Analysis of the Opening to Collateral

This opening, while only two minutes manages to convey a large amount of information about the characters and establishes the beginning of the story. Cruise's character is hinted at being the main character as he appears to the audience first. It is also suggested that he may not be a good character as we see several extreme close ups of him with no emotion on his face. The shots spend a lot more time on him than the other man and they are almost slowed down as they show him walking, directing the audiences attention solely to him. This is backed up by the very shallow depth of field in the shots of Cruise, blurring out and other people, raising his importance above theirs. As the the two men collide there is a very sudden straight cut from a close up to the collision, without warning, shocking the audience. When the bag is picked out their is a synchronous beginning of the music which continues as the shots change from the airport to a taxi rank.

Here we meet the second main character of the film who is immediately portrayed as a huge contrast from Cruise's character. We first see him doing a crossword conveying that he is a studious, intelligent person. He is evidently different from those around him, he has extracted himself from the bustle and sits very still. The montage editing helps to establish how hectic the taxi rank is through a series of different close ups. There is far more shots in this part of the opening than in the slow speed editing of Cruise, conveying how there is far less control and organisation here. There is continuous editing as the he enters the taxi, we see him inside the taxi rank then getting into the taxi but the middle is removed. We then learn how methodical the driver is through several high speed edited close ups showing him checking everything.

After he shuts the taxi door the noise of the bustle cuts out and we see a long close up of him, building intimacy. We are then shown a more personal side to him as he puts up a photo of a picturesque island, conveying to the audience that he has a dream to move on from taxi driving and move up in the world.