I want you to think about the mise-en-scene in Let the Right One In. Examine all aspects of mise-en-scene: lighting, composition, set, properties, etc. This would include color as well. Discuss the concept of "monster" through the mise-en-scene of the film. This exercise will help prepare you for your Independent Study. Examine CLOSELY and offer me many details and examples. Think about what the director is trying to say IMPLICITLY. Please do this in at least 2 well-developed paragraphs.
Use whatever scenes you can find on YouTube or come into the Library and use my copy.
The use of mise-en-scene in Let the Right One In primarily serves to reveal Eli and Oskars true nature as well as highlight the contrast between their characters. One of the first details the audience notices is Oskars very pale skin and light blond hair. Usually one associates light colors with pureness, innocence and vulnerability as we later learn is very true with how he is bullied and harassed by his classmates. The outside blanket of snow, the walls in his house and what he wears to school is often white as well, or very gentle pastel colors. This represents the dullness yet peace in his life and in the town. Everyone is clueless of the impending danger that is yet to come. There is a scene where Oskar and Eli talk on the playground while Oskar messes around with a rubix cube. Oskar ends up giving it to Eli for her to keep, white side completed. This little detail that is often missed, gives the audience an important look into their coming relationship. The white represents what he wants to be in her life, a true friend, and what he will eventually mean to Eli. To Eli, Oskar is someone who can remind her what being a vulnerable isolated individual is like. Their relationship begins to humanize her and bring out the human capability to love back to the surface. All this is illustrated through the simple kindness Oskar had with giving her the white pureness of human emotion that begins their connection.
ReplyDeleteThese light colors also are used to juxtapose the colors utilized to characterize Eli. She has dark hair to represent the danger and mystery within her character that the viewers can practically feel through the screen. Her clothes are often battered worn out and old yet soft and delicate looking. This provides evidence of her much older age and possibly experience in life. Although she appears to be very youthful she has many years behind her face. The softness may represent her deceiving innocence she displays in the form of a child. At the same time however there is something child like and innocent about her nature. She does not enjoy killing or like who she is, she simply does it to survive. Often time Eli is portrayed with blood in the frame. The colors red and white naturally repel and clash symbolizing how humans and vampires have no easy bond or mixture. Mise-en-scene is utilized to highlight the two characters differences and how despite all of them they still find love and establish a true connection. In the end Oskar overcomes Eli's brutality and sees her for her personality and for her true non-monster self.
The mise-en-scene in Let The Right One does an amazing job of capturing the snowy isolation we feel for both Oskar and Eli. Perhaps my favorite aspect of the film is it's use - and non-use - of color. A solid 75% of the film is portrayed in varying degrees of gray, white, and black shadow, using these neutral colors to create a base for the separation that particularly Oskar feels. The neutral colors reflect the vary muted emotions that Oskar exhibits - even when he is whipped in the face by the bullies, he just stands there and takes, not showing any emotion outside of a single tear we see him shed. This setup of neutral colors makes the bursts of vibrant color we get every so often even more pronounced. The color red - the color of blood - is used often throughout the movie for great cinematic and emotional effect. The color takes on multiple different meanings throughout, but perhaps the most dominant one is power. Everyone who has power over Oskar at some point is seen wearing/associated with the color red - the father's red jacket, the bully Conny's similar red jacket, and finally - most importantly - blood, the blood we associate with Eli. Eli is the main driving force for Oskar even attempting to stand up for himself - she encourages him to finally fight back. She (he) has arguably the most power over Oskar throughout the movie, and is the character he connects with, associates with the most - his only real friend (although it could be argued she's just using him, as she needs a new helper). The red in her case is used to really emphasize the bond they share, the real, bursting emotion they feel for each other (hopefully), and it's juxtaposition with the otherwise subdued emotion and landscape make it even more powerful.
