically acclaimed. 

This logo helps to explain why the genre of the film is
comedy.

The genre of the film is presented as comedy throughout the opening. Even from the opening production company logo of "Young Bwark", which has the sound of a chicken behind it, which connotes that the film isn't going to be serious. The next scene shows a conversation between father and son, in which their roles seem to have been completely reversed, with the son talking relentlessly and the father changing the conversation at any point given. This is where the idea of a coming of age movie becomes apparent, because it seems that the son has come of age way before his time, and his father still seems to be in the teenage mindset. In the next scenes, we see three of the sons friends, and realise that the film is also going to be about them coming of age, which connotes that the first character seen is a bit off an outcast due to his maturity.

The narrative of the opening serves the purpose of showing how they suddenly all become available to go on holiday together. Will feels the need to go in order to gain respect from his father, Neil needs to go as an escape from his job in Asda, Simon wants to go to get his ex-girlfriend out of his mind, and Jay is able to fund the holiday with the money left for him in his fathers will. All of these events connote negativity, and that is how this coming of age film works. It takes the negative things which have happened to each of the characters, and allowed these to become positives, whilst demonstrating them in a comedic manner. 

The varying outfits of the characters demonstrate
how different they are from each other

The characters in the opening are all constructed through what they say, and what they do. The first character, Will, is dressed in a tank top and smart shirt, which connotes formality, maturity, and above anything else, geekiness. Whilst he would usually be the outcast in a coming of age film, as it seems that he doesn't need to grow up anymore, as he is the first character on screen, it appears that he is going to be the protagonist. Next we see the character who needs to grow up the most, Jay. He is wearing a football shirt, scuba mask and no trousers, which connotes that his life is in a   messed up place. He is also spending his day talking dirty to a stranger on the internet, which connotes that he is actually the most introverted of the group, despite his choice of outfit being a lot more extroverted than Will's. This is when the idea of characters with multiple dimensions begins to start, as all of the characters in the film need to come of age in some way, but that way isn't immediately clear to the viewer.

The themes which are established in this opening are ones of adolescence, detachedness from people around them, and a society which everybody seems to be trying to escape from. This escape from a society is the theme which is most associated with the coming of age genre, as the characters are often disillusioned with where they live and seek new adventures in order for them to 'come of age'. 

The setting is established as being in suburban London
through dialogue and a tracking shot through a
housing estate

The setting of the film opening is established through the background narration which can be heard throughout most of the opening. Will describes it as "suburbia" although doesn't specify where in the country these suburbs are. The accents of each character within the opening connote that it is set somewhere in the south of the country, so the audience assume that it has been set in the suburbs on the outskirts of London. Setting the film in the suburbs means that there is a high level of verisimilitude, as the audience are most likely to identify with this location as the majority of them will live in a suburb of some form or another. In terms of time period, the laptop used by Jay in the opening connotes that it must be set at some point in the 21st century. As it follows on from the series, which ended in 2010, it is most likely to be set in 2011, which was the year in which the film was released. 

The non-diegetic sound in the opening is made up from a voiceover for the two minutes, and then a background song from there. The voiceover, which is done by lead character Will, is in the same style as his many monologues from within the original TV series. It connotes that he looks down on the world around him as being inferior to his own intellect, which suggests that the film may be about his changing opinions to do with this topic. When his voiceover stops and the song begins, the true comedy of the opening begins, as it provides an upbeat backdrop to the events which happen simultaneously in each of the characters lives. In terms of diegetic sound, the dialogue connotes each of the flaws and insecurities of each of the characters, and this is what causes the humour. Each of the characters seems to be discontent about something, which is reflected in the dialogue within the movie. It also gives an insight into what it is that makes each of the characters socially awkward in their own way - Will's over exaggerated way with words, Neil's stupidity and lack of morals, Simon's clinginess and failure to understand what people mean, and Jay's strange habits.

The only titles in this opening show the names of the
four starring actors

Finally, the titles in this opening are used in a way which is fairly unusual compared to other films. There is no mention of any of the crew who worked on the film, and the only four actors names which are seen are the ones who play the protagonists. This was probably a deliberate choice by the director, as it connotes that there are only four important characters within the film. It also makes the film seem more realistic, which connotes the drama aspect of a coming of age film, as it seems like the film has been filmed with real people rather than characters, as only featuring the names of four actors connotes that they are far more important. Not having a huge amount of titles also increases the verisimilitude within the clip, as the audience feel like they are more of a part of the action.

Studying the opening of this film has shown me that using a narration behind the action can serve a purpose to add lots too it, as the narration has been used to bring the comedy out of serious situations within this film. This is the last film opening which I am going to analyse, and whilst it is very ambitious, making a film opening similar to this one is my overall goal, because it sets up the characters and narrative of the rest of the film so well.