Film 1001 Essay #1 - Rebecca

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES

23333901

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STUDENT NUMBER

23333901

PROG. OF STUDY

FILM AND ENGLISH

MODULE CODE

FILM 1001

MODULE TUTOR

KEENAN, S

WORD COUNT

2016

ASSIGNMENT TITLE

Consider the relationship of Mise-en-scène, Editing, Cinematography and Sound to the narrative structure of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca. Analysis of the scene in which Mrs de Winter visits Rebecca’s old bedroom

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Consider the relationship of Mise-en-scène, Editing, Cinematography and Sound to the narrative structure of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca. ANALYSIS OF THE SCENE IN WHICH MRS DE WINTER VISITS REBECCA’S OLD BEDROOM

IN 1940, Alfred Hitchock’s Rebecca was released. It is a psychological thriller that lends itself to gothic mystery, thrilling through Hitchcock’s highly effective cinematic craft which is, at times incredibly original. It is his use of mise-en-scène, editing, cinematography and sound that make the film so tense and captivating throughout. A standout scene in the film is the scene in which the new Mrs de Winter (Joan Fontaine) goes to visit Rebecca’s room, but is interrupted by the chilling Mrs Danvers (Judith Anderson). The mise-en-scène, or Hitchcock’s ‘control over what appears in the film frame’ 1, and the cinematography, or ‘writing in movement’ (p. 162), in this scene create a very haunting, tense feel and ramifies the marked contrast between Anderson and Fontaine’s characters. Shadows feature heavily in the grand, bright space, which adds to the incredibly dramatic and complex feel of the scene. The entire film is shot with in black and white, featuring a balance of greys, blacks and whites in reasonably high contrast. The scene opens with Mrs de Winter, ascending a grand staircase towards Rebecca’s room, shot from the bottom of the stairs facing up. Establishing the grand, sinister, and empty-feeling setting with this wide, low-angled shot is effective as it emphasises the scale of the setting, which while large still feels very oppressive. It feels oppressive due to the many straight lines which frame Fontaine and seem to “box her in”. There is a distinct impression of looming due to the camera’s positioning as it allows the gargantuan window at the top of the stars to even further overpower the dainty Mrs de Winter. The audience is granted a glimpse at Rebecca’s incredibly large, looming white door, before the camera then switches to a head-on view of Mrs de Winter, tracking back as Fontaine walks towards it. As she does so, her figure is in primary focus, owing to the shallow depth of field, but 1

David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction, ed. by McGraw-Hill (New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 8th ed., 2008), p. 112 SUBSEQUENT REFERENCES ARE TO THIS EDITION.

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the shadowed and emptily grand background is still noticeable. Fontaine is very tentative in approach, which adds tension to the scene; however, the main tension is built through the soundtrack. The non-diegetic music is edgy, tense, distorted in tone and builds significantly as Fontaine approaches the door. It significantly heightens tension in an attempt to bring the audience’s fear in line with that of Mrs de Winter’s as she approaches the door. In essence, the music is heavily connected with Mrs de Winter in that it builds with her increasing fear. In terms of the ‘hierarchy of knowledge’ (p. 90), at this point the viewer does not know any more than her, so in a sense the audience is experiencing exactly the same feelings of dread and anxiety as she is. This is all due to Hitchcock’s decision to create a partially restricted narration. The narrative is not entirely restricted, and it is in fact this that creates the most suspense. The viewer knows something is not right throughout the film due to visual and audible cues, but does not know what, so indeed it subconsciously analyses much of the action in a bid to figure out what is going on. When Mrs Danvers enters, we feel nervous as we know she is heavily linked with Rebecca and knows more than both the audience and Mrs de Winter do about the mysterious situation. So while there are ‘isolated moments of surprise’ (p. 90) and suspense, the overwhelming tension is built through our knowledge that Mrs Danvers knows more than she has yet said. The camera pans towards the handle at a pace, as music reaches a crescendo and Fontaine’s hand comes into view and slowly turns it. This shot is notably slow to build tension; both she and the audience have no idea what to expect from what is behind the door and therefore the audience is, in effect, following her into this unknown and potentially disturbing place. The audience’s first glimpse at Rebecca’s room is a wide angle shot of the entrance, showing the intensely dark and shadowed quality of the room’s vast interior. Its huge curtained window, on which long shadows are cast, contrasts heavily with the rest of the room and frames Mrs de Winter. Fontaine’s nervous movements are shadowed on the facing wall as she enters. Her figure is silhouetted against the curtain, due to the backlighting from the window, to further emphasise the contrast. At this point, the music has changed to feel more mysterious and sinisterly upbeat, switching between overbearingly innocent and more tense melodies at sharp intervals. The