ReplyDelete"Monster" is a tricky word, particularly in regards to this film. Although we are meant to sympathize with Eli and humanize her to an extent, I can't help but wonder if she might be doing it all just to manipulate Oskar into helping her after the death of her old caretaker. However, she is definitely presented in such a way as to humanize her - it heavily appears she doesn't really want to feed on humans, and then genuine affection she seems to feel for Oskar helps to balance out the nastier side of her. Combine that with her general character design - tattered, old clothes, mysterious appearances (she never really seems to be on screen for very long, and even when she is, it's almost like she's avoiding the camera - until the climactic scene, that is, perhaps the culmination of her protectiveness of Oskar, in which we finally get to really linger and see her face, her eyes) and the result is a "monster" that is more human than many of the actual human characters in the movie.
I adore the mis en scene riddled throughout, “Let the Right One In.” Between the suspenseful encounters of both Eli and Oskar, and Eli with her victims, there are still shots of the snow blanketed scenery. In order to juxtapose the murderous rampages of Eli, these shots implicitly allow the viewer to view her more human than monster. We already understand consciously that she is capable of friendliness through her relationship with Oskar, but our subconscious grows to accept her further through the employment of such nature shots. Furthermore, the scene where the mother is bit, and is in the hospital, and asks for the curtains to be opened was miraculous to me as far as lighting, and composition is concerned. Firstly, we see her ask for the curtains to be opened with dim, fluorescent hospital lighting covering her face. When the curtains are drawn back we instantly see an intense white light cover her body for a few moments before she combusts. This is representative of her coming to peace with not being able to live as the monster she now views herself as. Furthermore, the final shot of the sequence paints an establishing shot of a male nurse moving from left to right of frame frantically as the fiery woman roars with flames. The image of these flames is eerily similar to that of a crucifix, which according to Vampire mythology, repels demons of the like. This further instills the idea that the woman could not live with herself in that light, and had to have been accepted into the clutches of holiness. Another way we can identify with Eli, is through color association. Most commonly, we associate the color red with the splashes of blood on Eli’s face throughout the entire movie. Without film context, this would appear undeniably hanus and thus, discomforting; however, we can reference the scene where Oskar visits his father to dismiss this possibility. When Oskar visits his father there is never any diegetic monologue, just cheerful music, and intense focus on the desire of Oskar to wear his father’s red jacket. Since this scene serves as a memory for Oskar, a cheerful memory, we are thus able to associate the color of blood, and his father’s jacket together as an emblem of happiness throughout the movie.
ReplyDeleteIn one of the final sequences of the movie, a gorgeous exchange occurs between Oskar and Eli. When they talk to one another, initially, there are only shots of their eyes to one another. We never see the rest of their faces. Soon, we find the camera dollying forward and zooming out to reveal the blood around Eli’s mouth as she moves from the background of the frame to the foreground to meet Oskar, and come more into the camera’s focus. Upon the camera focusing more on her, we are able to realize that she is truly acceptable, although the popular consensus of the people in the diegetic world surrounding her, would deem her a, “monster.” Oskar’s acceptance of Eli spews with implicit meanings about the monsters in all of us, the demons of society. Our ignorance toward one another, our unwillingness to understand that differences are beautiful, are all represented through the juxtaposition of Eli, a bloodsucking, flesh-eating, seemingly 12 year old girl, against a group of boys that regularly antagonize Oskar. When Eli attacks two of the three boys (the worst of the three) at the pool when they attempt to hurt Oskar, we immediately dismiss her as a monster, and revel in her unkempt heroism. She is human, before monster. When you care for someone enough that you would kill someone to save the life of them, you are human.
Tomas Alfredson’s film Let the Right One In uses mise-en-scene to further tell the film’s story of “two lonely and desperate kids capable of performing dark deeds without apparent emotion”, as phrased by Roger Ebert. In the scene where Oskar buys Eli candy, lighting, composition, set and colors are used in ways to add to the concept of “monster”. This likely refers to Eli, given her from of a vampire. Yet Oskar accepts this, seeing it as something that cannot keep them apart. Perhaps it is because of his own obsessive interest in gory aspects of crime which he records in a scrapbook, due to bullying and separated parents. Yet the two are linked by moral development, which turns into an altruistic, selfless form of love, resulting in values of trust, loyalty, respect, and gratitude. So, in this way, in what way is a “monster” at play?
