Introduction to Film

Film Data

Title: Black Swan Director: Darren Aronofsky Date of Release: December 17, 2010 Country: United Stated Genre: Psychological thriller Budget: $13 million Box Office: $8,383,479 Source: http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=blackswan.htm

Synopsis

The film begins with Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) dreaming about dancing the white swan from Swan Lake. She wakes up and tells her mother, Erica (Barbara Hershey), about her dream and mentions that her director promised to feature her more this upcoming ballet season. Nina heads to the ballet studio and hears that the prima-ballerina Beth (Winona Ryder) is being forced to retire due to her old age. While the dancers are practicing the director of the company Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) walks in and announces they will be doing Swan Lake as their first ballet of the season, but the prima-ballerina that dances the white swan must also dance the evil black swan. Thomas goes around the room tapping girls on the shoulder and Nina looks around anxiously. He tells all the girls he tapped to attend their regular rehearsals and for the rest of them, including Nina, to meet him in another studio.

While she waits for the auditions Nina witnesses Beth throwing a tantrum in her dressing room and walking away angrily. Nina sneaks in and steals some of Beth’s things. Afterward Nina auditions for the Swan Queen and performs the white swan perfectly, but lacks the seductiveness of the black swan. While Nina does her audition a new dancer of the company, Lily (Mila Kunis), interrupts and Nina falters her pirouettes. Thomas tells Nina he’s seen enough and she goes home bursting into tears as her mother hugs her. She practices the black swan routine until her big toe nail cracks. The next morning Nina goes to Thomas’ office to ask for the part of the Swan Queen. He tells her he’s given the part to another dancer, Veronica (Ksenia Solo), and Nina starts walking out. Thomas stops her and asks her why she’s giving up the part so easily then kisses her passionately. Surprised by the sudden advance Nina bites Thomas, apologizes, and walks out of his office. Nina’s sudden change of character lands her the role of the Swan Queen.

Throughout the next couple of days the stress of the role takes its toll on Nina and she begins to develop a rash and has small hallucinations. Thomas holds a gala to raise money for the new production and present Nina as the Swan Queen. At the gala Nina hallucinates that she rips off a large piece of skin from her finger and finally meets Lily at the bathroom. At the end of the night Nina is confronted by Beth and asked if she had to perform oral sex on Thomas to land the lead role. Nina replies that not everyone has to do that and leaves to Thomas’ apartment. At his apartment Thomas asks intrusive questions about sex to Nina and instructs her to touch herself in order to better inhabit the black swan’s role. When Nina goes home her mother notices her rash has gotten worse and cuts her nails worrying that the role is too much pressure for Nina. The next morning Nina does as she’s told and begins to touch herself only to realize that her mother was sleeping in her room. At the ballet studio the company hears the news that Beth is in the hospital. Thomas suspects she ran into the street on purpose and now Beth can never dance again with two broken legs. Thomas tells Nina to focus on her role and learn to let herself go instead of striving for perfection, like Beth used to.

During one of the practices Thomas becomes increasingly frustrated with Nina’s restraint and control. He tells the other dancers to leave and begins to dance the prince’s role with Nina. He seduces Nina by touching her intimately and kissing her then walks away telling her she should be the one seducing him. Nina stays in the studio and cries when Lily finds her. Lily jokingly accuses Nina of being attracted to Thomas and Nina walks away angrily. The next day at rehearsals Thomas is more demanding of Nina and tells her that Lily told him she was crying. Thomas tells Nina she shouldn’t be whining and in turn Nina confronts Lily and tells her not to talk to Thomas about her again.

That night Lily goes to Nina’s apartment and at first Erica tells her to leave. Nina walks out to see who was at the door and Lily apologizes to her and asks her to go out. While reluctant at first Nina rebels against her mother and decides to go out. While Nina goes to the bathroom after their dinner she comes back and watches Lily pour ecstasy into her drink. Even though the dancers are scheduled to practice on the stage the next day Nina willingly drinks the ecstasy and decides to stay out late with Lily. They go to a club with two men and have a crazy night of dancing and sex. Nina walks out to go home and Lily follows her into a cab. At Nina’s place her mother confronts her about her drinking and drug use. She slaps Nina for being insolent so Nina barricades herself into her room with Lily. The two girls starts to kiss and Lily performs cunnilingus on Nina. When Lily is done she transforms into a darker Nina and smothers the real Nina with a pillow.

The following morning Nina wakes up late and alone and rushes to the studio only to find Lily dancing her part as the Swan Queen. After she dances Lily walks up to Nina warming up and tells her Thomas asked her to step in for Nina because she was late. Nina asks Lily why she didn’t wake her up in the morning and Lily tells her she went home with a man from last night. When Nina mentions what happened in her bedroom Lily is flattered that Nina had a lesbian wet-dream about her. Nina walks away feeling confused whether or not the night before had occurred. Nina learns that Thomas made Lily her understudy and becomes even more paranoid that Lily is out to take her part. While practicing alone in the studio that night Nina has severe hallucinations. Her hysteria peaks that night as she runs from the studio to Beth’s hospital room back to her apartment. All throughout the night she imagines crazy things such as Lily and Thomas having sex, Beth stabbing herself in the face, and the paintings her mother draws of her moving. Finally Nina’s psychotic episode culminates with her rash sprouting black feathers, her eyes becoming red, and her knees bending backward into swan-like features. Nina becomes disoriented by her hallucinated transformation and hits her head on her bed post as she falls.

The next day is the first night of the show and Nina’s mother attempted to lock her inside her room. Nina fights off her mother and rushes to the ballet to perform. Arriving late Thomas tells her he already asked Lily to step in and dance, but Nina tells him she will do the part no matter what. Nina dances her white swan just as rigid as she did in rehearsals. She gets distracted by watching Lily and her nervousness causes a loss of concentration during a lift which subsequently leads the male dancer to drop her. Embarrassed by her mistake Nina runs to her dressing room to cry. In the room she finds Lily in the black swan costume telling her she isn’t prepared to dance. As Lily turns around in her chair she morphs into Nina and the two begin to fight. Nina slams her double into the mirror, breaks it, and during the struggle stabs the black swan Nina, Lily, in the stomach. Lily lies dead at her feet and Nina hastens to hide her body in the bathroom.

