Originally written October 4, 2010
“The fact is I am
quite happy in a movie, even a bad movie.
Other people, so I have read, treasure memorable moments in their lives.”
Other people, so I have read, treasure memorable moments in their lives.”
~ Walker Perry
For those of us who love the
movies, it can sometimes be easy to think of the experience of watching a film
simply in emotional terms. If we like
the way the film makes us feel then we rate it highly. However, like a painting, a novel or even a
poem, films are complex works of art which can and should be analyzed and
appreciated on the many levels and layers that comprise it. In fact, rather than diminishing or
encumbering the movie-watching experience, I believe that film analysis
enhances it, making it richer and more meaningful. The following is an examination on the best
practices for analyzing a film, how this analysis allows the viewer to find and
interpret meaning in the film and also my own personal criteria for evaluating
movies.
When we think of the magic of film,
the theme of the film is usually what comes to mind. “…Theme refers to the unifying central
concern of the film, the special focus that unifies the work… A filmmaker may
choose to focus on ideas but is just as likely to emphasize one of the four
other major elements (Boggs 2008).”
These four elements are plot, mood, character and structure. A film has all of these elements but one is
usually the main focus. A good movie
will have clear and presentable theme that doesn’t change as the film
progresses. A movie that does not have a
clear theme or one that switches between themes loses critical importance and
artistic integrity.
Of these four, the most natural to
analyze is plot. Plot pertains to the
idea of what is going to happen next.
Because plot usually follows the who, what, when, and how aspect of
storytelling, the best examples are action films like Terminator, and Avatar.
The mood of film is just as
important as plot in terms of theme.
While the plot might state that something is scary, the filmgoer will
not feel it unless the film oozes that mood.
Directors such as Wes Craven are masters at eliciting the reactions they
want their audience to feel with films such as Nightmare on Elm Street and
Scream. Analyzing the mood of a film is
to feel it as the film intends and seeing how effective it is. It is important to realize that feelings as
brought on by a film might be subjective, however in order to analyze the
effectiveness of the mood one must be objective in understanding what the
filmmaker is trying to achieve.
Focusing on character is different
from the others elements of the theme of a film. “Some films, through both action and
dialogue, focus on the clear delineation of a single unique character. Although plot is important in such films,
what happens is important primarily because it helps us understand the
character being developed (Boggs 2008).”
The best examples of this are biographic pictures since historical
figures are unique individuals that deal with unique events, like Elizabeth or
Capote. However, it would be remiss not
to note that character films can be about fictional characters as well and not
just an individual. The best example of
this being Twelve Angry Men, a film that features 12 individuals that are at
the core of the thematic story being told.
If plot is the who, what, where of
a film, mood is the feeling being explored and character is focusing on the
protagonist, then structure is the style of the how and why that is important
to the storytelling. Films like Memento
or Inception shows the style of the film overcoming all the other elements in
becoming the primary focus the filmmakers take.
Inception uses the style of dreams within dreams to make a
run-of-the-mill caper story more intellectual stimulating and impacts our mind
about what is real and what is not.
Thematically, structure/style can create images and ideas that an
audience might not allow themselves to think about until seen on screen.
Theme is not the only primary way
to analyze a film. The story being told
by the filmmaker is just as important as the theme. However, one must look beyond the idea of the
story and start to analyze and understand the components that make the story a
complex and rich work of art. A film
that is a good example of this is Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil. On paper, it is a B-movie detective story set
in a border town in Texas. Yet, once
watched, the depth of what Welles was really trying to state slowly dawns on
the viewer. Welles accomplishes this by
structuring the story in a way that brings out conflicts not just from the
protagonist/antagonist relationship between Vargas (Charlton Heston) and
Quinlan (Quinlan), but also from the characterization and symbolism presented.
Dramatic structure is “the
aesthetic and logical arrangement of parts to achieve the maximum emotional,
intellectual, or dramatic impact (Boggs, 2008).
This can be achieved via either a linear (chronological) structure for
the story or a non-linear one. Touch of
Evil uses a linear structure that provides the exposition (introducing the
protagonist Miguel Vargas and his wife Susan as well as Quinlan, the
antagonist), the complication (the car bomb as seen in the first scene) and the
climax.
