u/itsme0

I always thought one of Hollywood’s biggest flaws was how it portrays characters reacting to someone’s death, the character dies, and then suddenly the next scene is the funeral, with the main characters quietly sniffing and looking sad. It always felt so far detached from how grief actually works in real life.

One of the very few exceptions I can think of is Florence Pugh in Midsommar. Her grief felt genuinely raw and uncomfortable, It really touched me

What are some other movies that got this right?

A great opening sequence is supposed to hook the audience, establish the tone, and set the stakes for the rest of the story. But every once in a while, a director crafts an opening 10 to 15 minutes that is so breathtaking, intense, and perfectly paced that it accidentally peaks way too early, leaving the remaining runtime unable to match that initial high.

Ghost Ship (2002) is probably the most infamous example of this. The opening cable-snap sequence is one of the most iconic, shocking, and memorable horror set pieces ever put on film. But the moment the story actually moves to the modern salvage crew exploring the ship, the movie instantly deflates into a generic, run-of-the-mill early 2000s haunted house flick.

Up (2009) suffers from a similar (though much higher quality) problem. The opening montage of Carl and Ellie’s life together is an absolute masterpiece of emotional storytelling with zero dialogue. It is so profoundly moving that while the rest of the movie is a charming, fun adventure with talking dogs, it never quite reaches the emotional weight of those first ten minutes.

It takes immense skill to deliver an opening punch, but it is almost impossible to maintain that level of momentum for an entire two hours.

What is a movie where the prologue or opening scene was an absolute 10/10 masterclass, but the rest of the film just could not keep up?