Once Nina collects herself to changes into her black swan costume and goes out onto the stage. Nina performs the black swan perfectly, unleashing her darker side she had been trying to repress all throughout the film. Nina’s rash spreads throughout her body and quills start to emerge. As she goes out onto the stage for her final performance as the black swan she grows black feathers all over and ends the dance with full swan wings. Nina exits the stage and passionately kisses Thomas before going back out to take her bows. Nina returns to the dressing room to find a pool of blood forming underneath the bathroom door so she covers it with a towel. As Nina re-applies her white swan makeup there’s a knock on her door. She gets up and opens it to find Lily. Lily congratulates her on her performance as Nina becomes anxious and confused. Nina closes the door and removes to towel to find no blood, she looks down and realizes she had actually stabbed herself. She cries for a minute then steels herself and finishes applying her makeup. Nina goes on the stage to finish the ballet and dances so beautifully the audience fails to notice her blood stain. As Nina stands at the top of the stage, ready to kill herself as the white swan, she takes one last look at her mother’s proud face in the crowd and jumps onto the mattress behind the stage. Thomas and the rest of the troupe run to her to give her a round of applause. When Thomas tells her to take her final bows Lily gasps and notices the huge blood stain on Nina’s costume. Thomas tells the girls to get some help and asks Nina what she was done. Nina calmly and quietly tells him she felt it, she was perfect and the screen fades to white.

Commentary

The life within the New York City Ballet is hardly ever studied within film, and much less the psychological trauma that occurs to the ballerinas. Black Swan combines elements of horror and thriller movies to underscore the tension and anxiety these dancers go through. On a micro scale the film captures the psychological descent into paranoia and ultimately self-realization of Nina, a new prima-ballerina. The techniques and strategies used to create this film force audiences to experience the terror and helplessness that Nina must face within the confines of her mind.

The sound design within the film is essential in creating feelings of tension and suspense. Throughout the film moments where Nina is dancing her breaths are heightened. The synchronous sounds of Nina’s breathing, most likely added post-filming, highlight her efforts of dancing every move to the utmost perfection. One of the first scenes of the film, when Nina is waking up from her dream, the sounds of her toes cracking are very high in volume. This of course points to the fact that she is a dancer and along with the close up of her feet this is a moment of intimacy between Nina and the audience. Already the audience knows she is the focus of the film and the most important part of her body as a ballerina is on full display for them.

Recurring sound effects throughout the film bring attention to Nina’s body and her inner psyche. Perhaps the most notable recurring sound is a distorted breath followed by a laugh that plays whenever the darker side of Nina surfaces within her. The laugh is associated with Nina’s double or shadow, so the audience becomes aware that Nina’s double is twisted and dark. Key moments when the laugh is played are; the opening title, when Nina steals Beth’s lipstick, when she bites Thomas while he kisses her, when she sees the word “whore” written on the mirror after she gets the role of swan queen, when she tells Beth not everyone has to “suck cock” to get key roles, practically every scene that she runs into Lilly or thinks she sees herself, and most notably when she kisses Lilly in her room.

Much like the laugh is Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake score. The filmmakers were able to utilize the most dramatic music from Swan Lake and incorporate it into scenes in the film pairing it with the melodrama to arise a sense of terror in audiences. For example the scenes where Nina has her psychotic breakdown at the dance studio and the hospital where Beth is, Tchaikovsky’s music is used to heighten Nina’s fear and paranoia. As Nina enters Beth’s room and places the stolen items in front of her the music softens until suddenly Beth grabs Nina’s hand and the music slowly intensifies and reaches peak volume as Nina sees herself stabbing her face instead of Beth. The same intensification of Tchaikovsky’s music happens immediately after when Nina goes home and is severely hallucinating. Other instances where sound is used to intensify feelings of anxiety is when the filmmakers used Foley sounds of bird wings flapping, insect-like noises, dirt rubbing, and the twisting of tree bark, over Nina’s metamorphosis into the black swan both in her hallucinations and in her final dance.

Black Swan is filmed entirely through handheld cameras in order to achieve the look of a documentary. It adds an organic feel to the film, the shaky camera lens heightens the feelings of fear. Due to the film’s real look audiences will empathize more with Nina and have a sense of living through her experiences. The further into madness Nina goes, the more the camera moves and signifies Nina’s loss of control. The film is a closed movie and utilizes medium close-ups and close-ups of Nina and the other characters. These types of shots not only capture the intense emotion given by the actors but it also signifies that the majority of the film plays out within the minds of these characters; especially Nina’s. The camera, in various instances, follows directly behind Nina when she walks signifying that the movie is told through her point of view and also to add to Nina’s belief that someone is always watching her.

The proximity of the camera on Nina gives meaning to her final dance as the black swan when she looks straight into the camera multiple times. Mastering the dance and accepting her darker side Nina is able to look at the audience confidently and revert the feelings of anxiety unto them.

Two of the film’s most effective techniques to emanate the horror and thriller genre is its use of mirrors and physical injuries. Given the important role mirrors play in the ballet world it was evident to the filmmakers that mirrors would be inevitable. However, mirrors are also a huge symbol in psychology for identity and loss of identity. Almost every shot in the film involving mirrors was manipulated with the use of green screens to add a creepy factor. The notion of having a double and scaring audiences with that psychological fear is heightened through the use of mirrors. The following scenes are examples of when mirrors are not faithfully showing what is in front of them, instead they show Nina’s double.

Nina’s rash on her back is almost always shown on screen in a close-up shot. Eerie Foley sounds deepen the meaning behind her rash and the heightened sound of her nails scratching it also point to Nina’s psychosis. The film uses nail injuries to trigger feelings of anxiety in the audience. Nails are a common feature of the body to everyone, and they are also one of the most sensitive parts of the body. Injuries to the skin beneath the nail are extremely painful and the film makes use of this common feeling by showing any nail injury through close-up and medium close-up shots. Some examples include; Nina’s broken toe nail, her mother cutting her nails and finger with a scissor, Nina pulling the skin around her nail, and Nina’s double forcefully cutting her finger with a scissor.

One of the most prevalent themes in Black Swan is the existence of double personalities. Throughout the film Nina is plagued by the thought of Lilly surpassing her talents. In reality Nina is seeing a darker side of herself within Lilly, a side she cannot seem to embody consciously. A useful perspective to use when interpreting Black Swan is the theories written by Carl Jung. The concept of a double or a doppelganger is an integral part of Jung’s theory of individuation, or self-realization, coined by the term “shadow.” A person’s shadow, in Jung’s view, is the representation of the parts of oneself that are repressed and hated. A person can either repress their shadow or project it unto someone else. Confronting and accepting one’s shadow is the first step to self-realization. The second step would be to confront a person’s anima or animus, female and male components of the psyche respectively. The anima would be represented by a female and the animus by a male, according to the times when Jung lived. In today’s modern society the anima and animus can be interpreted by gender binaries imposed socially. In other words, a man must accept the aspects of himself that are deemed “feminine,” and a woman aspects that are deemed “masculine.” In the film Nina’s animus would be the ballet director Thomas. All throughout the film Thomas intimidates and seduces Nina, forcing her to capture the essence of the black swan. When Nina effectively seduces Thomas and aggressively kisses him she took on the more traditionally “masculine” role and accepted her animus. 

