Film Analysis Part 3

(This analysis is going to be a bit longer since this opening is six minutes rather than two)

The opening of Smile (2022) immediately establishes an unsettling atmosphere, taking place in a psychiatric hospital with cold blue walls. While blue walls are quite common since the color is associated with calmness, I would not use the adjective to describe the room itself. It feels oversized compared to the furniture, making the space feel eerily empty, and it lacks any sort of warmth or personality. The opening shot quickly pans across the room, stopping at the psychiatrist standing by the door. The door creaks and then shuts on its own (not in a supernatural way but it does add to the uneasy vibe).

Laura, the patient, is already in the room but only becomes visible once the door fully closes. She is positioned in the corner, leaning against the wall, showing how she is in need of support. Her placement and blocking feel odd, and it is clear that something is off about her. The contrast between her and the psychiatrist is obvious through their costuming. The psychiatrist looks put together, wearing a blouse with her hair neatly pulled back, while Laura’s flannel, sweatpants, and slightly messy hair make her appear slightly disheveled and distressed.

The scene is quiet, with dialogue being the main sound. There is a strong emphasis on tone and delivery. The psychiatrist’s voice is light and soft, while Laura’s is quiet and shaky, showing that she is extremely anxious. As the psychiatrist enters, the camera tracks her movement, following her until she sits, then cuts to a long, balanced shot of her alone in the center of the room. The frame feels symmetrical, with plants in the corners, lamps on both sides, next to two sofas with a large window perfectly centered in between. The scene is bright, with light coming from the window and lamps, but the shadows on both walls create a sort of subtle vignette-like effect. There is not a dramatic contrast between dark and light, but it draws attention toward the psychiatrist and the center of the room.

Laura is filmed in a long shot as she slowly walks to the couch with her arms crossed. Instead of the camera moving toward her, it moves away, perhaps to create a sense of detachment or make her look smaller in the frame. The editing used here is quite typical for conversations, cutting between mid-shots of both characters as they speak, a distance that captures both their body language and expressions. The psychiatrist remains calm, her face neutral yet slightly concerned, whereas Laura appears to be becoming more distressed, which is clear through her fidgeting, rocking back and forth, and eventually tearing up as she speaks.

The scene escalates once Laura suddenly falls backward in her chair. A loud, distorted noise starts to play as she crawls backward toward the wall, screaming. The sound becomes overwhelming and unpleasant until the psychiatrist runs to call for help. At this moment, the sound drops out entirely. The camera focuses on her dialing the phone, so the audience is completely unaware of what is happening behind her.

After this, it cuts between close-ups of the psychiatrist looking around the room and POV shots of different parts of it being disheveled, such as the fallen chair or the broken vase. It almost looks like Laura has disappeared, but when the camera cuts back for the final time, she is standing there, with The Smile smile. The raucous noise resumes (to my displeasure). A close-up shows a glass shard in her hand, as the sound becomes more staticky and unbearable. Another close-up shot is used to show her slowly slicing her face open, still smiling, of course.  She collapses to the floor, and the psychiatrist, in shock, slides down the wall. A final POV shot shows Laura on the floor, surrounded by blood, still smiling. It is now confirmed for both the audience and the psychiatrist that the horrors she was describing were very real. It can also be assumed that as the witness to all of this, the narrative is now going to follow the psychiatrist. 

The opening of Smile (2022) differs from our film opening, both pacing and story-telling wise. Smile begins with a slow, eerie buildup, revealing information about the narrative through dialogue between a psychiatrist and her patient, which eventually escalates and becomes quite gruesome. In contrast, our film is more action-driven with minimal dialogue, shifting between multiple locations (cemetery, house) and rooms (bedroom, hallway, etc.). While Smile establishes horror mainly through acting and dialogue, our opening builds suspense through movement, setting, and events that take place around the main character.