My Sisters Keeper

Analysis Of Film Opening

By Jodie Butcher

Background Information• Title: My Sisters Keeper• Director: Nick Cassavetes• Writer: Jeremy Leven (screenplay) and

Nick Cassavetes (screenplay) • Novel: Jodi Picoult• Genre: Drama• Year Of Release: 26th June 2009• Awards: 2 Nominations, 1 Win

• Plot Summary: Anna Fitzgerald looks to earn medical emancipation from her parents who until now have relied on their youngest child to help their leukaemia-stricken daughter Kate remain alive.

Genre• A number of features in the opening sequence give the

audience an idea that the genre is drama.• During the opening sequence there is a lot of

family/childhood pictures which could mean something is going to upset the family

• The images created and shown are very dreamy and happy which could suggest that they are thoughts and happy memories of the past.

• The lighting is light with lots of warm colours to show the love in the family.

• There is a very quiet and calming music in the background to make it seem like everything is happy but the voice over reflects the drama as she narrates what bad things are happening to her family

• The location of the images shown are all of the family home which suggests that the drama relates to someone in the family and what happens to them

Warm orange colours are used

Opening scene aspects• It starts with Anna sitting by a lake in the sun looking like she is deep in thought and

sad which reflects on the sad and emotional story line of the film.• Then it cuts to images of the sky and a kite where Anna reflects on her relationship

with her Mum which suggests that there will be a dispute between the two.• The title ‘My sisters keeper’ then appears after the main stars names the background

dissolves between a warm orange coloured pattern and the face of a baby Anna.• ‘Sure you hear all these stories about how everyone planned these perfect familes

but the truth is most babies are the product of drunken evenings and lack f birth control’. This suggests she knows more on the matter of how and why babies are conceived suggesting drama about her families babies.

• Images of her family are then shown as if the viewer is flicking through a family album which makes you feel as if you are getting to know and judge the family.

• ‘Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Kate had been healthy’ this makes the audience want to know more about the family and who katie is and what happened to her

Aspects to highlight

This is the first image we see of the film. It sets the feeling of the film which is sadness and emotion to give the audience a feeling that something bad has happened. The location appears cold but comforting and a place Anna escapes to when she is upset. This makes the audience want to know what has happened and has already engaged them in her story. The next shots are blurry and blue which could possibly be the emotions and thoughts going through her head.