Proud's Film Opening: 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' Deconstruction and Analysis

Genre

Representation

Mr. and Mrs. Smith were deeply in love, it was a love at first sight which Mr. Smith stated later that Mrs. Smith looks like “christmas morning”, the lighting when they first met is bright with dominant bright colour such as yellow, green and white. Yellow symbolizes their happiness, green symbolizes their growth in love and white symbolizes pureness and can suggest marriage, which they married after meeting each other for six weeks. Jane’s costume is a white dress showing her famine and cute side whilst Mr. Smith’s costume a white top and short shows that he is easy going, chilled and is very relaxed.

However, their blooming love does not last for long after five or six years of marriage. They became distant which is shown by the shot types such as over the shoulder shot, a two shot with back towards their spouse and editing such as shot reverse shot. There are not many two shots where they faced each other. Moreover, their distant relationship is also symbolized by the car scene where they took off at the same time and nearly crashed into each other, suggesting that they do not try to compromise and does not put their spouse’s needs before themselves, Mr. Smith’s car needs to stop for Mrs. Smith’s car showing that Mrs.Smith is in power and is a controlling person. Just like the dinner table scene when Mr. Smith asked for the salt and she said, “It’s in the middle of the table”. The dinner table also symbolizes their relationship, it is a long table and both of them sat either side. The conversation is shot with an over the shoulder shot reverse shot, which makes it feel very distant and uncomfortable, having to reach for food and in order to get the salt, Mr. Smith has to stand up and reach for it. The atmosphere created is uncomfortable, there were no dialogue, but silence and both of them are drinking and reading silently. Mr and Mrs Smith kept their true identity in secrecy, the scene where Mrs. Smith got a phone call and Mr. Smith looking at her through the window as a frame within shot, which symbolizes the secret that is kept between the two and the barrier they have not demolished. The costume also symbolizes their relationship, when they were happily in love the couple would wear the same colour, whilst when they were in a distant relationship they wear different colour, colour which does not even match. Suggesting that the couple does not feel like they belong to each other anymore.

The scene at the neighbor’s house for a party right after their work, taking their dark coloured coats off and revealing the pastle colour inside shows that they have a parallel life, of the assassins and a humane life with feelings. However, as an assassin, when Mrs. Smith held the baby, a potential life she feels awkward because her job is to assassinate heartlessly.

When both Mr. and Mrs. Smith suspect their spouse of being the assassin in the competing firm, the dinner scene has the diegetic sound of knife clinking emphasized, suggesting violence. The tension in this scene is created by the point of view shot, which consists of Mr. and Mrs. Smith staring at each other intimidatingly. Alongside with non-diegetic music creating tension, it starts with a slow beat then accelerates as the scene becomes more tensed.

At the end where they have a gunfight in the house, destroying the walls and the structure of the house, suggesting that they are breaking the walls of secrecy since it has been revealed they are bound to be closer together since the barriers were destroyed. Therefore in the scene where they pointed guns at each other they did not pull the trigger, realizing how much they love each other. The emotion is carried through the close up shot. The long shot with the gun being smacked down and the couple started kissing, which is the same shot used in the beginning, however using different lighting keys. Suggesting that although someone is flawed they can still be loved, love doesn’t always need to be perfection and happiness but something flawed and broken can also be loved.