Snatch and Amelie

Within Snatch, movement is utilized to display the hyper masculine characteristics of the gangster film genre in contrast with the characters feminine attributes to show how masculinity and femininity are not defined by genders. From Mickey's first fight, derogatory feminine terms are used to describe him to emphasize the weak objectification which the majority of the characters in the film associate with femininity. Lateral movements and extreme close up shots pan with Mickey's movements as he is being thrown down by Gorgeous George. These camera movements increase the speed, anxiety, and suspension of the fight scene. Guy Ritchie, the director, uses anticipatory shots to increase the suspense of the violence by not showing the affect of violence and instead, pulling away. Mickey comes back to hit Gorgeous George in one punch as the background is in slow motion around him while he remains in fast motion. The significance of this scene is how Snatch demonstrates the low regard many of the characters, such as Gorgeous George, have for human life. They show characteristics of greed, power lust, and a need to show strength. Mickey demonstrates restraint in the anxiety of the fight to emphasize how he is the only main character to have regard for human life. Although mercy is often regarded with femininity, Mickey is the character to win the fight and comes out on top in the end of the film as well. Originally in the scene, the camera moves from left to right as it does when Gorgeous George hits Mickey suggesting the psychological normalcy which is associated with this movement. When Mickey comes back to hit Gorgeous George, the punch is from left to right. This adds to the idea that although Mickey is associated with derogatory feminine terms by all the characters, femininity should not be associated with negativity considering he is the one to win the fight. The jump cut shot of Tommy fearing his life as the slow motion tear moves down his face adds to the apprehension and reality of the characters masked masculinity. In addition, throughout the film there are murky colors, decay, dark grays, and dilapidated walls. Each frame is also fairly empty to demonstrate the excessive violence and disregard for human life the characters exhibit.

With the dark humor of the film satirizing masculinity, there is a greater emphasize on the faults of the masculine actions of greed and power with the characters little regard for human life. By Mickey coming out on top, movement emphasizes how masculinity and femininity are displayed in both genders.







Within Amelie, movement is used to demonstrate the feminine characteristics of the film which contrast greatly from Snatch, but are still utilized to demonstrate the masculinity and femininity which both genders exhibit. As Amelie moves down the street in this scene, the fast motion and shaky handheld camera movement allows the audience to view the world in all its beauty through Amelie's eyes. The very lyrical movement emphasizes the beauty of her surroundings and the metaphorical meaning of giving a blind man the opportunity to see all he is missing. The film focuses on these moments of being and existence through noticing the aspects of life that may be passed over, but create something of substance in memories. Fast motion cuts of a baby laughing, a dog playing, and bright colors and flowers surrounding them all emphasize the feminine characteristics of love (even if it may be a love of life) and a want to help/nurture others. The frames within Snatch are often barren and display the little regard for embracing life which the character's exhibit and oppose greatly with the female lead of Amelie. Although Amelie is a female lead, she demonstrates many characteristics normally associated as masculine. Within this scene, the close up tightly framed camera movement is oppositely used as a form of freedom and expression versus constraint and entrapment. The camera pans with Amelie's movements because she is taking charge of

the situation and has power over where she leads the man. The opposite use of close up tightly framed shots emphasizes the control and understanding Amelie has of the beauty of life around her. Although mostly hand held camera movements are used during this scene, dolly tracking shots allow for the journey to be captured more accurately. Throughout the movie, Amelie's journey to love is shown through her character development into realizing the importance of her own happiness and confidence. Her face is often completely in the frame to demonstrate the control and identify of self which she gains by the end of the film. The film reads like a book from left to right in order to show the character development in a more lyrical context. Amelie utlizies movement to create a feminine movie which also embraces the role masculinity and femininity plays within both genders.

Mise en Scene in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

     Life deserves to be lived. Although it appears to be such an exaggerated proverb in today's society often passed over because of its generalized truth, as Oscar Wilde states, "Most people exist, that is all." A life lived solely for existing is a life not lived at all. Capturing life within a frame is the goal of many cinematographers. Mise en scene communicates through its visual orientation the meaning behind the work allowing a film to capture the essence, or lack thereof, of life. Within The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, mise en scene is utilized to showcase the importance of embracing life through observing a person's surroundings instead of sacrificing life and having blind absorption in the monotony of day to day obligations.

     Walter blindly sacrifices life for the duties and responsibilities of day to day obligations through the mise en scene of the film to point out the importance of embracing life. The opening medium tightly framed shot of Water's apartment demonstrates the lack of life which he emulates. The subsidiary contrasts of the apartment in highly symmetrical designs, dull/lack of color, and lines of blinds/books behind him all showcase the sense of entrapment in a lifeless existence. Having the dominant be Walter's eyes in close ups, which are constantly in a dream like state, adds a dramatic context to his constant state of absorbing into himself unaware of his surroundings. In addition, the public distance of proxemic patterns which the camera often keeps away from Walter exemplifies his inability to connect as his eyes never fall straight into the camera. The closed frame includes all information in the confinement of the shot to emphasis Walter's ability to look closely (at a computer screen), but not seeing the flaws of his own life. Having a closed frame allows for an anticipatory setup of a life which is constantly in motion with no time to

