Title Design Research: Curry & Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case - Poisonous Puzzle

Greetings! The next set of research has officially started with the analysis of Curry & Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case (2023), sourced from Netflix. In order to fully understand the value of the first few minutes of the movie and role of titling in my prospective genre I am going to study the opening sequences. In order to make a well-thought out evaluation I’ve outlined some guiding questions. 

What titles are displayed during the opening sequence?

During the opening sequence, the executive producer, creative producer,  supervising editors, and director were displayed in this order. After naming the contributing individuals the title of the film was shown. All of these titles were in a pearl colored font. The title was written in a smaller sophisticated font whereas the names were slightly larger and written in all caps in a different font style. They seemingly camouflage well into the images shown. 

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

The opening sequence contains a few prioritized images. The succession of shots show the process of starting to make a curry with enhanced elements of danger manifesting a sinister undertone. It all starts with a close-up of onions being cut with a sharp knife. Then it switches to the ignition of a stove being turned on which triggers a flame to erupt. After that, a medium close up and close up of a pot with an unknown substance, presumably curry, boiling almost over. Following this a close-up aerial shot shows a slaughtered fish being cooked on the stovetop. To wrap up the “kitchen” part of the opening a pan from an aerial view shows a messy kitchen where the curry was made. After this, there is a series of B-roll shown but the most prominent and long-lasting would be of Jolly Joseph’s face. Notably, a canister of medication, most likely cyanide, is quickly shown. 

What connotations do these images carry? 

Overall, the connotations of the images leaves a looming sense of terror. The shot of onions being cut focuses on movement of the tapered blade of the knife piercing the onion which is only enhanced with complementary sound effects. The ignition of the stove focuses on the intense fire that came out in response which is further emphasized visually against a muted background. The boiling over the pot could serve as symbolism for Jolly Joseph reaching her breaking point, or in other words “boiling over” leading to becoming a murderer. The slaughtered fish on the stovetop serves as a symbolic message too. It lies lifeless and injured just like the victim of Joseph. The aerial stop of the kitchen helps confirm that curry is being made. Though some cultural knowledge of curry-making and types of curry of the audience would have to be present to devise this. The target audience of Malayalis would understand that Kerala fish curry is being made here. The series of B-roll following is carefully edited to include a newspaper-collage like look, mute the colors, and add and retract pieces of the collage rapidly to feel as if they are twitching. This is seen from the eye of Jolly Joseph’s face and when the cyanide is shown. These twitch-like movements add an extra layer of distortion and leave a confusing effect on viewers.

How does the film establish a feeling of the genre from the outset?

The film establishes an eerie tone with a sense of mystery to come. Naturally, viewers will ponder. The evocation of questions is important in this genre since it makes an intriguing story to be uncovered. In total, enhancing audience engagement thoroughly. It’s clear a crime has taken place through the visuals of certain props like the knife and fire (from stove ignition). But, before the opening sequence, this film had a preliminary introduction around 2-3 minutes followed by the defined opening sequence around 1 minute. In the initial introduction a voiceover narrates the crime that had taken place revealing important information. This helps heighten the enigma. It’s important to mention how the editing coupled with sound drives the plot forward whilst thickening it.

            As always that was an information overload! It was really interesting focusing on the opening sequence of this particular movie as I have watched it fully beforehand recreationally. I never correlated the composition of these first few seconds to the effect on the overall documentary, but now I can visualize it clearly. It makes me interested in examining more opening sequences to come!