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>.