Analysis of opening 2 minutes - The Proposal

The opening scene of The Proposal is a close up of a forrest, so it looks like someone is walking through the forrest. Although this is the opening scene we know is is not going to be a horror film but instead a lighthearted film because of the happy upbeat music in the background. The camera then zooms out to reveal the leading female role.

We can tell she is sophisticated as:

• She is healthy because she is using her exercise bike
• She is organised because she is riding her exercise bike while working/revising
• She wears a black business suit

The humorous element of this film are introduced when:

• The main male character is introduced as being lazy and oversleeping
• He runs into an elevator door
• He is unorganised as he is in a messy room
• He spills coffee all over a co-work and says "give me the shirt off your back, literally"
• The PA says to his boss "well done" to which she replies "if i want your praise i will ask for it"
• Everyone in the office thinks bossy as they call her names
• All the office workers send each other emails to warn each other that she is coming

The pop of the incoming emails keeps the film light hearted. 

The film is a stereotypical rom com as the two main characters show no interest in each other. The female and male leading actors seem to get on each others nerves as well. This is shown through the close up of each characters face, while the other one is talking. It is also shown as the leading female character calls the male character "pathetic". In rom coms there is always another girl that admires the lead male from afar and in The Proposal this is the woman who works in Starbucks. You can also tell that this film is set in the city of New York straight away as when the camera angle zooms out and you can see the woman exercising there is a view of the New York skyline out the window. This is then confirmed by the yellow taxis on the road when the leading male role is running to get coffee before going to work.This film challenges the typical gender stereotypes as a female is the boss and a male is the personal assistant.

Order of titles:

• Touchstone pictures
• Mandeville films

The production company and the names of actors are then over the action but they don't get in the way of the action. This means the the audience is not distracted from the film by the writing.