The film uses various cues to cast Lilly as Nina’s shadow. The first scene when they meet is in the subway; Nina thinks she sees herself, but she actually sees Lilly leaving the subway. In the scene Nina is dressed in a light pink coat and a white scarf. Lilly is dressed in black and gray. Early in the film the dichotomy and symbol of black and white is presented, and it is used throughout the rest film. Lilly is always dressed in black clothing when Nina is wearing white and pink. The black and white symbol is used in countless of films and other media to represent good and evil, or simply opposites. The film uses the dichotomy to represent the conscious and unconscious parts of a person’s psyche. In almost every scene where Lilly appears Nina sees herself for a couple of frames, she is projecting her anxiety and fears unto Lilly.

Nina is an innocent and sheltered girl. Growing up under the tight control of her mother, Nina is unable to tap into her more sexual and seductive nature. The production design in Nina’s room is meant to give the feeling of childlike innocence. It is the only setting in the film where the color scheme is filled with warm tones of pink. The rest of the film’s look in its sets is cold and unsettling; bathed in black and white and hues of gray. Nina is pressured to become a great ballerina, unlike her mother who failed, so she strives to dance every ballet step to perfection. Whereas Lilly is much more carefree and seductive; her moves are described in the film as, “imprecise but effortless.” Nina struggles to dance the black swan when Lilly seems to be made for the part. In turn Nina grows resentful and wary of Lilly.

Thomas, Nina’s animus, is presented as aggressive and demanding. He disturbingly forces himself on Nina under the guise of helping her. Thomas’ actions towards Nina are always aggressive, leaving Nina to feel submissive towards him and even attracted to him. In the scene where he dances with Nina he kisses her, touches her breasts, and feels her intimately then abruptly leaves and tells her she should be seducing him, not the other way around. The only moment Nina is aggressive towards him early in the film is when she bites him. The black and white symbolism is also used in the relationship between Nina and Thomas. Thomas’ wardrobe always has elements of black.

At the end of the film Nina is finally able to accept her shadow and animus, reaching individuation right before she dies. Nina conquers her shadow in the dressing room when she presumably stabs Lilly. The film uses match-cuts on action and special effects to switch between Nina and Lilly in the black swan costume. When Nina finally stabs Lilly and declares that it’s her turn she goes on to give the performance of her career as the black swan. VXF effects are used to create the rash on her skin to cover her upper body, and they eventually transform to quills. As she dances the black swan feathers are added to her body until they cover it entirely. By the end of the dance she has full swan wings symbolizing her inner transformation. 

As soon as she steps off the stage she conquers her animus by passionately kissing and seducing Thomas in front of the rest of the dancers. After Nina realizes that she had stabbed herself she accepts her death and finds peace in it. Nina danced perfectly and she knew she did, her slow fall as the camera dollies into her face shows her completely peaceful. She is no longer suffering to reach perfection because she let herself go and reached it, accepting her shadow and animus.

Film Data

Title: Howl's Moving Castle Director: Hayao Miyazaki Date of Release: November 20, 2004 Country: Japan Genre: Animated Fantasy Budget: $24 million Box Office: $427,987 Source: http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=howlsmovingcastle.htm

Synopsis

The film begins with Sophie (Emily Mortimer), an 18-year-old, working in her late father’s hat shop. She soon meets a powerful and handsome wizard named Howl (Christian Bale) who escorts her to her little sister’s workplace through flight. Later that night Sophie returns to the hat shop where the jealous Witch of the Waste (Lauren Bacall) casts a curse on Sophie turning her into an old woman (voiced by Jean Simmons) . Sophie decides to go to the Wastes to look for a cure to the curse. Along the way she finds and helps a cursed living scarecrow and calls him Turnip Head. In gratitude of being saved Turnip Head helps Sophie find Howl’s castle – a large, mechanical, magical, moving house. Inside the castle Sophie meets Howl’s apprentice Markl (Josh Hutcherson) and the fire-demon Calcifer (Billy Crystal) who powers the castle with his magic. Sophie promises Calcifer she’ll help break the spell that bounds him to the house if he helps her break the spell she’s under. When Howl appears Sophie announces she’s hired herself as the cleaning lady.

The country where Sophie lived is in the middle of a war with the neighboring nation due to the missing Crown Prince. Howl’s castle is magically linked to two parts of the nation where Howl lives under two aliases. The King has summoned Howl in both parts of the nation so Howl asks Sophie to pose as one of his fake mothers and tell the King he cannot partake in the war. Howl gives Sophie a ring that connects her to Calcifer which assures a safe return, and promises to follow her in disguise. At the palace, Sophie runs into an asthmatic dog, Heen, who she thinks is Howl undercover. She also meets the Witch of the Waste, whom Suliman (Blythe Danner), the king's magic advisor, punishes by draining all of her power, causing her to regress into a harmless old woman. Suliman tells Sophie that Howl will meet the same fate if he does not contribute to the war. As Sophie defends Howl, the Witch's spell temporarily weakens revealing Sophie's true form due to the passion in her words. Suliman guesses Sophie is in love with Howl and she immediately regresses to the old woman. Howl then arrives to rescue Sophie under the guise of the King. Suliman tries to trap Howl but with the help of Sophie, they manage to escape, taking Heen and the former Witch of the Waste with them.

Sophie learns that Howl transforms into a bird-like creature in order to interfere in the war, but each transformation makes it more difficult for him to return to human form. Sophie's mother—under Suliman's control—arrives and leaves behind a bag containing a "peeping bug" under her orders. The former Witch of the Waste discovers it and promptly destroys the bug by tossing it into Calcifer, who then gets sick after eating, rendering him unable to protect the castle from being discovered due to his weakened state.

A few hours later, Sophie returns to her young form just as the city is carpet bombed by enemy aircraft. Suliman's henchmen invade the flower shop Howl made for Sophie. After protecting the flower shop from the bombing, Howl draws the guards away just after healing Calcifer and tells Sophie he is not going to run away anymore because he has something he wants to protect, Sophie. Afterwards, he takes his leave. Deducing that Howl is trying to protect the castle and everyone inside it, Sophie moves everyone out, removes Calcifer from the fireplace and destroys the castle. She offers Calcifer her braid, allowing him to power a portion of the remaining castle. They head toward Howl, in order to let him know that the flower shop is not attached to the castle anymore when the former Witch of the Waste realizes that Howl has given his heart to Calcifer, just like Sophie did with her hair. The Witch takes Calcifer and refuses to let go of him although it is burning her. A panicked Sophie pours water onto the Witch of the Waste, which douses Calcifer, making him lose his magical strength and power. The castle is split in two; Sophie and Heen fall down a chasm, while Markl, the Witch of the Waste and Calcifer continue traveling on the disintegrating castle.