ReplyDeleteWhen Oskar stretches out his hand to offer Eli food, his face is completely lit up, creating an aura of innocence to him. On the other side of the screen, Eli stands a little bit further away from the camera and her hair covers her face which is already dark due to the shadows cast. This contrast implies the monstrous qualities she has to kill a person and live off of their own life source, while Oskar is completely unaware. Once again, his almost angelic face is lit up on the right side of the screen with a close up portraying his innocence and humanity, as almost no shadows are present. Eli asks if she can simple try a candy while aligned in a similar shot, a close up with fewer shadows than the previous shot of her. This marks her attempt to be more of a person and less of a vampire for Oskar’s sake. However, her close up is on the left side of the screen, denoting the rift between their two lifestyles. The next shot is a medium shot of Eli throwing up behind a building. Above her is a contrasting red awning in comparison to the rest of the drab surroundings. This is representative of the overarching powers that make Eli a vampire yet keep Oskar a human, what is truly keeping them apart. Oskar doesn’t see this in their relationship and hugs Eli. In a close up shot, Eli’s face is lit up as she comes to the realization that someone really likes her as she is. The shot cuts to a down panning shot of Oskars face as he hugs Eli down to his arms wrapped around her while hers lay at her side. Eli’s light clothes signify her desire to be good; the only reason why she kills is because she must survive, yet her dark contrasting hair is what signifies her true nature. Oskar’s clothes contrast those of Eli with dark tones like brown and black. This is representative of his desire to hurt someone, the kids who bully him in particular, yet his drastically contrasting blond, almost white, white hair and pale skin marks the reality of his nature: innocent and wholly human.
The mise-en-scene in Let the Right One in reveals many aspects within the film as a whole. Not just Oskar and Eli, but the snowy isolated town as a whole. The name of the local cafe of the town is called Sun Palace which contrast with everything in the town as it is covered in snow. It is also a place that Eli never enters and therefore tells us that the vampire is sensitive to sunlight and the people in the town are just human and that that place is human territory. Besides ironically named places in the film, color plays a huge role within this film. The film begins using very dark lighting and shadowing that contrast with the white walls of Oskar’s bedroom, the snow outside and his pale skin. This contrast reveals to us Oskar’s vulnerability and the people around him foreshadowing the dangers in the future. Oskar’s clothes while he’s in school are white and brown and this represent the bleakness of his life while the other children around him wear bright colors. The walls of his school are also all white and reminds the audience of institutionalization that reveals Oskar’s feeling of being trapped and his impending inescapable bullying.
ReplyDeleteThe colors white and red are used a lot to show the contrast between Eli and Oskar and their vulnerable yet pure relationship. Eli at one point was also wearing white when we were first introduced to her and represent her own personal institutionalization. This brings the characters together and help us identify with them and they also identify with each other. During the film Oskar gives Eli his rubix cube with only the white side completely done. It represents the color that Oskar wants to give to her as red is the color of blood that her face is constantly covered in like when shes talking to Oskar later on and ask him what he is looking at. He doesn’t see Eli as a monster that she sees herself as and Oskar wants to show her that through the color of white. Their relationship is proven later, blossoming when Oskar takes Eli to a place only he knows about and she is wearing pink. White and red mixed together makes pink and this reveals to us the closer they are becoming which brings us back to when Oskar gave her the rubix cube and the impact he made on her.
