Analysis of Opening Sequences - The Reichenbach Fall

Film opening for ‘Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall’ – First two minutes

 The scene opens with a black screen and diegetic sounds such as thunder rumbling and rain splashing can be heard. It then cuts to a close-up shot of sombre-looking John Watson. We can see the emptiness in his eyes as he looks at someone off-screen. Although the camera is in shallow focus, you can see the rain falling outside the window. The effect of pathetic fallacy is used in this scene too, because whilst John is in distress, the rain is pouring outside. Also, the sound of the rain can be used as a sound motif because the splashing can be a magnified version of falling tears. Ella, his therapist speaks to him off-screen and he responds in the same shot.

The next shot is of a two-shot and a long shot filmed at a low angle, level with their feet. We see Ella in this shot, and we can see that although they are sitting close to each other, they both have their legs crossed – this body language indicates that they both have closed minds. Ella’s crossed legs are more relaxed than John, because she has nothing to hide but cannot divulge any information about herself in order to maintain a professional relationship. On the other hand, John, as the patient is suggested to talk about his feelings, but he’s a little reluctant to talk any more than a couple lines of dialogue.

The scene then cuts to a mid-shot of Ella, who maintains a neutral and professional facial expression, careful not to provoke John too much. Despite the heavy rain outside, rain is not pounding on the window behind her and there are trees outside her window, signifying that she still has life left in her. In contrast, when we cut to John’s long mid-shot, we can see that the heavy rain is beating down on the window behind him which echoes his grief and the fact that there are no trees or any plants indicate that he is hollow and that he feels like there is no life left in him. The use of rule of thirds and edge of the frame suggests that he is distant and reserved from everyone.

The scene cuts back to Ella’s mid-shot again, but this time, she is leaning forward, towards John, trying to get close to him to encourage him to let his feelings out. It transitions to a closer mid-shot of John, trying to talk about his feelings, pausing every now and then, when the camera zooms in to capture a close-up of him, his facial expression shows him grimacing as he tries to say the words, “My best friend, Sherlock Holmes, is dead.”

 The setting is in Ella’s therapy room and takes place sometime after the death of Sherlock Holmes. Concerning the costume, John is wearing a dark grey, almost black shirt which reflects his sorrow and him mourning the death of Sherlock. Alternatively, Ella is wearing bright colours, which signifies that she is indirectly unaffected by Sherlock’s death. They are both wearing casual, everyday clothing, but Ella has a relaxed but reasonable outfit to maintain professionalism as John’s therapist.

Although the lighting is natural, it has a stony, cold feeling because of the rainy weather. The lighting casted on John depicts definitive contrasting of shadows – this illustrates that he is trying to hide in the dark to avoid showing his emotions to Ella. It could also signify that he is in the dark about Sherlock’s true mortality status – John does not know that Sherlock is still alive. Ella has more light casted on her because she has nothing to hide.

 Props used in this scene are armchairs, ornaments and flowers to make the patient feel relaxed while they are in the room. Also, there is a box of tissues on the side table next to the patient’s armchair.

Screenshots

Close-up of John displaying his sadness. Also shallow focus, to have all the focus on John.

Two-shot in a long shot filmed at a low angle.  Shows the interactions and the relationship between John and Ella.

Mid-shot of Ella, sitting on an armchair, relaxed. Follows the rule-of-thirds, this allows the window to be seen.

Similar to Ella’s mid-shot and rule-of-thirds, window can also be seen. In this shot, as well as seeing the windows, John’s expression can be seen clearly.

Similar to Ella’s previous mid-shot, difference is that she’s leaning in to try and interact with John.

Closer mid-shot of John frowning, starting to talk about Sherlock’s death.

Close-up of John grimacing as he struggles to get the words out.

We could:
1. Use the weather in the same way when we reach the part where the girl wakes up from her dream
2. Use close ups to show distressed facial expressions
3. Add a blueish filter to replicate this mournful lighting