Pain & Gain Opening Analysis ☮ ☮ ☮

"Pain & Gain" (2013) is a film based on a true story of 3 body builders who kidnap a wealthy corrupt man to try and steal his money in order to improve their depressed lives. Though when their victim survives after they succeed in taking his money, they come under huge threat from a shady detective who could bring their now snobby rich antics to an abrupt end.

The film opens from a black screen fading into colour showing a wide shot of what appears to be the top of a roof, as there is an aerial and cleaning equipment seen , the area looks very untidy suggesting that not many people go up there ,in the shot we see a well built man hanging off of a wall, advertising a gym , with also the man doing sit ups , suggesting to the audience that due to the man's toned figure, him exercising and the advertisement, that the man possibly has something to do with this gym, This also suggests that due to the abandoned looking roof, and him being on his own that he is the type of character that dislikes being around other people. We can hear loud Traffic in the background, with the man yelling out motivational things to himself such as "I'm big!" , "I'm hot!", suggesting also to the audience that there is a need for the man to stay in shape. The lighting in this shows bright but dull blues suggests a light but also dark moods, suggesting to the audience that it could have some funny aspects but also the film can take some dark turns.

We then see a low angle shot of the man, now showing that we are following this character , making him the main character. We see a shadow casted over the man but with everything surrounding him bright, suggesting that he is a dark sided character, even though the audience is viewing him as our protagonist at this moment.

The camera then cuts to a close up shot of the mans face,sweating and red due to the exercise,and also showing an agitated expression, suggesting to the audience maybe he is venting, also making them wonder why this could be. The camera then twists in a circular shape onto the streets below showing a police car pulling up, showing what the situation looks like through the man's perspective, The man is then shown again in a close up with a shocked, startled expression exclaiming a curse word which sets the tone of being a film for adults setting a more serious note, which also makes the audience believe that the reason why the man is presumably being chased by the police is serious, fitting with the presentation of his dark and aggressive looking character.

The camera then shows the man jump from the ladder and run towards the camera,grabbing his jacket,confirming that he is on the run from the police. we then see a medium shot of the police in black vans run out holding guns, also showing that the man must have committed a seriously terrible crime due to the need for guns, suggesting to the audience the man is a danger to society. The man is seen at a low angle running across the roof, this puts the man at a high position in the film and also emphasising the height the man is at. The camera is then shown moving at an unsteady and high speed, giving the perspective of the man running, also putting the audience in his situation, making us feel the thrill and anticipation of whether he's going to get caught or not.

More police cars are shown driving round a corner at a low angle. putting the policeman in a high position, with guns hanging out of the trucks, further showing that the man is in trouble and has committed a terrible crime. The man,still on top of the roof, looks down onto the police cars, showing a shocked and scared expression, suggesting that he is being surrounded and that he is worried he's going to get caught.

We then see a medium close up of swat team officers, move in with  guns running into the building, presumably the one the man is in. Suddenly we see more members of the swat team jump out of a truck in a medium shot in slow motion, with a slow piano played song, making the films pace to slow down also making the audience relax a bit more instead of hanging on whether the man will be caught. In white text it is revealed that it is June 27th 1995, making this film set place in a past date, revealing it to be told like a story making the audience wonder if there will be a narrative.

We then see a long shot of the man running from the policeman jump from the building into a garbage skip in an attempt to escape, then rolling out and making a fast run,whilst is again in white text it states that the men chasing him are the Miami Dade Police, setting the location aswell to be in Miami, USA. The man is then seen in a slow motion close up yelling as he runs,looking back to see if the police are catching up with him, making him seem hopeless and an underdog, making the audience sympathise with him. The main title of the film flashes up in white graffiti like font on a grim ,dark,green wall suggesting the film to be dark and in parts wincingly gross.

As the man continues to run in a close up in slow motion, we hear "My name was Daniel Lugo, and I believe in fitness", The term "was" used in this sentence makes it appear to the audience as if the character has either had to change his name or had died, death seems more explainable though due to the film being set at a past time, This also makes us wonder if so how he died and focus on this character as we only have concentrated on his face and emotions through the beginning of the film. Using only this sentence as an opener, we see the key information about him, portraying the character as someone who doesn't like to talk about himself, fitting to the action stereotype of the main man being a tough guy who doesn't like to share his emotions and is really into keeping in shape and being muscly due to his belief in fitness. 

We then see "Daniel" get hit in slow motion by a police car,with him being knocked into the air and slamming down on the windshield smashing it, with him rolling off the front and fading to black,making the audience wonder whether this meant he got caught by the police, what his crime was ,why he would commit the crime anyway and whether he actually committed it or not.