Film Openings: The Vow (2012)

Genre: Drama/Romance
Box Office (gross): $196, 114, 570 (worldwide)
Distributor: Screen Gems
Studio: Spyglass Entertainment
Critical Acclaim: The film won Film Music Award at the BMI Film & TV Awards as well as Best Romance TV Spot at the Golden Trailer Awards
Success and reception: It is the 6th highest-grossing romantic drama film of which was based on the true story of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter.

There were many negative reviews from critics. Emma Dibdin from Total Film (UK-based film magazine) rated the film as 3/5 stars and stated: "there's an essential sweetness at work here, thanks partly to McAdams and partly to an unusually chaste love story that ultimately keeps melodrama at bay."

Narrative

At the beginning of this scene a crane shot is used to establish the location as being a cinema. A middle long shot tracks a man and woman for whom we are only introduced to within the first part of this scene. Following this, a low angle, middle long shot is used to show the two characters in greater depth. Already we can establish that this story is based on a couple (romantic film) through the way the man and woman intimately lace their arms together and the man kisses the woman, suggesting that they are in a relationship. A long shot pans across a street that the characters are looking at to show that the scene takes place in winter. The fact that the snow has been given it's own shot suggests that the snow will play a significant role in the film. After the title there is a close up shot shot of the woman getting into a car as well as a middle close up shot of the man scraping ice from the car's windscreen. During this exchange of shots the relationship is further validated by the way the characters interact warmingly with one another. We can establish later on that the couple are in fact married as whilst driving the woman mentions about her marriage. Once the car grinds to a halt, the music in the background stops at which point the camera pans around the front of the car to show the two characters. A close up shot  of the seat belt is used to signify that something bad will happen as a result of her making the action. From a middle long shot we see lights of another vehicle in the back of the car. Several middle shots have been used, along with slow motion to draw out the scene (match on action may have been used here also). As the woman flies from the car and onto the bonnet of the car we can establish that this film is centered around the crash. As the scene draws to an end slow motion is used also along with several close up shot where the characters are rushed into hospital, emphasizing the urgency of the situation and establishing that the story will look into the trauma caused by the crash itself.