Film Analysis Blog
Film Style and Form
The Constant Gardener
The film, The Constant Gardener (Fernando
Meirelles, 2005), is a story that is focused on the protagonist, Justin Quayle,
investigating the murder of his late wife, Tessa. The film exhibits a unique
style of mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound to generate a world
that disorientates and confuses the viewers as well as the use of innuendo to
further mislead the viewers during certain scenes.
Mise-en-scene in The Constant Gardener “orchestrates a
rich and complex variety of formal and material elements inherited from
theatre, using principles of composition derived from painting and photography”
(Corrigan and White, 64), which is shown in scenes such as when Justin Quayle
is in Germany to question Birgit about Tessa’s death. Another scene that uses a
complex form of mise-en-scene is the lunch scene with Bernard Pellegrin.
During the scene in Germany, the use of sound and
cinematography are important in creating ambiguity during the scene as well as engrossing
the audience with Justin’s character so that we see things from his viewpoint
which is often befuddling and deceptive. When the two men on the motorbike are approaching
Justin and Birgit we, as the audience, habitually assume that the bikers are menacing
and dangerous. We accept this due to the use of sound, which creates an edgy
and ominous theme to the sequence. The composition is used as innuendo within
the scene as it turns out that the bikers are not sent to kill Justin. It is
when we see a close up shot of one of the men on the motorbike pull out a horn
and blow it at the pedestrians that we realise, through the use of innuendo in
sound and cinematography, that we have been deceived into believing something
that is false.
During the lunch scene with Justin and Pellegrin, aspects
of mise-en-scene and cinematography are utilised to hint towards the nature of
Pellegrin’s character. Props, like the statue of the man pointing, is
indicative of hinting to the audience that Pellegrin is the antagonist and is
the character that we should pay attention to. The statue of the pointing man
is used to clue us that Pellegrin is the one responsible for the conspiracy
behind Tessa’s death. The statue is an important prop within the scene as props
“acquire special significance when they are used to express character’s
thoughts and feelings” (Corrigan and White, 71). The statue is essentially
accusing Pellegrin, which is why there are several shots of the statue and an
extreme close up of the statue’s pointing hand. It is also noteworthy that
while this shot of the pointing statue is taking place, Pellegrin is also
subtly threatening in addition to ordering Justin to discontinue his
investigation; further hinting that Pellegrin has something to hide and that he
is involved or possibly the mastermind behind Tessa’s death.
The Shawshank Redemption
The use of mise-en-scene,
cinematography, and sound are employed in The
Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994), to show the content of scenes
and sequences within the film. The costumes are important during most of the
film as they exhibit, to an extent, juxtaposition between characters; the
prisoners, like Andy Dufresne, and the Warden of Shawshank prison.
Costume is an important aspect of content within the film
and it is employed numerous times through the use of mise-en-scene and
cinematography to draw attention to costumes and occasionally props within the
film in order to gain a better understanding of the underlying ideas and themes
of the film in particular sequences and as a whole. “Costumes are the clothing
and related accessories worn by a character that define the character and
contribute to the visual impression and design of the film overall” (Corrigan
and White, 77). Mise-en-scene and cinematography show that costume is a
significant feature of the film by using costumes that support scenic realism
within the film as well as describing the physiognomies of certain characters
that the film pays particular attention to, such as the narrative story of Andy
Dufresne, whom the film pays most of its attention to. Andy is seen in a court
of law at the beginning of the film dressed in an expensive looking suit and
tie. The use of costume in this shot establishes Andy’s character as being both
wealthy and respectable. Costume in The Shawshank Redemption often describes
the “tension and changes in the character and the story” (Corrigan and White,
77), which is made known through the costumes worn by Andy throughout the film.
When Andy is in Shawshank he is stripped of his suit and given the Shawshank
prison jumpsuits, as standard attire for the inmates. The prison jumpsuits are
an important aspect of the film’s mise-en-scene and also showing the change of
Andy’s character, from a respectable looking banker, to a prisoner of
Shawshank; the conversion of Andy’s character is illustrated by this aspect of
mise-en-scene.
Setting is another important element of mise-en-scene
which “refers to a fictional or real place where the action and events of the
film occur” (Corrigan and White, 69). In The Shawshank Redemption, setting is
constructed in to create a sense of realism in the film. The entire Shawshank
prison was refurbished before filming in order to immerse the audience and make
them believe that the prison is how it would have looked back at the time when
it was used. The use of the real prison is important in creating cinematic
realism as it enables us to “recognise sets and settings as accurate evocations
of actual places […] scenic realism is most commonly associated with the
physical, cultural, and historical accuracy of the backgrounds, objects, and other
figures in a film” (Corrigan and White, 70). The setting in The Shawshank
Redemption is a key technique of mise-en-scene as it allows control to be
protracted for the fortitude of the historical authenticity along with the
imaginative fusions envisioned to complement the text’s significance. “In
addition to scenic realism, the mise-en-scene of a film creates atmosphere and
connotations, those feelings or meanings associated with particular sets or
settings” (Corrigan and White, 70). This idea expressed is illustrated in The
Shawshank Redemption by contrasting Shawshank prison with the Pacific Ocean at
the end of the film. Shawshank is illustrated at representing the
institutionalisation of the inmates while the Pacific Ocean at the end of the
film is symbolic of both Andy’s redemption and the freedom he has gained from
it.
