Movies' Best Opening Scenes

Music Sets the Mood in the Film P.S. I Love You

Aug 10, 2008

Music accompanies visuals but also moves plot along, provides character clues and reveals setting. P.S. I Love You's opening scene utilizes music for all these things.

The film Jaws prepared us for an attack with the two notes on low strings while bagpipes and traditional Celtic music set the time and place of Braveheart. Characters of American Graffiti were defined by popular tunes of the 1950s. P.S. I Love You prepares the audience for all these things with one song in the opening scene.

Mood and Spirit

Louis Giannetti, in his book Understanding Movies, says, "Beginning with the opening credits, music can serve as a kind of overture to suggest the mood or spirit of the film as a whole." The opening scene of 'P.S. I Love You' is accompanied by the song 'Love You Till the End' from the Pogues, a love song with an Irish flavor.

The wistful lyrics and rhythmic tempo create an atmosphere that follows the characters throughout the film. It establishes a longing for something we can't have mixed with the excitement of discovering things about ourselves, and the world.

Characterization

The opening scene superbly introduces the characters by following them through an argument and reconciliation. The lyrics and melody contrast much the way Holly (Hilary Swank) and Gerry (Gerard Butler) do. It's a blend of vitality and sobriety. Holly makes plans and wants everything to be perfect. Gerry enjoys living in the moment; he's not vexed by the unexpected.

The song's controlled rhythm represents Holly's need for perfection, which she admits to when she says, "I don't want to make any mistakes, Gerry." The dulcet mandolin constitutes Gerry's carefree Irish nature a characteristic he establishes by replying to Holly's desire for no mistakes with, "Well, you're in the wrong species, luv. Be a duck."

Foreshadowing

'Love You Till the End' is a love song and can be construed no other way. At the center of this story is the love Holly and Gerry share. The song title itself gives us a glimpse of what is to come in the movie. It suggests the end will come soon. The lyrics are, in essence, a love letter from Gerry to Holly. They describe all the things he wants for her after he's gone and expresses a desire to remain with her. "I just want to see you / when you're all alone / I just want to catch you if I can."

While the song doesn't play through the entirety of the scene, it does establish the boundaries of the story. The remaining moments and elements merely reiterate the music's rules.

Music does more than accompany visuals in a movie. A film's mood or spirit can be defined. It can help define characters and foreshadow events to come. While we watch events unfold and become engaged in the action, we can often prepare ourselves for plot twists and outcomes by listening to the music.

P.S. I Love You is based on the novel by Cecilia Ahern and directed by Richard LaGravenese. Starring: Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Harry Connick, Jr., Gina Gershon, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kathy Bates. Now available on DVD.

The copyright of the article Movies' Best Opening Scenes in Romantic Films is owned by Missy Frye. Permission to republish Movies' Best Opening Scenes in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.