Making her way toward Howl's heart with the ring that Howl gave her as a protective charm, Sophie enters through the broken door of the castle into the black region and discovers a recollection of how Howl and Calcifer met: as a boy, Howl took pity on a falling (dying) star—Calcifer—and gave it his heart. The act bound Calcifer to Howl indefinitely; however, by losing his heart, Howl was emotionally trapped in adolescence. Sophie finds Howl, having now lost his human consciousness in bird form. They head back to Calcifer, accompanied by the Witch of the Waste and Markl who are on a plain wooden platform, the only remaining part of the former castle, moving on the edge of a cliff. Sophie asks the Witch for Howl's heart. She gives it to her and Sophie places the heart back inside Howl, returning him to life and freeing Calcifer. With Calcifer gone, the remaining platform collapses and starts falling down the mountain. Turnip Head saves the plaftorm by putting his pole against the falling platform. Sophie warmly kisses Turnip Head on the cheek as thanks, which breaks his curse revealing that he is actually the missing prince (Crispin Freeman) from the neighboring country and was trapped in the form of a scarecrow until he received a true love's kiss. Although Calcifer is now free, he returns to his former company. Heen shows the scene of the happy end and the discovery of the missing prince to Suliman, and Suliman decides to put an end to the war. Howl, Sophie and the others are seen high above the bomber planes upon a new flying castle, while the bombers return from the war.

Commentary

From the great mind and skill of director Hayao Miyazaki, Howl’s Moving Castle is a wondrous film that beautifully presents a world full of magic, war, and love. Based on the novel by J Howl’s is a story about self-realization. The characters of Sophie and Howl go through a journey of introspection and growth amidst their adventures in a war filled world. The film uses physical changes in the characters to represent the internal changes going through their sense of self. The war occurring throughout the film was actually an addition to the story by Miyazaki influenced by the Iraq war at the time. External circumstances in the film serve as a catalyst for the change within the characters. Another staple of Miyazaki’s films present in Howl’s is the lack of a clear cut between good and evil in people. Most of the characters in the film are seen as morally ambivalent. It’s an interesting aspect to note given that Disney dubbed and released the film in the United States. Disney animated films are replete with obvious differences in the characterizations of their villains and heroes. Miyazaki does not present either character as inherently good or inherently evil. As an animated film one of the most important aspects that makes Howl’s work is the stylistic design. Coming from Studio Ghibli it is no surprise to see the same aspect of hand drawn scenery combined with digitally composed images resulting in breathtaking animation. The music in the film is also necessary to achieve the sense of wonder and whimsy in the scenes that highlight the love between Howl and Sophie as well as their growth as people.

The most prominent metamorphosis in the film is Sophie’s. Sophie starts the film as a shy girl with low self-esteem and a very limited view of her life. She feels the need, as the oldest sister, to continue her father’s business and continue working at the hat shop. Sophie wears plain clothes and her long brown hair in a braid. She is soft spoken and doesn’t think much of herself.

After the Witch of the Waste casts the spell to make Sophie appear old she thinks her state actually suits her. Old age usually represents people who are weak and mundane, they are seen as lacking vivacity and life. Sophie’s curse initially gives her a hump, deep wrinkles, and the necessity of a cane to walk.

However throughout the film Sophie’s age fluctuates between very old, middle-aged, and her actual young age. Scenes where she is seen as young reflect her emotions of self-worth, courage, love, and fulfillment. As soon as Sophie regresses into feelings of pity she grows old once again.

The last scenes of the film is when Sophie finally accepts who she is and finds the courage to be vulnerable and intimate in the face of Howl’s love. The only difference in her physical appearance by the end of the film is the color of her hair symbolizing her growth as a person who values, respects, and loves herself.

Hair color is also prevalent in Howl’s metamorphosis. Howl is known as a devilish womanizer who will eat any girl’s heart. In reality Howl is just a vain wizard who hasn’t matured and runs away from his responsibilities. In the beginning of the film he uses various potions and magical spells to keep his appearance a certain way; most specifically is his colored blonde hair.

He uses his magic to continuously move his castle and maintain different identities in the cities his castle resides. Howl also avoids partaking in the war, he just watches what it’s doing to the country. Doing so he changes his physical appearance into his alter ego of a giant bird. His form changes in regards to his emotions as well. The more hopeless he feels regarding the war and the inevitability of fighting the more terrifying his bird form is and the more difficult it is for him to change back into a human. This difficulty symbolizes what war does to people. War takes away a person’s humanity and forces regular people to turn into monsters, much like the wizards who turned into monsters in the film.

However, when Howl is filled with a sense of duty, specifically protecting those he loves, his bird form is heroic and majestic.

It’s important to note that at the end of the film Howl clearly has chosen to keep his hair the same color it was when he was a boy, even after he got back his heart. His physical transformations throughout the film highlight Howl’s growth in maturity and his ability to take responsibilities and face adversities head first.

One of the main “villains” of the film is the Witch of the Waste who is responsible for cursing Sophie. Although she is dressed in black throughout the film, a typical stylistic choice for animated villains, the film shows that the witch is capable of good.

Once she is forcefully reverted to her actual age, stripped of her magic, she is no longer rude. In fact the Witch takes on some dementia-like symptoms. Her outward appearance reflects her inner feelings of being lost without her magic. Ultimately the Witch proves to be selfless when she gives Sophie Howl’s heart at the end of the film. The Witch had craved Howl’s heart for years and even though it was tight in her grasp she knew Sophie and Howl loved each other and did the right thing.

The scenery in Howl’s Moving Castle is absolutely stunning and helps to create the beautiful magical world where the film takes place. Miyazaki uses bright and vivid colors for the hand-painted mountain ranges, city landscapes, and sea-side ports. These vivid pictures reflect the themes of life and heart affirmation present in the film.

Film Data

Title: The Lion King Director: Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff Date of Release: June 15, 1994 Country: United States Genre: Animated Musical Budget: $45 million Box Office: $1,586,753 Source: http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lionking.htm

Synopsis

The film begins at a ceremony in the safari in Africa. The lion king Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and Queen Sarabi (Madge Sinclair) are presenting their newborn Simba to all the animals in the kingdom at the top of Pride Rock. The birth of Simba make Mufasa’s brother Scar (Jeremy Irons) incredibly jealous and wrathful because he is no longer heir to the throne. When Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) has grown into a cub Mufasa gives him a tour of the kingdom, known as the Pride Lands, and teaches him about the responsibilities of being a king. Later that day Scar tricks Simba into exploring the forbidden elephant graveyard, a place Mufasa explicitly told him was outside the borders of the kingdom. Simba takes his best friend Nala (Niketa Calame) and they are able to shake off their chaperone bird Zazu (Rowan Atkinson), Mufasa’s most trusted advisor.

