Mise En Scene Essay 2 Alex

Mise on Scene on Nicholas Roeg's "Don't look now"

The Movie "Don't look now" by Nicholas Roeg was made in the year 1973.Everything you see in the scene has  to be seen in a time contemporary content (Costumes, Props etc)

In my essay I will be talking about the first scene of the movie.

In the first couple of seconds you see a blonde little girl with a shiny red jacket.The shiny red of the jacket could be a sign that the will be blood later on in the scene. She is pushing a wheelbarrow across a meadow. In the back of the meadow is a forest. The meadow is lighted by the rising sun.

The forest is still dark. The fact that the forest is dark could be a hint that something awful will be happening to her. In front of the forest is a white horse running from the left site of the screen to the right site of the screen. The colour white of the horse could be a metaphor for innocence. and the fact that the horse is riding from the left to the right could mean that it the innocence gets less dominant. 

Meanwhile the horse moves from the dominant left side to the less dominant right side of the screen, the girl is walking from the less dominant left site of the screen to the more dominant right site.

This could mean that she is still  aware of the situation she is in. But things get more and more out of control the closer she get's to the forest and the dark.

Than there is a cut. You can see her brother cycling around trees in curves. The fact that he is not riding is bike straight forward could also be a sign that something is wrong.

Switching back to her we are able to see the girl in a long shot with the dark trees in the foreground.

She is coming closer to the trees which means that she is getting closer to the dark shadowy forest.

She has two properties: A dark green doll sitting on her shoulder and a red and white  Ball which is laying on the ground.

She is picking up the red and white ball and throws it away on a lake. The ball is perfectly matching her. The white of the ball fit's to her hair and the red of the ball fit's to her jacket.

The colour red of the ball amplifies blood again.

After she throws the ball away she keeps on walking around the little lake and for a tiny bit you can see a red sign on the right bottom of the screen. And again the red amplifies blood. 

In the next scene you can see her brother having a branch in his hand dropping it and cycling in direction of the camera the camera angle is chosen like that, that you can see him cycling behind to trees.

After that you see the girl again bending down to the ground. In the back you can see the house of the parents witch is in quite a distance to her. So if anything would be happening to her her parents would be to far away to safe her. She is still on the left dominant site of screen. The camera is switching the angle and than you can see her bending down over the lake. The water of the lake seems dirty. The colour of the water is black. The camera zooms to the ground the red of the girls jacket get's reflected and we have a match cut switching to a fireplace. In the fireplace is a fire burning. Again we have the colour red. The camera zooms out and we are in the house of the kids parents.

In the house her parents are both sitting in the living room.Now we can see that her mom is wearing a blue pullover. The girls brother is wearing a blue pullover too. The blue of the mom's and brothers clothes are the exact opposite in the colour wheel, of the shiny red of the jacket of the little girl.

The dad is wearing a brown jacket and has long hair like a lot of men in the 70's had.

The dad is locking on photos of churches. An the photos you see something red on the right site of the image and a red figure in a window of the church. The camera is slightly moving to the right that you see the red bit a bit better. The red of this red bit on the picture could be standing for blood again.

In the next switch you see a reflection of the girl running on the site of the lake. The sequence you see is upside down. This could be a sign that something is not going on right. 

Than you see his brother again cycling. He is cycling a bit fast and we have another match cut. For a couple of frames you see the girl stepping in water with her feet. And than you see her brother riding his bike over a glass. The glass breaks and he falls of his bike and cut's his finger.

After that we are back in the living room again. We see the dad locking up. His impression is like he would sense that something is not going on right. There is a couple of frames we you can see the kitchen. The house in general is very untidy.

After that you can see the brother again with his bike turned upside down checking if his bike is okay. He is very far away from the "safe house". He is standing on the dominant left site of the screen. His bike has the colour red. Between him and the house is the lake.  The camera angle changes and you see his sister in a long shoot very far away from him is her red jacket. 

He does turn around a bit but doesn't really take notice of her.

Than there are a couple of matching frames. The Dad is throwing something to his wife. The girl throws the ball into the water again. And the frame changes again and the dad overturns a glass of water over his dias. He tries to safe his image . you see her brother with the bike on the left site of the screen. And the ball on the water spinning.

Than you see the image on the whole screen. You see how the red of the red bit on the dia of the church expands over the whole image. You see the dad locking up. The dad runs out of the room. You see the girl with her face turned up slowly drowning into the water. Her face is blank white.

You see her dad and her brother running in a long shot. You can see the distance the dad still has to run until he will arrive at his daughter. In the front you see the water. The red and white ball is on the water. The water is calm. Her dad is running into the water and dives under. 

There is another shoot of the mom. She doesn't seem to know what is going on.

Than you see the dia again. The red is further expanding on the image and taking a shape.

The frame changes and you see the dad taking his daughter out of the water. 

He has his daughter in his arm and screams.The water is deep dark. The red is in a strong contrast to the dark water. The wet jacket of the dad matches more the water.

The frame switches back to the dia . The red on the dia has now got his full shape. Suddenly a blue shape appears very fast. Together the red and blue are making a Ying Yang sign. The Ying yang sign is a buddism sign of peace. The Ying Yang sign could say Rest in Peace. 

Than you see her father with the girl next to the water giving his daughter first aid. The dad discovers that his daughter is dead. The frame changes to the brother who has his finger in his mouth because his finger is bleeding. The father carries his daughter back to the house and falls down to the ground ones. He is crying. You see her mother trough a window. She looks outside the window see's her husband with her dead daughter on the arm and screams. Her scream is a sound bridge to a drill which is spinning into a wall.

In the end I think that this is a very sad scene. 

You can clearly see how often Nicholas Roeg used the colour red to underline the dead of the girl.