Elise Booth Film Studies

'The Place Beyond The Pines' (2012) Scene Analysis The scene  opens with a wide shot that also acts as an establishing shot as it reveals where the scene takes pace, which is the fairground where the main character Luke (Ryan Gosling) works as a motorcycle stuntman.  After this  we see  him in a meeting with a man who is seemingly his manager .  The  mise - en - scene  features low key lighting  with subtle shadows cast , suggesting that  he is an unpleasant character, or that it is a place where Luke feels unhappy. In addition to this the whole film appears to have a certain aesthetic to it, a somewhat ‘gritty’ feel that expresses how the subject of the film focuses on the  more unpleasant side to modern day American life and that not everyone lives the ‘American dream’ that is often presented in movies , I found this particularly interesting as I noticed that Luke is often framed with an American flag behind him ( eg . In the...

Whitewashing in Drama/Fantasy Film History   The recently released ' Ghost In The Shell ' has been hit  with whitewashing accusations since the early days of its production. The reason being that what the film is  based  on  is about as Asian as things get: Japanese cult manga, ground-breaking anime, Hong Kong-inspired locations, Eastern philosophy-based story. Most of that’s been downright ignored with its big-screen adaptation, and Scarlett Johansson’s casting as the dark-haired, obviously originally Asian lead sent people into a rage.   Perhaps the most shocking  element  of this is that whitewashing in Hollywood is a problem dating back 100 years, since the very start of film – leading us to question, 'Why have we not moved on from this yet?'    One of the earliest and most famous examples of this would be in the 1915 production of 'Birth of a Nation',   directed by  DW Griffith,  it  has a reputat...

‘Crimson Peak’ (2015) Scene Analysis ‘Crimson Peak’ is a Fantasy/Mystery movie from the director Guillermo del Toro, famous for previous works such as ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. Here I will analyse one key scene that takes part towards the start of the movie, looking at the technical and literal aspects. The scene opens with the main character, a young woman Edith (Mia Wasikowska) walking down a dim-lit gothic corridor, this use of mise-en-scène suggests that the time period of the film is late 19th century or early 20th century, and the audience receives strong connotations of horror stereotypes, giving us the impression that something scary or unnatural is about to occur.  This hyper sense of reality also complies to the norms of the directors style. Looking at the character of Edith, del Toro has chosen to present her with long golden-blonde hair. This demonstrates her femininity which can lead the audience to believe that she is perhaps fragile and delicate, meaning that we feel mor...