truly see. A.O Scott of the New York Times states how Walter suffers from an "excess of maturity" and a sacrifice in "a life of duty and drudgery"(Scott). Focusing in on elements of his life such as the balancing of a checkbook suggests his life has become nothing more than dull and boring expenditures. Altering the aspect ratio of the film to widescreen and letterboxing unintentionally brings the closed frame more into its tightly framed confinement of dull obligations. In addition, the irony of a man who works at Life magazine passing elements of greatness in the covers which he prints and quote of the company each day demonstrates a want for the character to escape his own confinement. In the confined space around him, Walter is surrounded by color and the celebration of others living their lives when he is tightly framed into his daily obligations. Even as Walter passes the subsidiary contrast of covers of Life magazine the dominate remains upon him to emphasis the importance of finding the will to live. Parallelism allows the audience to view Walter's full evolution in a similar scene in the Life building with a very different Walter. Mise en scene is utilized to demonstrate the confinement of Walter's life of obligations which keep him from embracing his life.

     Through mise en scene, Ben Stiller (the director) showcases Walter's evolution from sacrificing to  embracing the world around him, and through doing so, highlights the importance for all people to
embrace their own lives. When Walter travels to Greenland in the hopes of retrieving the missing photo

from Sean O'Connell, his character begins taking risks and observing the beauty of the world around him. In a cinematically stunning skateboard journey down a hill in the chase to find Sean, long, loosely framed, and open form shots create a feeling of freedom and openness to the character which was lacking. The fluidity of open space and countryside behind him while he embraces a side of his personality which he thought forever lost showcases the importance of taking the risk to embrace a person's life. Walter's physical appearance and coloring become brighter and more alive as the dominant contrast of his eyes become more personal and engaged. Aleatory conditions of the shooting of the frame allow for a more realistic view of the beauty which Walter is finally seeing. Ignoring classical cinema, the shot puts less emphasis on the individual and more emphasis on the scenery to draw attention to the beauty of embracing life. Continuing on the journey, Walter finally encounters Sean on the top of a mountain facing challenges and life's beautiful craziness like he never imagined before. Walter's proximity to Sean suggests a connection with people where he was previously detached. A further change in physical appearance is seen in Walter through his change in values by a red jacket, growing facial hair, and letting go of his perfectionist cleanliness. Space is completely open, little depth, and very loosely framed in order to evoke a sense of freedom in the character. Iris and masking are not used in order to create the most realistic perception of life possible. The visual weight of this shot is heavier in the lower section of the frame to create a greater sense of balance and equilibrium which mise en scene strives to create. It leads the eye towards Sean's camera which has been the cause of Walter's journey the whole

time to emphasis the character's later realization of how the impact of the journey was greater than gaining the photo. When Sean sheds light on the photo he shares, "Beautiful things don't ask for attention." Through this line and the mise en scene of the scene, the audience understands how important embracing life is. A person can find "the quintessence of life" in day to day to actions just by taking life in and not allowing it to become monotonous. Through mise en scene, Walter's character evolution leading to him embracing life encourages others to do the same.
   
     What the human race always strives to find is meaning. Often times that meaning can be found in embracing a person's life. Capturing the human experience as something beautiful through the contrast of tightly framed shots to long, loosely framed shots suggests the importance of recognizing this beauty. Too often people become caught up in day to day duties and obligations which blind them from seeing the importance of capturing their own "quintessence of life." Life does not need to be a constant state of risk to be embraced. Adventure can be found in daily life through seeing the beauty of things "which don't ask for attention."

Works Cited 

Scott, A.. "He Can Balance a Checkbook, but Not His Imagination." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Dec. 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/movies/the-secret-life-of-walter-mitty-stars-ben-stiller.html>.
   
   

Mystic River

Within this tightly framed shot of Mystic River, elements of mise en scene contribute to Jimmy's entrapment. Surrounded by two rings of police officers, Jimmy struggles to escape the enclosement to locate his assumed dead daughter. The director, Clint Eastwood, utilizes intimate proxemic patterns and extreme close ups to increase the audience's emotional attachment to Jimmy's heartbreaking realization. Starting with a high angle and moving to a bird's eye shot, there is no doubt of the power the police officer's have over Jimmy through his constant struggle. Eastwood focuses in on an extreme close up of Jimmy's face blurring the police officers around him in order to increase the intimacy and emotional attachment between the audience and Jimmy's pain over the loss of his daughter. The intimate proxemic patterns increase the proximity to the character and allow the audience to feel Jimmy's emotion as much as he does. In addition, the territorial space and depth in this frame is used to further emphasize Jimmy's entrapment. As Louis Giannetti addresses, "Space is a medium of communication" and the tightly framed elements of this shot emphasize Jimmy's inability to escape to see his daughter, but more importantly to escape his own loss and need for revenge later on in the movie (Giannetti). Little depth is used in order to add to the dominate contrast of Jimmy's face. The shot moves to a bird's eye view circular view of the father and switches to a similar

circular frame of his daughter's entrapment in death. Furthermore, the quarter turn of Jimmy's face throughout this frame increases intimacy to the character. The audience feels more invited into the emotional depth of Jimmy's heartbreak because of almost addressing the audience directly in eye contact. In this shot, Jimmy's emotional and physical entrapment is utilized by Eastwood to introduce the character's emotional motives throughout the film.




