Adulthood Opening Evaluation

The opening to the modern day British classic Adulthood contains many techniques that are unique and inividual to its creation. From the very first scene the audience is immediatly thrown into the story from the use of flashbacks and clever editing. The useage of these flashbacks offers the audience a reminder of the events that took place in Kidulthood which are key to the storyline of the sequel and you really have to watch both to get the full idea of the message that is being portrayed.

At the very beginning, during the flashback sequence there is a very clever use of silence. This is done to set the mood for what is being shown on screen and to add reality to the idea of the flashback sequence. As it progresses there is a gradually increasing introduction of diagetic sound as it leads up to the focus of the opening which is when Sam hits Trife with a baseball bat. This particular action is what the whole storyline is built around and the clever use of sound and fade to black shot transitions really gives across the meaning of the scene and how influential it is to the whole plot. After this, the whole perspective of the opening changes when the a subtitle saying 'six years laters' appears on the screen to symbolise the transition back to what is presently happening in the story. The sound, camera work and editing all adapt to fit the new setting. There is an immediate difference in the mood which is set by the introduction of a soundtrack. The genre being modern day London Hip-Hop gives the audience a setting almost whithout having to watch the film itself. However, the establishing shot of a busy main road and the movement round and under to veiw the action occuring beneath really adds conviction to the initial impression.

There is also editing used throughout the opening sequence to influence the speed of the shots. Slow and fast motion are both linked to give an upbeat mood and at the same time symbolise danger. The slow motion shots are also used to focus on certain points of action and ensure that they are clear to the audience as detail is essential in this particular film. The film also achieves this by spliting the screen three ways at a number of points to show different aspects of the action from different perspectives. It gives a better view of the setting and at the same time doesn't waste time doing so. It could also hint at the modern element of the film and how it is representing current gang, drug and weapon issues within modern society.

Throughout the opening sequence there tends to be mainly high angle shots that give an impression of the setting and the general action from a distance. This may be because there has been no introduction of main character roles at this point and the idea is to give the audience almost an open teaser of what the storyline is about. The content would also suggest this, as there is visual drug, sex and violence reference within the opening two minutes without any dialog used. This is an unusual way of opening a film as it is often considered to not make sense without dialog in the first 2 minutes.

The genre of this film is set instantly and is clearly a crime drama. It gives a modern representation of young communities in west London and shows how racial and moral cultures clash on a day to day basis. The ingenius use of sound, camera work and editing makes this film very watchable and in my eyes a must see. I also get the idea from the content that every young person is meant to be able to relate to the film in some way or another through the issues it deals with and how the characters behave.