The Dark Knight
The
Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008), exhibits a
very unique visual bravura through the engagement of several elements of
mise-en-scene throughout the film. The opening scene of The Dark Knight,
otherwise known as the Bank Robbery scene, employs mise-en-scene to engender misperception
on top of building suspense. The props used in the opening scene are the clown
masks that the bank robbers wear during the sequence; these masks function as a
“part of the set or as a tool used nu the actors. Props acquire special
significance when they are used to express character’s thoughts and feelings”
Corrigan and White, 71). The clown masks, instead of engendering a sense of clowning
and comedy, contribute to making the characters horrific and ominous in their façade
and manner. Throughout the bank robbery scene, there are six characters
involved in the robbery, each wearing clown masks and thus confusing the
audience as to which of the six robbers is the Joker. Each of the clown
mask-wearing robbers is killed off until we are left with the Antagonist, symbolising
to the audience the calculating and deceitful temperament of the Joker. During
the robbery, the Joker employs the use of guns and grenades to further install
fear into the hostages; we see the Joker fastening grenades to several people
as a method of provoking terror and anxiety amongst the hostages in addition
with further guaranteeing their cooperation throughout the robbery.
Costume and make-up are also used during the bank robbery
sequence to aid in developing characters background and appearance. They are
also used as “narrative markers, their change or lack of change becomes a
crucial way to understand and follow a character and the development of the
story” (Corrigan and White, 78). Each of the robbers wear bland looking suits
that aren’t very interesting, which helps draw our focus on the clown masks;
this helps give the clown robbers a frightful yet concealing effect and
appearance during the sequence. The addition of the scruffy looking suits also
shows that the robbers are not afraid to become involved in dishonest work.
Make-up is important during the reveal of the Joker at the end of the sequence;
when we see the Joker remove his clown mask, we see a horrific display of white
face paint with sunken black eyes and a long red cut of lipstick across the
Joker’s lips that go from cheek to cheek; this all harmonises together to
illustrate a terrifying yet memorable and psychedelically terrifying face.
The twenty second establishing shot at the beginning of
the sequence elucidates a vastly prosperous and prevailing financial region within
the domain of the film. This setting is an important element of mise-en-scene during
this sequence as the setting is important in creating the atmosphere and
connotations of the film (Corrigan and White, 70). Comparable to copious other
films of the thriller genre, the sequence displays to the audience the epitome
of an ideal target for crime; in this case, robbery and homicide. The majority of
the sequence is focused on the bank, which is the target of the clown masked
robbers. This produces a compelling and apparent gesture that this film will contain
a narrative comprehensively centred on crime.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The
Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014), demonstrates an
extraordinary and unique use of cinematography as well as elements of
mise-en-scene which complement the cinematography within the film. Colours are
a prominent aspect of the film’s cinematography and are also representative of
the two timeframes that are shown within the film, the 60s and the 30s. The limited
colour palette of the film when depicting the 30s shows a more prominent use of
reds and pinks as well as the use of harsher light than the scenes based in the
60s. During the scenes in the 60s we are given an image that is warmer and
tinted with a colour palette that uses yellows and oranges.
Framing is another important feature of cinematography in
The Grand Budapest Hotel as it is consistent and unique to Wes Anderson’s flair
in filmmaking. “The three dimensions of the film image – the height and width
of the frame, and the apparent depth of the image – offers endless
opportunities for representing the world and how we see it” (Corrigan and
White, 106). The film often uses symmetrical compositional shots which are
intended to give the audience a first person perspective from characters during
the film; this is shown through the use of straight-on views of characters,
props, and settings as well as extensive use of wide angles shots. During
scenes, in order to allow a larger number of characters within a frame, they
are usually grouped into layers. When the character, Henckles, appears the
frame after he and his militia have learned that the prisoners have escaped, a
low angle shot is used to allow the viewers to see both Henckles and his
soldiers standing behind him. Another shot that is often employed throughout the
film are low angle shots and high angle shots; both captured with wide angle
lens. These shots provide the viewers of the film with a very unique
perspective and this shot is repeated in significant ways several times
throughout the film. These shots allow the 4:3 frame to be occupied more effortlessly
as a substitute of preserving the headroom on top of the characters.
The movement of camera shots during scenes is also an
element that is unique to Wes Anderson as his particular style of filmmaking
shows a range of different shot techniques. “…the distance of the camera from
its subject, which determines the scale of the shot, signals point of view, and
contributes greatly to how we understand or feel about what is being shown”
(Corrigan and White, 109).
Works Cited
Corrigan, Timothy, and
Patricia White. The Film Experience. Fourth
Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015. Print.
Filmography
The
Constant Gardener. Dir. Fernando Meirelles. Focus Features,
2005. Film.
The
Shawshank Redemption. Dir. Frank Darabont. Warner Bros., 1994.
Film
The
Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Bros,
2008. Film
The
Grand Budapest Hotel. Dir. Wes Anderson. Fox, 2014. Film