At the graveyard Simba, Nala, and the caught up Zazu are attacked by three hyenas, Shenzi (Whoopi Goldberg), Banzai (Cheech Marin), and Ed (Jim Cummings). Alerted by Zazu Mufasa intervenes and fends off the hyenas. Mufasa chastises Simba and tells him that he is only ever brave when he needs to be. He tells Simba about the great kings in the sky watching over them, and that someday he will be up there watching over Simba. The hyenas fled to their hideout where their ally Scar waits for them. That night they plan to murder Mufasa so Scar can be king. The following day Scar takes Simba to the gorge and tells him to wait for a surprise. He signals to the hyenas and they create a stampede of wildebeests into the gorge. Scar alerts Mufasa and stops Zazu from getting any more help. Simba desperately tried to dodge the wildebeest and clings to a low branch. Mufasa arrive in time to save Simba and tries to save himself by climbing the wall of the gorge. He begs Scar to help him up but Scar claws his paws and forces Mufasa to fall to his death. When Simba finds Mufasa’s body Scar is able to convince him that it was his fault and urges him to run away from the kingdom. As Simba flees Scar orders the hyenas to kill him but Simba is able to escape. Scar returns to pride rock and informs the lionesses of the king and prince’s death then assumes the throne brining the pack of hyenas into the Pride Lands.

Simba is later found in the desert severely dehydrated by the meerkat Timon (Nathan Lane) and the warthog Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella). They raise Simba in the jungle and teach him to live by their motto, “hakuna matata,” which means no worries. When Simba is a young adult (voiced by Matthew Broderick) he saves Pumbaa who was being hunted by a lioness. The lioness turns out to be Nala (voiced by Moira Kelly) who informs him that the Pride Lands have turned into a wasteland with no food or water. After they spend the night reconciling, and falling in love, Nala begs Simba to come home and take his rightful place as the king but Simba refuses due to his guilt of killing his father. Simba storms off into the deep jungle and is found by Mufasa’s old friend Rafiki (Robert Guillaume). Rafiki leads Simba into a pond telling him that Mufasa is still alive inside of Simba. Shortly after Simba is visited by the ghost of Mufasa in the sky telling Simba that he has forgotten who he is and therefore forgotten his father. Mufasa tells Simba that he must remember who he is and take his rightful place as king. Simba realizes he can no longer run from his past and decides to go home. Timon, Pumbaa, and Nala agree to help him fight to win back the Pride Lands.

When the group arrives to the wastelands that was once Simba’s home war breaks out between the lions and hyenas. Simba confronts Scar and his uncle forces him to take the blame for Mufasa’s death. Simba and Mufasa fight until Simba is clinging to the wall of a rock in the same position his father was killed. Scar reveals that he was the one who killed Mufasa and Simba leaps up and forces Scar to reveal the truth. Scar begs Simba for mercy and tries to blame the hyenas for Mufasa’s death. When Simba shows him mercy and exiles him Scar attacks him once again. Simba fights Scar and is able to throw him off the ledge of Pride Rock. Although Scar survives the fall he is cornered by the hyenas who end up killing him due to his betrayal.

Simba then walks up to the top of Pride Rock and roars to symbolize him becoming king. Sometime later the Pride Lands are restored to their former glory and all the animals have reunited at Pride Rock once again. Simba stands at the top with Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa. Rafiki steps up to reveal Simba and Nala’s newborn to the rest of the animals.

Commentary

Seen with adult and critical eyes, as opposed to the wondrous and naïve mindset of childhood, The Lion King is not only a fun film about the rise of a king, but it is more importantly a basis for morality. Two themes presented in The Lion King which struck me most deal with the depiction of light and dark and the presence of the seven deadly sins. Both themes are critical in The Lion King’s lessons.

The difference between light and dark in film symbolizes the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Light in the movie represents good. When Rafiki lifts Simba up, immediately the sky parts and light is beamed down upon him. The audience therefore knows that Simba is good; he will be the hero of the story.

Shortly after Simba is pronounced as the hero, Scar is immediately presented as the villain. He is hidden in the shadows of a cave, and even his stylistic choices are dark; he is the only lion with a black mane. While some may argue this artistic choice is racist, I disagree. The black mane serves to add a permanent shadow over Scar’s appearance. Even when he is in the light, the shadow he carries on himself reminds the audience that he is the villain. In almost every instance where Scar is shown, it is beneath the shadows.

The Pride Lands represent a kingdom of good, where the king who rules is just, as Mufasa is. The shadow lands, a place Mufasa specifically warns Simba to stay away from, are beyond the limits of the kingdom and they are home to hyenas. As Zazu mentions after, the hyenas are nothing more than “slobbering mangy stupid poachers.” Therefore, those who consciously live within the shadows are evil and cannot be part of the heavenly kingdom.

Simba’s fall from innocence occurs once he disobeys Mufasa and consciously steps into the shadow. He allowed himself to be tricked by Scar, a scene where both Scar and Simba were shown underneath a shadow, and made a choice that is inherently wrong.

The Lion King in this sense presents an instance where disobeying one’s parents is the equivalent of a sinful action, much like the Ten Commandments stresses that one must honor their father and mother.

It’s important to note that there is a difference between the darkness of night and that of the shadows in the movie. When Simba or any other character is consciously in the shadows they are outside of the boundaries of good and into that of wrong. Night, however, is inevitable; the movie uses night as a time for moral ambiguity. The following scenes occurring at night highlight the struggles Simba faces in his morality.

In his older age, Simba is shown as confused and troubled during the night. When he recalls his father’s words about the stars in the sky, he shrugs it off as “pretty dumb” just as Timon and Pumbaa do; however it is clear that thoughts of his abandoned responsibility trouble him. Simba’s inner turmoil is at its peak after Nala goes to visit him, again, during the night. He is confused and feel hopelessly lost until Rafiki guides him and he is confronted by Mufasa’s spirit. Light once again plays a role when Mufasa appears to Simba. Mufasa is the light in the sky, the voice of reason and Simba’s ultimate guide. Once Simba has seen this light he is able to understand his place, and the actions he must take in order to assume his responsibility. Of course, in the end, the light Mufasa represents, as Rafiki told Simba, is actually within him.

The Lion King teaches the audience that during the night, in other words, in times of moral ambiguity, one has to find the light within oneself. It is the strength in one’s own character that will help them make the choice between what is right and what it wrong.

Scar’s musical number “Be Prepared” clearly presents five of the seven deadly sins. The most evident is pride. At the beginning of the song Scar demands attention from the hyenas because his words “are a matter of pride.” Scar believes he is the rightful king, the only one suitable for the job, and he is sure that as king, he will be “seen for the wonder [he] is.” Next is envy; Scar is clearly envious of his family’s right to rule, from Mufasa to Simba skipping him completely. The jealously is further pronounced with abundance of green in the color scheme of the scene.

Greed is also present in Scar; he wants all of the power simply because he’s never had it, “decades of denial is simply why I’ll be king undisputed.” The scene also features a high angle shot reminiscent of Nazi and Hitler power/greed. This shot appears to be drawn as a parallel to shots from The Triumph of the Will. The following shot continues the Nazi theme but from a low angle placing Scar as the most powerful character.