Non-linear structure has been used
effectively in modern film storytelling.
By dropping viewers in the middle of a story and later providing the
exposition and climax via flashbacks or dialogue, the filmmakers can create a
style that gives a stronger dramatic arrangement. This in turn engages the viewer to the theme
the filmmaker wishes to create.
Directors like Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs) and
Christopher Nolan (Memento) have used non-linear storytelling to create
intimate, highly stylized films that engross their audience.
Conflict is what makes the world go
‘round. In the dramatic arts, there is
no truer statement. Films are no
exception. Without conflict there would
be no story to tell, no protagonist vs. antagonist relationship, no obstacles
to overcome, no relationships to be built.
In Touch of Evil, you have one major conflict, Vargas vs. Quinlan but
like most good to great films, it also has a couple of minor conflicts that
enhance the main story. Conflicts can be
internal (self vs. self) and external (self vs. outside force). A great film usually has both, with one being
the center or main conflict. When
evaluating a film, the conflict has to be something that cannot just be an easy
obstacle to overcome. It must complex
enough to hold the interest of the viewer yet not stretch their suspension of
disbelief to ridiculous levels. Orson
Welles uses the main conflict in Touch of Evil to delve into police corruption
and, as the minor conflict facing the protagonist, society’s view of
interracial marriage (Charlton Heston plays a Mexican police officer that is
married to an American played by Janet Leigh).
Considering that this film was released in 1958 shows the genius of
Welles’ cinematic techniques to wrap a detective story around a more taboo
subject.
The idea of character is what
attaches the audience to a film in an emotional level. Protagonists usually have good qualities or
if they are an anti-hero, some sort of redeeming quality. Filmmakers use different methods to
characterize their subjects. Dialogue
and actions are the easiest ways to create character impression with an
audience. A good evaluator of film uses
this as well as internal actions and visual appearance to analyze how the
filmmaker wants their subjects to be seen and felt. Quinlan, the antagonist in Touch of Evil, was
played by Orson Welles himself. From the
minute the viewer sees his disheveled and almost grotesque look, the feeling
one gets from that character is a negative one.
In the meantime, Vargas, the protagonist, is well dressed and newly
happily married. Even as his world
dissolves around him, his ideal of justice allows the audience to continuously
root for him.
Analyzing the story around a
central theme is key to understanding and evaluation a film on its merit. But it is not the only thing that creates a
memorable film. The word movie comes
from a shortening of moving picture and the medium is invariably tied to the
visual. Cinematography and visual design
are important to, not only the enjoyment of the film, but to understanding the
story being told.
Cinematography is the first aspect
of film that can hit us with full force.
The spectrum of visuals can be anything from vast western vistas to
intimate close ups. The cinematographer
works closely with the director to create the visual statement they want for
each scene or even frame. Selecting the
camera angles, the type of lightning, the filters or even the stock of film
used invariably leads to the creation of specific feel or emotion to what is
being seen by the audience. Each of
these aspects can be analyzed in order to gain a better understanding of what
the film is trying to get the audience to feel or think about. Movies such as John Ford’s The Searchers,
Welles’ Citizen Kane, and Akira Kuorusawa’s Rashamon all use the visual
spectrum to enhance the stories within the film. Touch of Evil shows how Welles uses
wide-angle lens and tracking shots to create a 3-miunte long continuous opening
shot that establishes the story between the characters. “Welles… elaborated his techniques, using
innovative and unprecedented longer takes, hand-held cameras, depth staging,
zoom lenses and extreme wide-angle filming with distorted imagery (Cousins,
2004).”
Visual design works in tandem with
the cinematography to create the visual the director wants. Under various departments that include
makeup, costume design and production design, the entire visual design team
helps to bring alive the vision the filmmaker had in mind. In Touch of Evil, Welles uses his visual
design team to create a realistic look and feel to his border towns between
Mexico and the USA. Charlton Heston was
transformed by the makeup team to see more swarthy compared to his co-stars
Welles and Janet Leigh. Welles used this
realistic approach to his sets and production design that added layers to the
story along with a gritty realism.
