The opening sequence of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), is used incredibly well to let the viewer know what they are in for in watching the film. The sequence sets up the mood for the rest of the film and introduces to us the thriller/mystery that we are about to see. Throughout the whole opening sequence we see various characters from the film drenched in an oozing black liquid substance, with the characters already appearing as black.
At first we see the black shiny liquid covering various unidentifiable black objects, the title then comes onscreen with the black liquid flowing over it and it disappears from the screen. Next the camera does a close up of a computer keyboard with the black liquid flowing through it, this is a reference to the character of Lisbeth and her computer hacking skills, this is the first introduction to the main character for the audience. A close up of her mouth reveals the liquid coming out of it and flowing down the rest of her body. Another reference to Lisbeth then appears, this time with computer cables which seemingly connect into her head.
As the audience, we also see various other characters which all seem to be thrashing around as though they are in a nightmare, which director, David Fincher said he wanted the title sequence to be, “I liked the idea of this sort of primordial sort of tar or ooze, and I liked the idea that it was her nightmare.”
Another example of this ‘nightmare’ is when we see a hand punching Lisbeth’s head and it then shatters and the audience sees the fragmented pieces falling, next a black flower is shown opening from a bud into a full flower and as this is happening we see hands come up and grasping Lisbeth’s face as though this is a symbol for her ‘nightmare’ that Fincher talked about.
Lastly the next shot is of Lisbeth’s face completely covered in this liquid with the camera quickly zooming in on her open mouth and then entering it, the screen goes completely black and the music abruptly stops. This was a well done end of the opening sequence as it signifies the end of the nightmare and goes straight into the first scene of the film. The music used in this opening sequence is Led Zepplin’s Immigrant Song, covered by Karen O, this song fits perfectly with the opening sequence and with the film as a whole and is a fundamental part in setting up the first emotions for the audience. The relationship between the image and sound is an important part of this sequence as the image is obviously moving at the same beat of the music, and during the climax of the song fire starts appearing onscreen, covering objects and characters.
As Fincher stated “I think title a sequences are opportunities to se the stage or to get people thinking in different terms than whatever it is that they understand the movie to be,” The CGI used as part of the virtual cinematography and the sound is excellently used to introduce the film to the audience and illustrates what Fincher said about title sequences.
References:
Corrigan Timothy and Patricia White. The Film Experience: An Introduction. 3rd ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2012. Print.
Oliver Lyttelton. “David Fincher Talks His Approach For The Opening Credit Sequence For 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’.” Indiewire. 22 December 2011. Web. 26 April 2015. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/david-fincher-talks-his-approach-for-the-opening-credit-sequence-for-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Dir. David Fincher. Scott Rudin Productions, Yellow Bird Films, 2011. Film.
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Opening Sequence (2011) [HD].” 6 January 2012. Youtube. Web video. 26 April 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVLJkIZvFlo
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