The wrath in Scar’s song is present in the deed Scar wants to commit; the murder of Mufasa and Simba. Wrath is also present by the presence of red in the scene.

Finally, gluttony is presented through the hyenas. All the hyenas worry over is whether or not they will have food in the new rule, Scar of course promises that they “will never go hungry again” and at the end of the song, the hyenas chant, “we’ll have food, lots of food, we repeat, endless meat.” While lust and sloth don’t necessarily make an appearance, I believe it is evident that Scar represents the different aspects of sin. The final shot of this scene is overwhelmingly dark and Scar's placement at the top of the frame further emphasizes his role as the main villain capable of the most evil.

Film Data

Title: We Need to Talk About Kevin Director: Lynne Ramsay Date of Release: October 21, 2011 Country: United Kingdom Genre: Psychological Drama Budget: $7 million Box Office: $24,587 Source: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=weneedtotalkaboutkevin.htm

Synopsis

The film is told in a discontinuous order through flashbacks and short scenes of the present day and life of Eva Khatchadourian (Tilda Swinton). Eva’s memories tell the story that ultimately culminates in the massacre her son, Kevin (Ezra Miller), commits in his high school. The story in the present takes place after the crime when Eva attempts to regain control of her life. She lives in a small rundown house where neighbors are constantly torturing her for the crime her son committed. In the beginning of the film Eva wakes up to her house vandalized with red paint. One of the steps Eva takes to return to normalcy is apply for a job at a mundane travel agency at a local shopping center. Parents of Kevin’s victims routinely harass her throughout the film; a woman slaps her on the street and another ruins her carton of eggs at the supermarket. Eva lives close to the prison where Kevin is held and periodically visits him only to be quiet and uncomfortable during the visits.

The flashbacks in the film present Eva’s fall into despair as she hesitantly becomes a mother and struggles raising Kevin. Eva was once a free-spirited and successful travel writer before she reluctantly bears a child with Franklin (John C. Reilly). Kevin proves to be a difficult baby, he doesn’t stop wailing and drives Eva crazy. As a toddler Kevin is unresponsive and uncooperative while Eva is quickly frustrated by his behavior. When Kevin is a kid, of about 6 or 7 years of age, Franklin convinces Eva to move to a large house in the suburbs. The move out of NYC only adds to Eva’s dissatisfaction. Kevin is a terrible child; he ruins Eva’s decorative maps, annoys her with a made-up language, refuses to learn basic toilet training, and shows no respect for Eva whatsoever. Throughout Kevin’s childhood Eva clearly does not know how to be nurturing. She is tense and has a temper when it comes to Kevin. In one scene Kevin soils his diaper twice just to spite Eva and she throws him against a wall breaking his arm. Kevin uses his scar to blackmail and guilt Eva into doing his bidding such as forcing her to take him home instead of doing errands. The only moment where Eva seems to bond with Kevin is when he is sick. Eva comforts him and Kevin even snuggles up to her when she reads him a story about Robin Hood. Kevin becomes so attached to Robin Hood that Franklin buys him a bow and arrow set. As Kevin grows up he becomes an excellent marksman foreshadowing the shooting he commits at his school.

As a teenager Kevin continues to psychologically torture Eva. As he begins to show more psychopathic behaviors Eva has no one to turn to given that Franklin rebuffed her concerns when Kevin was a child. While Kevin is still a child Eva takes it upon herself to have another child. This time she has a girl, Celia (Ashley Gerasimovich). When Kevin is a teenager Celia is a loving and cheerful little girl eliciting jealous feelings from Kevin. Eva shows Celia much more affection and this prompts Kevin to further torture his mom. When Celia’s pet hamster is found dead in the garbage disposal, and soon afterwards Celia has a severe eye injury with caustic cleaning fluid resulting in needing a glass eye Eva immediately suspects Kevin is at fault. Eva’s suspicion and Franklin’s ignorance leads to growing tension in their marriage and they begin to talk about divorce. It is at this time in their marriage that Kevin starts planning the massacre. Kevin locks the gymnasium doors at his school with bicycle locks and starts shooting down students with his professional bow and arrow set. As Eva hurries to the school after being told there is an urgent situation she recognizes the bicycle lock being cut open by the firefighters and realizes this is Kevin’s doing. Kevin walks out peacefully and imagines the angered screams of the students and parents are applauses. He allows himself to be arrested and Eva goes back home. At the house Eva finds Franklin and Celia bloodied and dead in the backyard where Kevin killed them before going to the school.

The last scene of the film takes place on the second anniversary of the shooting. Eva goes to visit Kevin and for the first time he looks completely terrified. He’s about to turn 18 which means he will be moved to a larger prison for adults. When Eva asks him why he did what he did he anxiously answers that he doesn’t really know anymore. They share an emotional hug, Kevin clinging to Eva and Eva holding his head in a nurturing manner.

Commentary

We Need to Talk About Kevin is a chilling film that depicts the nightmare scenario of any adult who plans on having children. The film is told through the memories of Eva. As she struggles to regain her life the tragedy orchestrated by Kevin flashes through the screen in bits and pieces. Eva remembers key moments throughout Kevin's life that may contributed to Kevin's volatile behavior. The expressionistic style of direction points to the subjectivity of the incident. The director, Lynne, suggests it is very difficult to blame either Eva or Kevin solely. 

The United States has created an image of mothers and children that is essentially and solely consisting of love and nurturance. White upper-class society houses the ideal mother of the United States, one who has few children and dotes on them excessively in order to create successful citizens. We Need to Talk About Kevin presents the social and cultural constructions and limitations of “mother” and “child” through the total antithetical performances of these roles by Eva and Kevin. The behaviors displayed by the two characters refute the preconceived meanings of “mothers” and “children” in the cultural context of the U.S.

As early as pregnancy, Eva does not display the culturally normal behavior mothers are expected to perform. Eva is somewhat disgusted by the state of pregnancy, this is seen when she flinches away from the pregnant women who have their belly exposed as opposed to Eva who covers hers in loose clothes.

The scene after childbirth especially tests the notion of mothers automatically feeling a bond towards their child. Eva and Kevin do not create this bond; Eva sits on her hospital bed and looks utterly defeated while Kevin is being held by Franklin, the father. The image of a mother wanting to hold her child and smiling down at the baby immediately after childbirth has been socially ingrained into the U.S.’s image of motherhood; the film shows a drastic opposite.