The editing process is the most
important aspect of post-production since it connects all the disparate parts
to create a work of art. “The craft of
editing consists of choosing between two or more takes of the same shot,
deciding how long each shot should last and how it should be punctuated, and
matching the soundtrack carefully with the edited images (Monaco, 2000).” A director and his editors are able to create
a fully-formed story from hours of raw film by adding special effects, music,
sound effects and titles. The editing
process, when used correctly and without overwhelming the story on the
celluloid, can be as important to the style and theme.
A filmmaker can have a flawless
script, can hire the correct cinematographer, and can have all the
post-production skill available to them, however, without actors that can coax
the type of performance needed to bring all those thing to life, it is all for
naught. An actor does not just there to
speak the lines on the page; they portray the feelings and emotions and in turn
allow the audience to experience the film on a more visceral level. In films like Touch of Evil, the acting
performances are not the primary vehicle in terms of telling the story, but
they are important. Without strong
performances, the gritty realism of the film would be lost and the subtle
themes involved would not get through to the viewer.
None of this would matter if not
for the director. The director takes the
script and turns it into a visual and auditory experience that can either
tickle the soul or frighten the mind. It
is no question, that when analyzing a film, one is analyzing that vision. After all, the director must have a clear
vision that they want represented. If
this is not done, the film will not be enjoyable to one with a discerning eye
and mind. All of the aspects previously
touched on deal with the style of the director.
Touch of Evil is the type of movie that Orson Welles uses to push
himself with. As previously mentioned,
he used this “B-movie” to try new styles and new techniques, all with the idea
to elevate the simple detective story to a higher plane.
So, all these parts and peoples,
what do they create? The simple answer
is a film. But what kind of film; a good
one, a crowd-pleaser, an intellectual art house film? To answer this, one must determine the goal
of the film when analyzing a film. A
movie like G.I Joe the heavy action and obvious characterization achieves the
goal in creating an easy popcorn-style movie.
However, a film like Requiem for a Dream asks a lot more of its
audience. The goal of the film is to
create dirty reality that pushes the audience’s ideals and beliefs beyond their
comfort levels.
Film analysis is not just about
whether or not a filmmaker used linear structure or tracking shots. It can be about find meaning behind the
celluloid. Meaning can be the theme of
the whole film. This can be a political,
emotional, artistic or eclectic experience for the viewer. Touch of Evil is on paper a genre film but
once watched and analyzed it is a subtle political experience that really gives
the film meaning.
My own personal search for meaning
in a film and the overall evaluation of film is simple. Did it meet my expectations? When I go to see a film like Iron Man 2, I
expect to be blown away by the special effects, to enjoy Robert Downey Junior’s
portrayal of Tony Stark and not to worry too much of the hopefully
inconsequential plot holes. I do this,
because I know what to expect. However,
when I go see a David Fincher or a Christopher Nolan film, my expectations are
raised. I might not expect the special
effects as seen in Inception, but I do expect a tight story, with strong acting
performances and excellent use of post-production that elevates the
experience. I also leave the theatre
having a good intellectual discussion with my husband and I leave fully
satisfied. I truly try to judge a film
on its merits because it adds and can fulfill the viewing experience.
In the film Le Petit Soldat, the
French director Jean-Luc Godard stated, “Photography is truth. The cinema is truth 24 times per
second.” A film can open eyes and create
new truths. That is what art is supposed
to do. And film, like art, needs to be
analyzed in order to get behind the meaning and theme of the filmmakers. Every filmgoer evaluates films differently,
and by doing so they add a deep understanding to their own experience.
References
Boggs, J., and Petrie, D. (2008). The Art of Watching Films
(Ashford Custom 7th ed.). Mountain View, CA Mayfield.
Monaco, James (2000). How to read a film: Movies, Media,
Multimedia (Oxford University Press 3rd Ed.).
New York, NY
Cousins, Mark (2004).
The Story of Film (Pavilion Books/Thunder’s Mouth Press) New York, NY
