Eduqas: Little Miss Sunshine

If you were writing about the opening sequence of Little Miss Sunshine, you might come up with something like this:

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Introduction (00:00:00 — 00:00:35)

As the “Fox Searchlight Pictures” ident animation fades from white to an empty black screen, the melancholic non-diegetic composed score begins to play.

This score plays throughout the five minute opening sequence, establishing for the viewer that the six disparate characters are linked and are, in fact, a family.

The score subtly changes in tempo, pitch and key for each character, while retaining its overall cohesion. This technique simultaneously binds the characters together while suggesting that they are individuals with their own troubles and insecurities.

The six members of the family are presented through parallel editing and the viewer understands that we are being shown events that are taking place at the same time but in different locations.

The links between the six characters are further emphasised by the use of sound bridges (j-cuts, specifically) between some of the sequences.

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Olive (00:00:36 — 00:01:30)

The first of the introductory sequences features Olive, the wannabe Little Miss Sunshine. She is introduced in extreme close-up, the camera showing her intensely focussed eyes through the lenses of her unfashionable and crooked glasses. She is unflatteringly lit by the glow of the unseen television upon which she is concentrating. The shot is held for a long time and Olive remains motionless as she listens to the diegetic sound of a television presenter announcing the winner of a thirty-thousand dollar first-prize in a state-wide beauty competition.

The camera then cuts to a close-up of the television. The image is interlaced and grainy, and depicts a heavily made-up and somewhat dated beauty queen. She squeals vacuously as her victory is announced. The poor quality of the recording makes her seem distant and otherworldly.

The camera cuts back to the same close-up of Olive. She remains motionless and unblinking, drinking in the spectacle. We can see the muscles of her lower face moving, suggesting that she is mouthing along to the announcement and that she has watched the recording many times.

The camera again cuts back to the television to reveal that the recording has been paused and we watch as Olive rewinds the footage to watch it again. The images playing in reverse seem increasingly ridiculous.

The camera cuts back to a low angle wide shot of Olive still staring at the television, one hand holding the remote control, the other resting on her fat tummy. She is wearing unremarkable and unfashionable clothes, but she is centrally framed and the red of her top draws the viewers' eyes.

The room she stands in is bare and looks dated and uncared for. The camera dollies forward into a tight mid-shot; Olive remains focussed on the television while we draw the conclusion that Olive herself is not beauty queen material.

The camera once again cuts back to the television footage of the winning contestant. Her age, clothing, make-up and comportment all contrast with Olive and the viewer understands that her dreams are futile and unobtainable.

The camera cuts to a wide shot in profile, showing Olive dwarfed by the huge television. The room is otherwise untidy and cluttered, juxtaposing with the supposed glamour of the event shown on the TV.

The camera cuts yet again to the surprised and delighted face of the competition winner on the television, then quickly back to a front-on close-up of Olive mimicking the pose and gestures she has just watched. We understand that she is rehearsing, not for the first time, her "surprised" reaction to her own future victory.

The camera briefly cuts back to the television, then to a high-angle wide shot from behind Olive. We see her, framed by the bezel of the TV set, almost as if she has been engulfed by the celebrations taking place on-screen.

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Richard (dad) (00:01:31 — 00:02:28)

The second short introductory sequence is linked to Olive's sequence with a sound bridge. We hear Richard's motivational speech while still seeing Olive dwarfed by the television. The profile of the non-diegetic composed score subtly changes. When we cut to a low-angle three-quarter profile close up of Richard, he is in full flow. His facial expression and hand gestures demonstrate to the audience the strength of his convictions. The hand-held camera tracks his movements across the stage as he articulates his 9-step programme.

We cut to a long shot from the wings of the stage, showing Richard against the drop-down projector screen. The shadow he casts by standing in the projector's beam mimics the celebratory graphic at the apex of the pyramid of success he is presenting.

By the time we cut back to another handheld tracking shot as he paces across the stage, and then to a slowly tightening front-facing long shot composed to the rule of thirds, his words are sounding hollow. We realise that he is as unlikely to motivate an audience as Olive is to become a beauty queen.

The next shot, a high-angle wide shot from behind Richard showing him before a sparse audience is reminiscent of Olive in front of the television and confirms to the viewer that he is not what he aspires to be. This is further emphasised by the diegetic sound of awkward, apologetic clapping and the final low angle shot of Richard standing silently in front of the slowly ascending projector screen.

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Dwayne (brother) (00:02:29 — 00:02:57)

Dwayne is introduced with a birds' eye view shot of him lifting weights. His scrawny arms and un-athletic figure already signal to the viewer that he is a third character with dreams unfulfilled by reality.

The tempo of the non-diegetic composed score increases during this sequence. The pace of editing also increases and this, combined with the lack of dialogue, creates a montage-like effect. A sequence of three low angle wide shots, from exactly the same camera position, show Dwayne performing a variety of exercises.

A final high-angle shot of Dwayne crouching beside a mirror, crossing off days on a calendar, suggest that he is unsatisfied with his current life and, like his father and sister, awaits some future success. His weary glance at his own reflection suggests that this is unlikely to occur.

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Edwin (grandpa) (00:02:58 — 00:03:37)

Edwin is introduced through a series of close-ups and extreme close-ups. The non-diegetic composed score takes a melancholy turn as we see a door being locked and drugs being prepared.

When the camera finally tilts up from the drug paraphernalia to reveal the user’s face we understand that this is a character who has given up. He is an elderly man, locked in the bathroom of his son’s home, taking drugs to while away the time before he dies.

The camera cuts to a mirror shot showing Edwin as he slumps on the toilet seat, surrounded by other people’s clutter. He has seemingly derived no satisfaction from the lifestyle he has chosen.

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Sheryl (mum) (00:03:38 — 00:03:55)

Sheryl gets the shortest introductory sequence, showing in two shots her frantic journey to the hospital. Her sense of urgency is communicated through another sound bridge, and we hear her panicked phone call while Edwin remains catatonic on the toilet.

The main shot is a handheld profile close-up of Sheryl’s face as she drives, showing her concern and anxiety. The only other shot is a close-up of the cigarette she lies about smoking. Again, we get a sense of hopelessness and despair.

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Frank (uncle) (00:03:56 — 00:05:08)

Frank is also introduced through just two shots. Both are reminiscent of the close-up and profile shots of Olive that start the film, but occurring in the opposite order and from the opposite side. If Olive is heading towards disappointment, Frank has already got there.

Like Olive, the close-up of his face reflects the scene before him — in this case, the light of a hospital window. Around the periphery of the screen we see the sterile white tiles of a hospital treatment room. Tears shine in Frank’s eyes as the title of the film appears on the screen word by word. The word “sunshine” covers his face, underlining the despair in his eyes.

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