Eva’s behavior towards Kevin as a baby challenges the notion of motherhood in the sense that she does not seem completely enamored or happy to take care of him. Kevin’s constant screaming as a baby points to the fact that Eva seems incapable of being a mother. The people who witness Kevin’s screams judge Eva for not doing her job as a mother and consoling her baby. Even though Eva does the best she can to soothe Kevin society is quick to question her skills as a mother. Eva’s endeavor to teach Kevin how to talk and how to do simple tasks such as rolling a ball, counting, and using the toilet properly reveal how easily frustrated she is by him. In contrast to the expected notions of society where mothers are patient with their child and happy to teach them manners and how to behave Eva is only stressed by Kevin and aggravated when his behavior is difficult. Eva's frustration is shown through close-up and medium close-up shots of Tilda Swinton's facial expressions.

A mother is socially viewed as the most loving and caring parent in the kinship system, however Eva proves to be the opposite; her feelings towards Kevin are in sharp contrast to what mothers are expected to feel towards their children, “Mommy was happy before little Kevin came along, did you know that? Now Mommy wakes up every morning wishing she was in France.” Eva’s resentment towards Kevin most likely stems from the fact that society imposes on her the duty to raise him.

Before having Kevin Eva was a free spirit, she traveled and wrote about her travels for a living. In the opening scene of the movie Eva is in pure bliss, completely unburdened by any child.

After having Kevin Eva has to sacrifice her love of travel, her love of the city in order to properly take care of Kevin. Kevin’s atrocious crime leads to Eva being ostracized within her community because it was her supposed duty to manufacture a perfect member of society and she failed. Eva is blamed for Kevin’s actions because society is wholly incapable of blaming the child; they instead blame the mother or outside forces. Childhood has been socially and culturally constructed as a time of innocence. Children are seen as blank slates, completely unaffected by adult issues because adults need this spectacle to combat their anxieties about the future. 

The film suggests that the causes of the tragedy do not lie in outside forces or in Eva’s parental skill; the cause is Kevin. Kevin is a character that totally debunks the notion that children are innocent. He is incredibly confrontational towards his mother and seems to make it his life mission to torture Eva. The actors portraying Kevin have a consistent look in their face in the moments when he takes pleasure causing Eva pain. Once again the camera captures this sinister look through medium close-ups and close-ups.

Kevin’s evil nature doesn’t lie solely in his treatment and behavior towards Eva, but also in his complete manipulation of Franklin. Kevin is incredibly aware that Franklin adheres to the belief that all children are innocent, and he takes advantage of this fact by putting on a façade in front of his father that contradicts Eva’s accusations of his evil. Franklin says, “He’s just a boy. He’s a sweet little boy. That’s what boys do,” referring to the sandwich Kevin smashed against the table just for the purpose of spiting Eva. Franklin’s comments are the prototypical speech parents give about their unruly children, but in the case of Kevin he acts out just so he can get a reaction from Eva. Even when it is clear to the audience and Eva that Kevin killed Celia’s hamster, and intentionally harmed Celia’s eye Franklin refuses to accept the possibility.

Film Data

Title: Never Let Me Go Director: Mark Romanek Date of Release: September 3, 2010 Country: United Kingdom Genre: Science Fiction Drama Budget: $15 million Box Office: $111,734 Source: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=neverletmego.htm

Synopsis

The film begins with captions on the screen describing a medical breakthrough that occurred in 1952 that now allows people to live up to 100 years. The captions cut to a surgery table where a young man, Tommy (Andrew Garfield), is being prepared for an operation. Tommy looks toward a viewing window where 28 year-old Kathy H (Carey Mulligan) is watching and narrating the story. Kathy begins reminiscing about her life; Hailsham, the Cottages, and life afterwards.

The first act of the film is in 1968 at Hailsham, the English boarding school Kathy attended. At the school 12 year-old Kathy (Isobel Meikle-Small) and her friends Tommy (Charlie Rowe) and Ruth (Ella Purnell) grow up and play games as in any other boarding school. Tommy has anger issues and screams when the other boys pick on him and leave him out of games. When Kathy tries to comfort him he accidentally hits her. However, Kathy forgives him and feelings begin to grow between the two. Tommy gives Kathy a record tape as a present and soon Ruth begins to notice the flowering romance. Soon afterwards Ruth starts a relationship with Tommy and Kathy is hurt. However as the film progresses it becomes clear Hailsham is no ordinary boarding school and the children aren’t normal either. The students wear metal bracelets which they must pass through a scanner as they exit and enter the school doors, every morning pills and milk are laid out for them to take, and they are encouraged to create art which will be chosen for “The Gallery” owned by a woman only known as Madame. A new teacher, or “guardian,” begins working at the school. Ms. Lucy asks the children why they aren’t allowed to go outside of the fence in the grounds and the children tell her stories they’ve heard of kids who went outside and died. Ms. Lucy is confused by these stories and seems wary about what exactly is happening in the school. One day she tells the students of their actual roles in life. Hailsham students will eventually donate their vital organs once they are young adults. Before they are even middle-aged the students will have donated about three of their organs and they will “complete.” Shortly after Ms. Lucy is fired.

The second act of the film take place once the students leave Hailsham at 18 years-old. Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield), and Ruth (Keira Knightley) now join other students who graduated from similar boarding schools at The Cottages. At The Cottages the kids are given more independence and can even go into neighboring towns. Ruth and Tommy are still and become sexually active. Ruth identifies herself with an older student named Chrissie (Andrea Riseborough) and her boyfriend Rodney (Domhnall Gleeson). Kathy is mostly left on her own, but Tommy continues to seek her out. One night Kathy finds porno magazines and begins to flip through them in a barn. Tommy walks in and questions what she’s doing. Kathy becomes frustrated because of his questions and walks out telling him to give them to Ruth. The following day Ruth tells Kathy that Rodney and Chrissie had gone into a neighboring town and saw a woman who might be Ruth’s “possible.” Rodney, Chrissie, Ruth, Tommy, and Kathy go into the town to look for the woman. When the five of them have lunch Rodney and Chrissie ask the three youths about the rumors of “deferrals.” According to Rodney and Chrissie Hailsham students who were couples truly in love could apply to someone about getting a deferral and being able to live a couple of years before their first donation. However none of the three friends know what they are talking about. The five of them leave to look for Ruth’s possible and find that the woman looks nothing like Ruth. Ruth is angered and tells Kathy that they were modeled after social rejects; prostitutes, junkies, and drunks. It now becomes clear that the children from these boarding schools are actually clones. The day after they return to the Cottages Kathy and Tommy take a walk in the woods and Tommy tells Kathy about his theory of the deferrals. Tommy believes The Gallery was set up so the people at Hailsham could look inside the student’s souls and determine whether the couples who apply for deferrals are actually in love or not. Kathy asks him if he’s planning to apply with Ruth but he tells her it wouldn’t work, and he reminds Kathy that while she got many artworks into the Gallery his work was never chosen. Kathy begins to cry and walks away. That night Kathy hears Ruth and Tommy have loud sex and she listens to the tape Tommy gave her years ago. Ruth enters her room afterwards and tells her that Tommy will never love Kathy the way she wants him to. The next day Kathy applies to be a “carer;” those clones who have a temporary reprieve from their donations to do the job of comforting and supporting donors. Shortly after Kathy leaves to do her training Ruth and Tommy split up.

