House of Cards: Opening Scene
Let’s take a look at the opening scene of the TV show HOUSE OF CARDS (S01E01)
In this sequence, Frank Underwood gives the final blow to a dying dog. It is also the first occurence of Frank’s famous acting trick, where he locks eyes with the audience.
Watch the full sequence here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhR_oO7h6CU
It opens on a black screen, with the audio of a car crash. We hear distinctly a dog being hit by a car.
Then Frank appears, opening the doors of his house:
The image puts us in a Film Noir mood. The general level of light is very low. There are only 2 sources of light: on the left (public lighting) and behind Frank. We immediately understand that we are being confronted to something gloomy.
There is something theatrical in the way Frank, opening the doors, makes his entrance. Frank isn’t just anybody, as we’re being told by this staging.
The pan shot goes on, uninterrupted:
Frank goes down the stairs and spots the crash. We get achance to see him closely, for the first time.
Frank walks down the alley towards the crash. We get a glimpse of the murderous car before it exits. A very small pool of light reveals the poor animal. That’s the only opportunity we will get to see it. Instead of getting closer to it, as one would expect, an interesting staging takes over. The camera places us in the dog’s point of view:
We, the audience, are put in the place of the dying dog. It is an uncomfortable position. We get a feeling of uneasiness. We start to comprehend that something weird is going on.
Frank walks towards us and kneels down. Note, in the first shot, how we’re placed right below the level of his balls. We feel dominated. Note also how his hand stands out in the light, threatening:
The second character is still there, first in focus, then out of focus. Then the second character disappears, leaving us alone with Frank.
Frank starts his monologue about the two kinds of pain. Note, in the following shots, how he looks away from the camera, left and right:
When we have something embarrassing to say to someone, we look away in the same manner. It’s as if Frank had something embarrassing to say and didn’t want to make eye contact with us. While he’s, in fact, clearly speaking directly to us, since we’re now alone with him.
And suddenly it happens:
He locks eyes with us. He initiates an intimate relationship with us. We wish he wouldn’t. He’s a monster, and he’s saying monstrous things to us right now. He coldly explains that he has zero empathy. He’s a psychopath. We wish we weren’t there. But it’s too late, there’s no undoing what has been done. He has brought us inside. We can’t pretend we don’t know who he is, and we’ll have to bear that guilty knowledge throughout the show.
The camera slightly zooms in, getting us even closer to the monster, while he squeezes the dog:
The director finally has mercy, and relieves us from this terrible moment with a cut away shot:
The scene closes with a traditional, well-composed group shot, that feels almost like a family portrait:
It’s over now, we’re with people. Nice, worried people, just like we are. What did we just experience? It’s not easy to describe. We’re not quite sure yet. But, for sure, it will happen again.
