Trailer Narratives

From researching and analysing trailers such as 'Dear John', 'Revolutionary Road', 'Blue Valentine', 'Like Crazy', and 'The Lucky One', I have realised that the general structure of typical 'Romance' trailers is in three parts:

1) An introductory section introducing the couple and what they are like (sometimes how they have met)
2) A montage of the couple being happy and falling or being in love
3) A moment where the mood of the trailer changes and something goes wrong in the relationship or outside of the relationship which affects the couple and their lives.

These trailers often end with a few final happy shots of the couple (depending on the exact genre of the film, be it romantic comedy, romance, or hard and serious romance which addresses serious issues).

The trailer for 'Like Crazy' is a particular example of this structure. It starts with idents to introduce the film and who it has been produced by (Paramount Vantage, Indian Paintbrush). This shows the audience the film has been made by prestigious and well known companies, perhaps causing the film to be seen as more of a potentially successful film in their minds with more accomplished cast members or a more well known director.
There is then a scene with dialogue between the main couple where they look happy and in love, followed by a 'Sundance film festival' logo. The use of a logo being shown once the trailer has already started could draw more attention to it. There is a montage of the couple doing activities typically done by couples such as go-karting, with a voice over of the main female character narrating her feelings. The soundtrack has also started, which is a rather sad and quiet sounding song with a female voice over a piano. The male then says 'what are we going to do after we graduate'.
This is when the trailer's mood changes from happy to sad, and the audience is shown the struggles the couple start to face in their relationship. The song continues over a montage, but the montage switches from showing the happy couple to the sad couple, with shots of both the male and the female looking thoughtful, contemplative and sad, with the voiceover from the female continued.
Finally, the trailer finishes with the actors' names and then the title in bold capitals shown. The final shot is of the couple looking happy together as they stare at one another through a glass door, which deliberately leaves the audience wondering if they will end up happily together or not.

B.M