Mystic River utilizes mise en scene in order to demonstrate thematic moral flaws of humanity. As A.O. Scott of the New York Times writes on the film, " the basic moral distinctions we depend on in our efforts to make sense of the world (and to survive its random, inexplicable cruelty) are hopelessly and fundamentally flawed " (Scott). From the beginning, the parallelism used as Dave is entrapped within a car by both the molesters and then the Savage brothers suggests how

innocence can not always be saved. The tightly framed shot and the dominate contrast in Dave's face with the blurred subsidiary contrasts of those who entrap him, emphasize a childhood innocence which is forever lost by the second time the scene arises. Lines of moral distinctions are constantly being questioned. Within the first parallel shot, the dominate contrast of the molesters ring is supposedly suggesting a religious man considering the cross he wears on his hand. Although Dave is entrapped, normally suggesting his guilt, those who entrap him are always to blame. Dave's innocence as a person and in committing the crime of killing Katie each time he enters the car adds to the idea that innocence can not always win. Although people normally believe those to blame will always be brought to justice, that is not always the case. The affect it will have on the innocent is long lasting, as seen through Dave never recovering from entering each car. Justice is further questioned by Jimmy

killing Dave. In the scene when he speaks about the murder to Sean, Jimmy walks down the street in a very openly shot scene. He appears to be free, but Jimmy moves his arms outward in a Christ position symbolizing his realization of all moral lines he has crossed as a character. In a way, he has sacrificed himself for the sake of his family representing the openness of the frame. Morally, murder should not be condemned yet his character is set free. Within Mystic River, lines of moral distinctions are constantly being redrawn in order to demonstrate their flaws.

The Royal Tenenbaums

In this medium tightly framed shot of The Royal Tenenbaums, mise en scene is used to highlight the symbolic meaning behind the shot. Locating Chas and Royal in a confined space, such as a closet, further entraps the characters in this tightly framed shot with no open spaces. Everything is filled. Having a profile shot of both characters suggests their etnrapment within their own life and thoughts due to their unawareness of observation through this profile eye level angled frame. The subsidary contrast in the frame is the games highlighting the visual confusion which surrounds Royal and Chas further entrapping them into their unhappy lives. For Royal, the games Risk, Operation, and Monopoly all allude to the entanglements of his lie about his sickness in the hopes of regaining a relationship with his family which appears to be already lost. For Chas, Risk, Operation, and Monopoly still have the common theme of danger to them which he feels paranoid in his inability to escape after his wife's death. Chas's lower angle/height from his father represents a vulnerability and dominance which Royal has over him despite his un-fatherly qualities. The dominant of the lightbulb in the center of the frame turning on and off alludes to the further confusion of the family situation around them where they are unable to find a constant of light or
darkness/ happiness or sadness. Having the lightbulb at the top of the frame suggests a dominance over the characters. Not only is the lightbulb a dominance over the lighting, but the characters are weighed down by their own entrapments and "game" of a life which they feel unable to control. In addition, placing the important visual element of the boar's head outside of the frame suggests Royal's own separation from the family because of his isolation in recent years. The boar's head appears to be a metaphor for Royal in this regard. As Wes Anderson has said, "It's all here, it all exists here, " each shot truly symbolically balances and defines the characters in the framing of the scene.



In this shot, the dysfunctional family of the Tenenbaums is displayed through the mise en scene. The tightly framed shot again suggests the entrapment each character feels within their own life. Each character has some sort of inner dilemma which is plaguing them and constantly follows them through each frame. The only loosely framed component of the scene, which doubles as the dominant in the center/viewfinder of the camera, is the chair at the head of the table which is missing its occupant, Royal. This not only symbolically represents the loss of Royal as a part of the family (father's are often thought of as the head of the family just as the chair is at the head of the table) but, also the loosely framed component alludes to Royal's role later in the film. Although Royal was the reason for much of the dysfunctionality of the family to begin with, through faking his impending death Royal saves the family from their own entrapments allowing them all to be content in their lives. The subsidiary contrast of the proximity of the glasses of milk and water on the table through an eye level shot looking up upon the family, suggests the physical/mental barriers many of the characters have built up entrapping  them in their own unhappiness and disconnecting them from the family. Having Margo and Henry at the end of the table is tactful as well because they both are outsiders in this seemingly connected family both hoping to feel a sense of belonging within it. Richie's locatation at the kid's table draws attention to how all the children are living in their past with the way they dress, their stagnate lives, and inability to move on from their preconceived notions of their father. Furthermore, Wes Anderson pays close attention to details in order to capture the symbolic importance behind each character's mentality in order to make it obvious for the viewer.