The producers open this film very well with calm slow and happy music being played as an overhead zooming in shot is used to show a couple coming out of a theatre as it is snowing, as they're linking arms we can tell they have a romantic relationship, and the falling snow adds a magical and romantic effect to it.
There is then a pan shown of the setting around them, one big blanket of snow as they are talking about how beautiful it is. The music is taken down a notch to a gentle and magical almost christmassy feel with slight jingling sounds and a piano playing high notes and he is shown kissing her head as they almost cuddle up. This tells us these two are very much in love and the beautiful setting could be a metaphore for their relationship.
As they enter the car we have a back seat view of the two which I think makes the viewers feel a part of it more as though we were in the car with them.
Emphasising the romance further, Leo, turns on the radio singing along to 'I would do anything for love' and as they're laughing and having a good time Paige says 'I'm married to a cheeser'. This shows us that they aren't just a fling, their relationship is serious and real, they're at one of, if not the biggest step in a relationship which shows the audience its depth. The fact we are shown a close up clip of the radio being turned on shows us its diagetic sound - the characters can hear it too.
As the car stops, the music does too and the fun atmosphere has almost disappeared as we can only hear the running engine and wind wipers in the background.
Paige then starts talking and begins the sentence with 'I have a theory", its still a light hearted atmosphere as she goes on to say "a girl will get pregnant if she does it in a car". The two characters begin to get intimate with each other and we see a close up of Paige releasing her belt.
Suddenly the story line gets dark, the noise is turned to a tense sound slowly getting louder as we see headlights of another car in the back mirror of theirs. Then a voiceover comes on of a present day Leo as we see that the sound isn't diagetic, he says he has a theory too. This is powerful as we can tell from the tone of his voice that this is serious, the reason we feel something bad is about to happen is because of a theory his wife had so hearing he has one with a deeper meaning as we see the two cars getting closer together builds tension and emotion in the opening.
As he tells us his theory is about "moments of impact" just after the last word the cars collide, we see the impact the collision had as the glass windows instantly smash as sad music plays in the background and as the only other thing we can hear is the smash of the front windscreen as Paige fly's through it - again because of the impact.
This all happens in slow motion and after Paige has gone through the windscreen, time speeds up, the glass falls and there is no more noise except for the intense instrumental sounds being played in the background as another overhead shot is used this time zooming out as the snow falls.
Not only is the performance and direction very good for the opening in this film, but also the techniques used and opposites, for example Barthes code of binary oppositions, the very begining of the opening shows an overhead shot zooming in with the snow with beautiful scenery and happiness, however the end of the opening is an overhead shot zooming out with the snow, but this time not so beautiful scenery, and a devastating accident. This is 100% a pro to this example of a romantic opening.
I also like how we were given an exactly perfect amount of information just in the few minutes, the intensity of their relationship (they were trying for a baby) and that something was about to change due to a fatal accident, which is inciting because we don't know what that will be or the effect it will have.
I really liked the voiceover, as from that point on, it managed to change the mood and direction of the entire opening from just the tone of the voice in the first sentence. I think voiceovers are very powerful, especially when it is done in such a way that it is a present day character referring to something that happened in their past - it shows growth. I would take inspiration from this in particular if i was to make an opening in this, or any genre.
There's nothing from this particular opening that I didn't like, one con if I had to pick at it would be that the voiceover did not carry on in the opening, it didn't come to a final sentence for closure expanding his theory on impact, however this can be seen as a good thing as after the opening the voice over may continue throughout the film - it can be a reason to keep watching, so it is bittersweet in that sense.
A brief plot synopsis idea for a film in this genre
Rosie is 25 wanting to settle down and wondering why every relationship she has been in has never worked out, she takes a trip down memory lane visiting lovers from her past only to realise exactly why she has ended up this way. An unexpected twist occurs for Rosie when someone from her past shed never even met could be the one to change her life forever...
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