Draft: Slumdog Millionaire opening scene analysis

The scene begins with an extreme close up of Jamal’s face, this reflects the intensity of the situation as we’re able to see his expression. Immediately we are able to see that he is the protagonist and the film will focus on how he feels with his emotions and his point of view. The lighting is low key and has a gold/yellow element to it which could suggest money and riches.  It could also mirror the heat in the country, as it’s a very warm colour, showing us it’s set in India. It cuts to Jamal filmed from an over the shoulder shot of the first man which makes us, as viewers, feel closer to the situation that is occurring.  On the screen it introduces the year and the place as Mumbai, 2006. This immediately lets us know that the film is set in a developing country and that this justice system is corrupt. The interrogator blows smoke into his face as a way of intimidating Jamal and to show his authority.

On the screen the text shows a question and multiple-choice answers. This is in the style of the game show so we as viewers are able to relate to this as it’s a very popular show. Through the use of this we are also able to see a clear insight as to what the film is about. It begins with the 2 most obvious answers that he cheated or that he is lucky, which is a reflection on how people view him.  It cuts to money being thrown into a bathtub.  We can only see the hands of this person and not the face so this character is anonymous and mysterious but the viewers see him as having authority because of all the money he has. There is a lot of references to money in this opening.

 The presenter of ‘Who Wants To Be a Millionaire’ is the second one to speak in this scene and he introduces the show. Low key lighting is used and it lights up the presenter’s face when he’s speaking then changes to Jamal’s face. Half of the presenter’s face is in the dark and half is lit up, this makes us feel as though he cannot be trusted and it foreshadows his evil potential for future events. When Jamal and the presenter initially walk out, the shot is from behind and they occupy an equal amount of space in the frame, however towards the end of the frame, the presenter moves into Jamal’s half of the frame. This makes us feel somewhat uncomfortable and empathising with Jamal as though personal space is being invaded. When Jamal and the presenter sit down, the scene is shot from a bird’s eye view to show that the presenter and Jamal, although it doesn’t initially seem this way, are in the same position in the sense they have someone of a higher authority controlling them. This authority could possibly be a religious figure as India is a very religious country. However, it could also be a physical being which lets viewers know the television, as well as many other systems, is corrupt in this country. We see the host sit Jamal down in his chair and raise his hand to pat him on the shoulder, this is when the scene cuts back to the interrogation and the hand that hits Jamal, matches the position in which the host’s hand was. This is an insight as to how he cannot be trusted and he isn’t what he seems. This makes us feel shocked and curious as to what is going to happen next.

Generally in a film we don’t find out how it ends until the ending of the film. However with this film, the beginning of the film shows how it ends and the duration of the film is flashbacks, two of which occur in the opening sequence.

The interrogator asks Jamal his name and slaps him in the face once more to which the scene cuts back to Jamal on the game show looking in a daze and unsure as to where he is. 

The interrogation is similar to Jamal’s entrance onto the show as he is being asked questions and is feared. It’s unusual to see someone with the opportunity to go on this game show to look so serious and terrified, generally people are excited so the change of normality in this intrigues the viewers as to why he is feeling such a way. This causes us as viewers to feel intrigued as to why Jamal is feeling this way. Some viewers may feel it’s due to that he will be cheating as that is what we were introduced to initially.

It suddenly cuts back to the interrogation part as an extreme close up of Jamal’s head being plunged under water. The bucket his head is in is red which causes the water to look red. This symbolises blood and danger which makes us feel that there is impending doom. The part of the scene where it is showing Jamal on the show, it is a flashback as when Jamal is being interrogated, he is remembering what has happened as that is the reason for the interrogation. This brings us closer to Jamal as this is the beginning of us viewing his life as flashbacks. During the section in the scene where it’s set on the show, the camera shows the behind the set workers showing multiple screens with Jamal from all angles which shows he is being watched and isn’t able to escape it. The presenter is mocking Jamal’s job and making the audience laugh, which is another insight as to how things work differently in a developing country due to that Jamal is being made fun of. Having this behaviour on the British version of this TV show wouldn’t be permitted. This shows he has dominance and power over Jamal.

The scene then cuts to a female at a train station, filmed from an overhead shot which shows she is vulnerable and foreshadows future events of someone acting upon her vulnerability. We as viewers are also curious as to what she’s looking at, assumingly something which makes her happy because she’s smiling.

Following this, the scene cuts back to the interrogation section, in a tracking shot from behind showing a man walking into the room. The camera slowly moves up his legs as he is walking. At this point we are unaware as to who he is, he seems to us that he has authority. It then cuts to a long shot in which his identity is revealed to him being a policeman.

The interrogator puts on his police uniform to which the viewers then realise that this is a corrupt justice system as they are torturing him.

When the two policemen are speaking to each other, Jamal is always in shot which shows the importance of him within their minds. We see when it’s been shot showing all three characters that the setting is very dirty and there is a blood stain on the floor which indicates it may be Jamal’s blood or it’s someone else’s.

The camera angles are similar to that of Inglorious Basterds in he interrogation scene. The framing is shared between the two characters to show how physically close they are. It also features characters of a lower position in hierarchy in contrast with the higher. Both these scenes use violence but in different forms; Slumdog Millionaire uses it in a threatening sense with no initial intention of killing Jamal. However, in Inglorious Basterds, the soldiers act in a very hostile manner and kill the Nazi in the first instance he does not give the information the soldiers required.