Mise-en-Scene: American Beauty Just to refresh everybody’s memory, mise-en-scene literally means “setting up a scene.” There are six elements that make up mise-en-scene: acting, costume and make-up, setting, lighting, composition or space and last but not least time. The film that I chose for this particular topic was American Beauty. In my opinion, American Beauty is like mise-en-scene candy. In each frame of this film, there is so much to say about each of the elements of mise-en-scene. I will start with discussing the acting.
We often say that a good performance is “realistic” To me a good performance by an actor is making it seem as if they are not really “acting” per se, making us believe that they are the actual character. In American Beauty the actors played such convincing roles that you would think they were playing their actual day to day lives. The quality of their performances allow the viewer to identify what their character portrays right away. At the same time, the changes that the characters undergo within the story keep us guessing with anticipation. Costume and make-up aid in this portrayal as well. Which leads me to the next element.
The costumes and make-up used in this film come off as simple and ordinary on the surface. But, when you look at who the characters represent, the costume and make-up make more than enough sense. For example, Janie is a self-conscious teenager who is unhappy with how she looks, who her family is and who she is in totality. She wears dark make-up that makes her look down and depressed. Her clothes that she wears are large and non-form fitting and they are always dark colors, mostly black. Her make-up and costume reveal more about her character.
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Explore the ways in which Russell makes Scene one a dramatic and effective opening The first scene of a play needs to entertain to engage, the audience from the start and as this play is a two hander, Russell needed to capture the audience’s attention instantly. The first scene of the play introduces the one setting: a university in Liverpool, and the two characters, Frank and Rita. All the ...
On the other hand, if Janie were to wear what her friend Ashley wears, tight, formfitting clothes that are revealing and colorful, they wouldn’t fit her character and would throw off the viewer. The costumes and make-up are another voice to help the audience identify who the characters really are and what they portray. The next element I will discuss is the setting. The setting in this film is ironically fitting. It takes place in a wealthy suburban town.
At first glance, the settings portray what you would think “normal” life would look like. But as we all know, American Beauty is anything but normal. Within most of settings a motif is evidently established. The color red and the flawless roses.
In my opinion both of these things represent perfection and the object of desire, which is what I believe the film to revolve around. But that is the beauty of American Beauty, people can interpret it however they wish, this film is able to speak in so many different languages and it means something completely different to each person who watches it. How the roses are precisely placed within a setting or when there is a bright red object or someone wearing the color red is an element of composition and lighting. This film is at the top of it’s class when it comes to such. The lighting used in American Beauty is essential to what the story says. If they had used a different technique of lighting such as lighting for a sitcom, bright lights all across the frame, there would never have been the tension between light and dark that was needed to emphasize the dysfunctional community in this film.
For example, Ricky Fitts walks back into his room from just being at his neighbor’s house. He walks in and his father is waiting for him in the darkness. He is placed very shallow in the frame. By placing his father in a deep shadow, there is a factor of real fear and compromise for Ricky. There is so much that you can discuss when it comes to this film. It truly is one of a kind.
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Not only is the story a compelling one, but the film itself is aesthetically pleasing to ones eye. Even if the viewer doesn’t know that much about film. The mise-en-scene in American Beauty is very potent and each element can be spoken about for hours.