The mise-en-scene of Let the Right One In is used so well in showing the wintery, enclosed town that the film takes place in. It also showcases both Oskar’s and Eli’s emotions towards each other and the other occupants of the town(city?). Color is one of the biggest parts of the mise-en-scene of the film, serving as a more subtle implicit meaning. The color contrast between Oskar being not only pale, but having the very light blonde hair and blue eyes while Eli has darker hair and darker eyes. The light coloring of Oskar implies that he is innocent in some way or another, while Eli has seen and done things that took away her innocence long ago. White is one of the major colors in the film, the snow, buildings (i.e. the hospital and most other buildings’ exteriors) and also most, if not all of the civilians’ skin colors. The pure whiteness of the snow is contrasted a lot by Eli, first when her caretaker or whatever drains the victim of his blood by stringing him upside down on a tree and slitting his throat. No blood had really mixed with the pure white snow until the dog started to bark and went looking, so the caretaker freaks out and spills the blood, which quickly mixes with the snow and turns the pure white snow a pinkish color. This could allude to how Oskar’s innocence“tainted” by Eli when he meets her and they start to get close. Another major color is red, which is very deeply connected with Oskar. His father, who seems estranged from the family for some reason, has a barn (house?) that’s red, he has a big red jacket that the audience sees Oskar wrapping himself in it and sniffing it, implying that while he might not see his father very often, he loves him a lot and feels safe (in a way) with his father around. Then there’s the scene where Oskar wants to make a blood pact with Eli, and slits his own palm. The blood drips and a puddle quickly starts to form, and Eli can’t really help herself as she wastes no time in starting to lap up his blood.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of a “monster” is thoroughly investigated in the film, as well as the opposing side, humanity. Eli is a vampire, a “monster” of the night who needs to drink blood in order to survive. That isn’t exactly the case though, yes she needs blood in order to survive, but she isn’t exactly only a monster, she showed/ was shown to have many human qualities. A scene that shows this is when Oskar sees Eli’s face after she had just killed his bullies. Before that moment, the camera would be a POV shot from “Oskar’s” perspective that was always focused on her mouth that was surrounded by blood, never anywhere else. However, at this moment in the film, Oskar’s eyes are locked with Eli’s, he doesn’t even focus on the blood surrounding her mouth, ie. he doesn’t just see her as a vampire/monster, he sees the human qualities as well, and finds kinship in that.
The mise-en-scene of Let the Right One In is used so well in showing the wintery, enclosed town that the film takes place in. It also showcases both Oskar’s and Eli’s emotions towards each other and the other occupants of the town(city?). Color is one of the biggest parts of the mise-en-scene of the film, serving as a more subtle implicit meaning. The color contrast between Oskar being not only pale, but having the very light blonde hair and blue eyes while Eli has darker hair and darker eyes. The light coloring of Oskar implies that he is innocent in some way or another, while Eli has seen and done things that took away her innocence long ago. White is one of the major colors in the film, the snow, buildings (i.e. the hospital and most other buildings’ exteriors) and also most, if not all of the civilians’ skin colors. The pure whiteness of the snow is contrasted a lot by Eli, first when her caretaker or whatever drains the victim of his blood by stringing him upside down on a tree and slitting his throat. No blood had really mixed with the pure white snow until the dog started to bark and went looking, so the caretaker freaks out and spills the blood, which quickly mixes with the snow and turns the pure white snow a pinkish color. This could allude to how Oskar’s innocence“tainted” by Eli when he meets her and they start to get close. Another major color is red, which is very deeply connected with Oskar. His father, who seems estranged from the family for some reason, has a barn (house?) that’s red, he has a big red jacket that the audience sees Oskar wrapping himself in it and sniffing it, implying that while he might not see his father very often, he loves him a lot and feels safe (in a way) with his father around. Then there’s the scene where Oskar wants to make a blood pact with Eli, and slits his own palm. The blood drips and a puddle quickly starts to form, and Eli can’t really help herself as she wastes no time in starting to lap up his blood.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of a “monster” is thoroughly investigated in the film, as well as the opposing side, humanity. Eli is a vampire, a “monster” of the night who needs to drink blood in order to survive. That isn’t exactly the case though, yes she needs blood in order to survive, but she isn’t exactly only a monster, she showed/ was shown to have many human qualities. A scene that shows this is when Oskar sees Eli’s face after she had just killed his bullies. Before that moment, the camera would be a POV shot from “Oskar’s” perspective that was always focused on her mouth that was surrounded by blood, never anywhere else. However, at this moment in the film, Oskar’s eyes are locked with Eli’s, he doesn’t even focus on the blood surrounding her mouth, ie. he doesn’t just see her as a vampire/monster, he sees the human qualities as well, and finds kinship in that.
