Film Opening Deconstruction - Drama - 'Detachment'

The film opens with 'paper street films' logo which then fades to black. After a few seconds this black fades to a close up of a man who says 'Let's, urrm, let's not have people come in, I'd like to do this without anyone here' there is indistinct mumbling as people who we do not see but we presume are in the room, leave. We can presume at this point that the film has a documentary/self-made feel to it since the camera does not seem to be on a tripod and feels quite realistic. The man then says 'and close the door' initially this creates enigma about the film as we wonder what he is doing and why he does not want people in the room. At 0:28 piano music begins and there is a straight cut to a chalk drawing of a tree which then has all it's leaves fall off. There is the sound of the leaves falling and then the sound of pages in a book as it is drawn out, out of the remains of the tree. 

At 0:37 there is a close-up of the corner of the chalk-drawn book as the leaves from the tree form the words 'AND NEVER HAVE I FELT'. At 0:39 the is a straight cut back to the book drawn out as a whole as it continues to write'...SO DEEPLY AT ONE' which then goes to a close-up of the words 'AND THE', returning to the whole book as 'SAME TIME' is written. Then on the other side of the book 'SO' and then an extreme-close-up of the word 'DETACHED'. This then goes back to the whole book, 'FROM MYSELF AND SO PRESENT IN THE WORLD -Albert Camus', in this way the audience realises that this is a quote, relating to the title of the film 'DETACHMENT'.

At 0:55 there is a straight cut to the blackboard at 'Paper Street Films Presents' is written in chalk in the bottom right-hand corner. There is then a close-up at 0:58 of someone taking a cassette tape and writing something on it. At 1:06 there is another straight cut to the blackboard with 'in association with Kingsgate Films' is written again in chalk on a blackboard, perhaps implying that this film is set in a school environment. At 1:09 there is an extreme close-up of a girl, at this point the music also seems to appear more romantic and dreamlike, indicating that these cuts are perhaps memories. At 1:10 we return to the close-up of the cassette tape which has 'For Henry <3' written on it. There is then another straight cut to the blackboard with 'and Appian Way' written in chalk. This then transitions to a close-up of the girl, who we assume must have perhaps some romantic relations to one of the character in the film thus, creating enigma about who she is? And why she has made a mix-tape? 

There is another straight cut at 1:19 of a drawing of a megaphone, drawn in chalk and 'A Tony Kaye talkie' appears on screen, again written in chalk. At 1:23 there is a black and white picture of a school, confirming our ideas of this being set in and around a school environment. There is a narrator at this point of a woman who says 'I wasn't good in school'. At 1:24 'Adrien Brody' appears with a drawing of what we presume is our protagonist and the man we saw at the beginning, the drawing consists of a teacher, looking distressed at a desk' The narrator continues as this is displayed '...I didn't care for school. It was nice socially, in my own experience', the lady appears on screen at this point in black and white, in a similar documentary-type feel as at the beginning, '...but I kinda just went along'. At 1:31 'Marcia Gay Harden' appears written on a blackboard in chalk, with a drawing of a teacher's desk. At 1:35 another speaker says 'I started off as a music major, I was gonna be a rock and roll star...but that didn't quite work out', there is a close-up of the speaker, a man, in black and white. Similarly, at 1:39 'Christina Henricks' is written on a blackboard along with a drawing of the outside of a school, with an American flag. Also at this point there is another narrator who says 'In 1985, during the hurricane, Hurricane Gloria, I was taking a train into the city'. 

There is a straight cut to 'EXIT' sign drawn out on the blackboard and 'William Peterson' written in chalk. At 1:48 this transitions to 'Bryan Crauston' written in chalk on the blackboard next to a drawing of a calculator, ruler, pencil and rubber. At the same time the narrator continues '..to work, I got into work and I was on the phone to my brother-in-law, who had' at this point there is a straight cut to the man speaking in the same style at the others, a man speaking in black and white, '..just started teaching and he said that he was off school'. At this point there is a cut to the blackboard with a school-chair drawing and 'Tim Blake Nelson' written in chalk, as the speaker continues '..and I'm like, wait a second, you're off school for a hurricane and I'm going into the city to work in an office building? That's a pretty good kick right?'. It is apparent to the audience that the film consists of the experience of the teachers as well as their life outside of school, as well as dealing with students who struggle just as much as them. Thus, this film opening meets the conventions of a normal film opening, introducing character, setting and creating enigma.