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mixture of positive and negative musical tones ramifies the sense of confusion in the audience and tension is resultantly heightened. Mrs de Winter is then seen from the other side of the curtain approaching it and then parting the divide slowly. The camera focuses on Fontaine’s reaction to the view for several seconds without showing what she is looking at as music builds further. Inside, the camera pans with her as she slowly moves about and opens the curtains, irradiating the room. The billowing white curtains that remain have a ghostly effect as they billow with the breeze from outside. Coinciding with a loud crash, which appears to be the window slamming in the wind, the camera switches immediately from a distant shot of Fontaine to a closeup of her frightened gasp, and the music that was playing stops playing in this instant, momentarily. The next shot is from Fontaine’s point of view; she looks at the white curtains that are billowing ferociously now, and in a haunting manner. The music has resumed; throughout the scene the music plays, stopping occasionally to change tone or pace, but never for long. The music adds to the seamlessness of the scene. “Do you wish anything madam?” comes the curt voice of Mrs Danvers, cutting through the resumed music. Hitchcock, after throwing in the red herring of the slamming window and then resuming, immediately catches the audience off guard by placing a new shock immediately after the first. In close up, Mrs de Winter turns her head toward the voice. We see Danvers from Mrs de Winter’s point of view; her appearance is incredibly striking and sinister. Her figure is very stark, silhouetted behind the curtain dressed completely in black. Her black clothing combined with the backlighting from the window makes her seem far starker than Mrs de Winter did when she was seen behind the same curtain. Judith Anderson’s movements as Danvers are swift and decisive and she is moving all the time. The camera soon begins to track her movements with Mrs de Winter following her apprehensively. Her appearance signals a dramatic change in music as the soundtrack takes on an even eerier tone. In contrast to Anderson’s movements, Fontaine stays relatively still and appears to be unsure as to what to say or do, flitting nervously when she does move; Danvers is dominant and overpowering while Mrs de Winter is submissive and nervous. Where Fontaine shows a broad

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range of emotions through facial expressions, Danvers shows few. This is true in tone of voice, also: the audience can presume Danvers is angry from the words she is actually saying, but her tone of voice is so steady and monotonous it is not something one can ascertain from her sound. On the other hand, Fontaine’s register is varied and shaky, deviating in speed and tone which shows her fear. The contrasts between Danvers and Mrs de Winter extend to their clothing choices, also. Costumes can ‘play important motivic’ roles (p. 122) in films and this is certainly evident in Rebecca. While Anderson is dressed head-to-toe in simple jet-black clothing, Fontaine is dressed in a decidedly innocent, unassuming white blouse. Moreover, the lighting on Fontaine is usually soft throughout, sculpting her features and making her appear to glow; Anderson is not lit in such a way and appears flat and cold. The pair could not be more opposing in nearly every way: from demeanour, to tone of voice, to movement, to general appearance. Danvers opens another large curtain in a fast, sweeping movement. The camera cuts to a wide angle shot at the point where she pulls the cord, so we see most of the reveal of the room from a distance. The room is incredibly dramatic in appearance, very light yet covered in many different types of complex attached and cast shadows across all walls and the floor. Lighting, when used properly, can ‘embellish and dramatise every object’ (p.126)’, and Hitchcock knows this all too well. The shadowed appearance in such a light space seems symbolic of Rebecca’s beautiful appearance but dark interior psyche, although the audience does not know this for sure as yet. Many close shots of Fontaine show Mrs de Winter’s unease at the situation and the music shifts with her emotional reactions. For example when she is shocked or upset, the music reaches a more high pitched, frenzied tone; but the music can, and is, quickly be interrupted by Danvers. The music, in short, is very much intertwined with the narrative and the scenes playing out; it changes with movements and emotions portrayed on screen, particularly Fontaine’s, and feels deliberately disjointed and awkward to ramify a tense tone. The apparent perfection of the setting contrasts the mood created by the shadows and lighting, the music and the performances by Fontaine and Anderson. There are several shots featuring both actor, and in these shots we get a full indication of the intense contrast between the pair, heightening tension. Most often in these kinds of shots, Anderson is in an elevated position,

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either through the shot angle or her being physically elevated (for instance standing on the platform of Rebecca’s bed) and this in turn further emphasises Mrs de Winter’s vulnerability and Danvers’ sinister dominance. Mrs de Winter grows further distressed as Danvers glides about telling fond stories of Rebecca and how much she - and everyone else ‘who mattered’ - loved her, and shows her how Rebecca’s room has not changed in the slightest - it is as though she has never gone. Rebecca’s possessions exist in place and are diegetic, symbolising her continued relevance to the overarching story. This further increases the ghostly sense created by the billowing white curtains, which add a sense of life to the room, as though Rebecca’s presence still exists in it. The camera tracks towards Mrs de Winter as she sits at the dresser and Danvers rearranges Rebecca’s brushes ‘you’ve moved ... haven’t you?’. As it does, Fontaine’s character gets increasingly distressed. The camera pans away from her and to a haunting shot of Maxim, staring out directly at her. Fontaine then moves towards the bed where Anderson stands, and while Danvers gets out her embroidery in the right of the shot, Mrs de Winter stands in extremely complicated cast shadows to the left of the door. Camera follows her in close up, panning back as she walks to leave. Yet just as she reaches the door, Anderson sweeps into the scene and continues conversation. She advances toward her and the next shot contains the pair. Vulnerable, Mrs de Winter stands against the door and cries; the camera pans in quickly as Danvers moves ever closer to her. As Mrs de Winter quickly leaves, Danvers drifts back towards the curtain and stands, a black figure against a whitewash background, muttering to herself about the sea. Alfred Hitchcock’s stylistic decisions in Rebecca heighten the feeling of suspense and foreboding. Rebecca’s deeply shadowed chamber, while light, has a sinister feel with its ghostly, light curtains billowing throughout and creating a sense of presence; the vastly contrasting appearances and performance styles of Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson ramify the feelings of unease, conflict and tension; and the soundtrack that plays throughout what is undoubtedly a highly atmospheric scene frequently shifts in tone and feel, dictated by the events in shot. Through this, the scene has a very sinister feel and draws upon all the oppression and mystery established in the film thus far, setting the scene for the big reveal at the climax.

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Bibliography

PRIMARY SOURCE(S) Rebecca. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Perfs. Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson. The Selznick Studio, 1940

SECONDARY SOURCE(S) Bordwell, David and Thompson, Kristin, Film Art: An Introduction (New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 8th ed., 2009)