Mise-en-scene in Igby Goes Down Essay Example

Mise-en-scene in Igby Goes Down Essay Igby Goes Down is a film made in 2002, directed by Burr Steers and starring Kieran Culkin in the lead role. This movies cynical and oppressed attitude is expressed to the audience using a variety of mise-en-scene techniques, to wordlessly explain the true intentions of the characters, who are usually caught up in a carefully maintained faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ade. Due to this, the actors portraying these characters have utilised many performance techniques to subtly convey true meaning and to generate emotional and intellectual response in the audience. The establishing scene of the film is the chronological end of the events within it, and so it offers a great deal about the story through mise-en-scene and performance. The shot opens on a grand, polished mahogany door, with gold gilding and a golden doorknob. This immediately shows the audience that the setting of this scene is one of luxury and grandeur, and that its inhabitants are most likely very wealthy from this it is possible to easily infer aspects of the plot and characters, as it is common in films to have such upper-class individuals display obvious signs of self-repression and addictions to prescribed drugs, a socially acceptable addiction. The shot pans from the door, into the room it belongs to, where we see Susan Sarandon lying on a large, antique-looking bed. It is now obvious that the inhabitants of this particular household are wealthy, so much so that they afford to have extravagant tissue dispensers, adorned with the familys crest. The image of a rich, American family is built up in the audiences mind, which allows them to gain certain expectations of what the story will be about, and what the characters will be like by relying on previous movies they have seen. 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The audience at this point are being made to ponder on the possible outcomes of such a situation, and thus building up pre-perceptions of the movie. This means that the audience are vulnerable to being manipulated into a false sense of security, and allows the film-makers to shock and surprise the viewer with unconventional plot-twists and turns. From the guttural breathing coming out of Susan Sarandons mouth the audience is made aware that she is dying, and in her deathbed, as it were. The film-makers have placed two large bouquets of dark red, wild roses either side of the bed, playing on an old tradition of leaving a single red, wild rose on the graves of the newly deceased, to stop them from rising from the dead. This very subtle and clever use of mise-en-scene is very telling of Sarandons character; It firstly tells us that she is not well loved by the people she knows, as due to the large number of roses it is obvious that no one wants her coming back from the grave. The sheer number of roses is also very telling, as it could demonstrate how although it usually only takes one rose to keep the dead in their place, this woman requires dozens, implying two things; that she is greatly disliked, and that she is a wilful, guileless woman, who wouldnt even let death get in her way. As the camera pans across the rest of the room we see two young men, her sons, are sitting on the bed, looking at her. Neither looks particularly concerned, implying either they have no heartache over her dying, or they have already come to peace with it, which further implies that her death has been a long-time coming, or planned. The next shot is the first of Igby, the central character, in a mid-close-up shot. Igby looks up from the bed and at his mother in a manner that suggests he is incredibly bored and resentful of the situation and his mother. This single look instantly tells the audience a lot about their relationship, and that their turbulent affiliation with one another will act as a key theme for the movie. This supports the impression of a rich, dysfunctional family that the audience have gained so far. The first words of the film are uttered by Igby, in the same MCU shot; Why couldnt she have been a fucking smoker? This is a puzzling line, delivered in a dead-pan manner that will be associated with Igby throughout the film. The first words of the film seem to clash with the situation, as an audience would not suspect a son to wish smoking upon their dying mother. From the slouched posture and impatient tone, it is easy to understand Igbys feelings when it comes to the death of his mother; he merely wants it to be over with, and responds to this want with the perfectly logical thought that if she had been a smoker, she wouldnt be taking so long to die. This sentiment also tells us a lot about Igby as a person, showing him to be a cynical, sarcastic teenager, with little thought for social convention or for what other people think. This is used to show the contrast with his brother, Oliver, who staunchly replies to Igby that This has nothing to do with her being in such wonderful shape in the equally dead-pan, yet more condescending tone of his brother. This is indicative of Olivers nature, presenting him as some who will even flatter a dying woman who is seemingly unaware of his presence, and thus displaying him as an un-ashamed brown-noser, who is only concerned with outward affluence. Oliver is dressed in a fine, tailored suit, tie done up to the top, gold cufflinks and polished shoes. Because of this the viewers can determine that Oliver is far more comfortable in the extravagancy of his lifestyle than Igby, who, although is dressed in a similar suit has an air of scruffiness about him; his tie done up incorrectly, his top three buttons undone and a tear in the arm of his jacket. This furthers the image of Igby as a rebellious and acerbic teenager. The contrast between Igby and his brother conveys to the audience how very different they are, and hints at how Igby is probably considered the figurative black sheep of the family, which would tie in with his loathing of his mother and is apparent discomfort with the situation as a whole. Deducing from the title, and what has happened so far in the film the audience can determine that much of the narrative will take place from Igbys point of view, and will deal with his alienation from his family and his disgust at the society they belong to. It is also worthwhile noticing that any close-up shot of Igby will only contain him, and everything behind him will out of focus or distorted in someway. This technique is present throughout the film and gives a visual aid to Igbys lack of interest and his typical teenage self-obsession. As the scene progresses the situation becomes obvious, the two sons are killing their mother under her instructions, but due to the fact that she has built up a tolerance to most kinds of drugs she has not suffered from the overdose as intended. This is pointed out by Oliver in an aggravated tone that shows him to be a character who does not like to fail; something that we can assume from what we know is inherited from his mother. As she continues to not die, Igby and Oliver bicker regarding insignificant events that happened many years in the past, such as Oliver breaking Igbys toy train. This bickering is made to appear typical of anytime the two brothers are with one another, and continues to display how dysfunctional this family is, and how much Igby seems to resent Oliver for always being the favourite. This all makes it obvious to the audience of Igbys place in the family, implied by language to be Dads son, as opposed to his mothers son, a metaphorical way of showing the audie nce that Igby takes after his father, not his mother. This apparent family divide is made all the more strong by the unexplained absence of the father of Oliver and Igby. Overall, the opening five minutes are incredibly foretelling of the events to unfold in the movie, and give the audience a clear picture of what Igby, Oliver and their mothers character are like. This movie uses mise-en-scene and performance to cleverly and subtly explain the movie before it has even began.