An important scene to examine is the pool scene towards the end of the movie. The intensity begins with the older boy calling Oskar over to hold his head down. The shots of the older boy are all low angle to symbolize his power over Oskar, who is shown in all high angle shots. The older boy is dressed in a red shirt symbolizing his violence and threat to Oskar while Oskar is almost naked making him helpless. A close-up of the older boy’s fist grabbing Oskar’s hair indicates the uncontrollable danger in the scene. As the older boy counts down the shots are edited so that with every number the shot cuts from the hand on Oskar’s hair to one of the bullies surrounding the pool and their somewhat scared expressions. There is silence after Oskar is dunked with several shots of the bullies waiting around timidly to illustrate their uncomfortable mood. There is a close-up shot of the bottom of a clock and the second hand spinning creating intensity in the wait. There is a long take of Oskar under the water surrounded by the blue water of the pool. The blue in this shot is used to symbolize the tranquility in the violent act being committed against Oskar. The younger bullies argue with the older one to stop but the older one yells and after there is silence. The silence is frightening because of the circumstances of the situation and the silence seems to doom Oskar to his death. The shot of Oskar under the water is then shown again. The silence is broken by a breaking door and screams but they are only muffled by the water. The blue symbolism again creates tranquility in another very violent scene. The brutality outside of the water is almost ignored because of the great effect of color symbolism. After Oskar emerges from the water an extreme close-up of Eli’s eyes is cut to. The blue eyes are calming even though the rest of her face is covered with specks of blood red. The symbolism of the blue calms Oskar and the red symbolizes the passion between them. A high-angle shot of Oskar shows that he is smiling as he knows he is now safe with Eli but without power.
ReplyDeleteThe pool scene in the film is the scene which stuck with me the most due to its brilliant use of mise-en-scene. The audience sees the older gentleman calling towards Oskar. Each shot of the older kid is. for the most part, low angle. This not only symbolizes the power that the kid has, but also his daunting presence over Oskar. In contrast, Oskar is seen in mostly high angle shots to reinforce this even more, outlining Oskar’s helplessness. Color symbolism in this film is very prevalent, especially for the colors red and white. Red is a color used in everyday life to symbolize danger and threat, exactly what the older kid is to Oskar, a pale (white) young boy. The extended duration of the shot of Oskar underwater shows equanimity due to the color of the water. I believe it is a reflection of Oskar’s thought process. Even though Oskar is in an extremely dangerous situation, I believe that Oskar knows Eli is coming to save him, therefore he is calm inside, just like the water in the pool. The color symbolism is so profound that the violence taking place around Oskar is dulled a bit.
ReplyDeleteThe colors white and red also represent the relationship between Oskar and Eli. They are vulnerable yet strong. Oskar, constantly seen coupled with white, is vulnerable. Eli, surrounded by red so many times shows how she is passionate towards Oskar and dangerous to Oskar’s enemies. When Oskar gives Eli the rubix cube we see only the white side completed, showing how Oskar is “giving” Eli “white” to rub away the red. Oskar views Eli as a friend, not a monster. When Oskar takes Eli to a place he knows about, Eli is wearing pink, representative of how Oskar’s attempts to help her emotionally are working, seeing as white and red make pink. Through the use of mise-en-scene, it becomes obvious that Oskar and Eli, though two completely different people, come together as one.
Tomas Alfredson’s “Let The Right One In” is a creepy and occasionally uncomfortable study of the pain of isolation: an eternal aspect of emotion that Alfredson attempts to convey through the film’s carefully sculpted mise-en-scene. Contrasting colors, stark lighting, and bleak shots of nature create a union of cold and hot, of hopelessness and passion, of death and life. The film's colors- whites, grays, beiges, and browns- are very bland, and when combined with the plethora of shots with snow and ice, evoke a coldness in the viewer. One feels frozen, just as Oskar and Eli are stuck in their monotonous and less-than-perfect existences. These shots, although the most prevalent in the film, are juxtaposed with brief glimpses of color and life, most notably when the two children are together. Oskar gives Eli a friend in her lonely existence, and Eli, frequently clothed in soft colors representative of passion, helps Oskar find purpose. In these shots Eli is lit with a soft lighting that portrays innocence despite some of her dark actions, and is representative of her renewed life. She is able to inspire Oskar, who begins to truly live. When he finally confronts Conny, the light is unusually bright, as if Oskar has finally awaken from a haze and decided to stand up for himself. This idea is supported by the red rod and blood: Just as Oskar allowed Eli to live again by giving her his friendship, Eli also gave Oskar confidence and will.