The third and final act of the film takes place ten years later when Kathy is working as a carer. Kathy goes to the hospital where the current patient she cares for completes after a donation. In the same hospital Kathy runs into Ruth who she hasn’t seen since she left the cottages. Ruth has done two donations and is very weak and frail. Ruth tells Kathy that she’s been keeping tabs on her and Tommy ever since they left the Cottages. She asks Kathy if they could go on a trip to an abandoned boat left at sea, and asks her if they can pick up Tommy on the way. When the two girls find Tommy he has also done two donations but is in much better shape than Ruth. At the beach Ruth asks Kathy and Tommy to forgive her for keeping them apart. She explains that she was jealous of their love and was scared to be left alone. Ruth wants to put things right though and gives them the address of Madame which she tracked down so they could apply for a deferral. Kathy eventually agrees and after she goes to the hospital to tell Ruth that they will apply Ruth completes on her third donation. Kathy and Tommy finally begin a relationship. Tommy shows Kathy all the artwork he has done over the years in the hope that he could someday apply for a deferral. The two talk about Kathy’s incident with the porno magazines and he tells her he knew what she was really doing; she was looking for her original. Kathy confides in him and tells him that she used to have overwhelming urges to have sex so she believed that had to tell her something about the person she was modeled on. Tommy tells her those feelings were normal. That night they consummate their relationship.

Finally the couple goes to Madame’s house, Tommy bringing along his artwork, and they tell her they’re there to apply for a deferral. Madame entertains them for a while until the headmistress from Hailsham, Miss Emily (Charlotte Rampling), comes into the room. The two women explain that The Gallery was not used to look into the souls of the students; it was used to see if they had any souls at all. They tell Kathy and Tommy that there are no deferrals and they never have been. On their way back to the hospital Tommy asks Kathy to stop in the middle of the road. He gets out of the car and begins to scream, much like he used to do when he was a boy. Kathy hugs him and they remain embraced in the street. The film cuts back to the opening scene where Tommy is being prepped for surgery. Kathy narrates once again and it is revealed that Tommy completed during the surgery. The final scene of the film shows Kathy getting out of her car in the country side and staring at a field behind a wired fence. She has been given her notice and will start her donations. She says this is the place she goes to where she imagines everything she lost in her childhood returns. She fantasizes about Tommy appearing in the horizon and waving at her but claims this is as far as she lets the fantasy go. Kathy wonders whether her and her friends’ lives are so different from the lives of the people they save.

Commentary

Never Let Me Go is a truly poignant story about what it means to be human, what it means to have a soul. The film tackles these issues in a truly beautiful and sad way. The characters in the film have a limited amount of time before they are forced to give up their lives for the sake of humanity. Despite the level of science fiction in the story, these characters are clones made for organ donation, the emotions and experiences of these clones force the audience to evaluate just how limited life is and put into perspective the passing of time. Never Let Me Go is not just a love story, but it does a beautiful job of highlighting the love between the characters Kathy and Tommy and how important it is in life to express one’s emotions. In order for the film to portray the themes and messages Kazuo Ishiguro wrote in the original book it needed to look beautiful and solemn in a very constrained manner. There is tension and beauty in every shot of the film, filling each moment with emotion that is just lying underneath the surface. 

One of the tools used to create the mood of the film was the color palette. Every color is carefully controlled into a pastel theme. The design team of the film painted walls and carefully chose props that wouldn’t saturate the world of the characters. Giving the film this soft and subdued color scheme reflects the morbid tones of the eventual death all these characters will face. Although everyone has to die at some point, the characters in the film were made to die for others, and the colors in every shot reflect the lack of life these characters will lead. For example, in the scene where Ms. Emily tells the young students of Hailsham what their duty will be when they are young adults the room is filled with shades of blue and gray. It is raining outside, no sun to bring any hope or color into the world of these children. The tone of the conversation is extremely serious and incredibly tragic, one color out of place would have ruined the mood.

One of the only scenes where color is much more vivid is when Kathy and Tommy are taking a walk in the cottages. They’re in the woods and sunlight is pouring through the leaves creating rich tones of yellow and green. In the scene Tommy reveals to Kathy that he’s never stopped loving her by discussing the possibility of couples getting deferrals if they could prove they were in love. Of course at this moment Kathy knows it’s too late and too much has happened for her and Tommy to think about being a couple. However, the bright colors in the scene highlight the small hope Kathy holds onto.

This scene between Tommy and Kathy presents one of two other factors that helped perfect the tone of the film; shot types and the actors. Due to the restrained emotions in the film, there aren’t any melodramatic moments and the action is very tame, it was imperative for the film to show intense emotions subtlety. The acting in the film is amazing thanks to the skill of Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, and Keira Knightley. Of course the children playing the young version of the characters were equally important and their acting was just as expressive as their older counterparts. The type of shots used to effectively carry emotion in the actor’s faces were medium close-ups and close-ups. These tight shots allow the audience to see the subtle changes in emotion that these actors carried out. Perhaps the most effective were the medium close-ups and close-ups of Carey Mulligan’s Kathy. Kathy is a character that doesn’t really speak up to express herself, her intense emotions are held inside and she understands things intuitively. The following scenes are examples of how aptly the two actresses, Carey and Isobel, express Kathy’s emotions and how the camera is able to capture them.

These are some other examples of when intense emotion was highlighted yet controlled through the camera and acting skills. Specifically these are mostly medium close ups.

One of the things the story does well is withhold information. Instead of spelling everything out for the audience Kazuo Ishiguro created a story that needed to be analyzed in order to be understood. Mark Romanek, the director, was able to transfer the mystery of Hailsham and the lives of these poor characters into film by staying true to Ishiguro’s subtleties. The words such as “donor” and “possible” are clues to the state of being that these characters live. The subtlety works itself into the message of the film because audiences need a level of abstraction in order to deal with the existential themes of the film. This kind of story, about what it means to be human and what it means to have a soul or to love, in the context of science fiction, does not hold the same amount of gravity or emotion had it been told too directly. The director’s careful use of cinematography captures moments of loss (of innocence, of love, of life) in aesthetically beautiful ways to underscore the tragedy.

The director’s use of the music is equally important. One of the most important songs played throughout the film at different moments is “We All Complete” by British composer Rachel Portman. The title references the fact that everyone’s lives, both inside the film and out, will eventually end. It is played at key points, most empathetically it is played throughout the ending scenes of the film; Tommy’s scream, Kathy and Tommy at the hospital for Tommy’s last donation, and the closing scene of Kathy in the country side.