ReplyDeleteThe glimpses of color and instances of soft lighting, make us sympathize with Eli, regardless of who she is. If one only viewed Eli in the midst of her feedings, all dark and filled with deep red blood, it would be reasonable to assume that she, as the vampire, is entirely a monster. But after seeing the film as a whole, the viewer is confronted with the character's pain, and sees that Eli serves as a relief from the real monster: isolation. At the film’s opening both characters are outsiders, without any friends or substantial family support. It is clear that before they met, any hope had been torn apart. However, when they are together, the frame opens, the colors ignite, and it seems as though they have a chance for the satisfying and colorful life they have hitherto lacked.
The concept of a vampire through mise-en-scene in this film is very evident. This is evident in the costume and props. For example, the appearance of Eli is quite monstrous through her extremely pale skin and very black and life-less (color-wise) eyes. She looks very ill and sickly, and this represents the vampire inside of her, how it’s taken a toll on her life (how she cannot live like other children and is eternally twelve) and appearance (she looks constantly tired and miserable, except when with Oskar). Blood is used for the concept of this as well, because when Eli kills someone, she is covered in blood, but with the body of a twelve year old girl. She, in a sense, has two sides, the ‘normal’ twelve year old and the vampire who kills reluctantly. The blood on Eli is used to represent her two sides and how she is innocent, and yet, is a vampire.
ReplyDeleteThe lighting is very dark throughout the film, and this adds a very creepy tone. This is because darkness causes uneasiness, due to the fact that things are not as visible and creatures (vampires) could be lurking within them. All of Eli’s kills (except the pool scene) take place in darkness, and all the shots with Eli contain no sunlight. This is because Eli is a vampire, but it represents the darkness inside of her. It represents the evil in her. She killed the man in an almost pitch black environment (at night under a bridge, avoiding the glare of the moon), and killed another man in the extreme dark of her bathroom. Yet, Eli is shown in her apartment flat, and Oskar’s, in bright light, and looks as sweet as any other little girl. The contrasts through the lighting represent how Eli is innocent, and a killer.
The concept of a vampire through mise-en-scene in this film is very evident. This is evident in the costume and props. For example, the appearance of Eli is quite monstrous through her extremely pale skin and very black and life-less (color-wise) eyes. She looks very ill and sickly, and this represents the vampire inside of her, how it’s taken a toll on her life (how she cannot live like other children and is eternally twelve) and appearance (she looks constantly tired and miserable, except when with Oskar). Blood is used for the concept of this as well, because when Eli kills someone, she is covered in blood, but with the body of a twelve year old girl. She, in a sense, has two sides, the ‘normal’ twelve year old and the vampire who kills reluctantly. The blood on Eli is used to represent her two sides and how she is innocent, and yet, is a vampire.
ReplyDeleteThe lighting is very dark throughout the film, and this adds a very creepy tone. This is because darkness causes uneasiness, due to the fact that things are not as visible and creatures (vampires) could be lurking within them. All of Eli’s kills (except the pool scene) take place in darkness, and all the shots with Eli contain no sunlight. This is because Eli is a vampire, but it represents the darkness inside of her. It represents the evil in her. She killed the man in an almost pitch black environment (at night under a bridge, avoiding the glare of the moon), and killed another man in the extreme dark of her bathroom. Yet, Eli is shown in her apartment flat, and Oskar’s, in bright light, and looks as sweet as any other little girl. The contrasts through the lighting represent how Eli is innocent, and a killer.