spotless there is no homeliness or warmth to it which suggests her unhappiness and
emptiness is being disguised by a Laura Ashley inspired façade, Monica’s energy has been soley directed at the house to fill the
vacuum in her life resulting from her inability to have children.
When Cynthia arrives at Monica’s and Maurice’s house her body language looks up at the house suggests she feels intimidated and inadequate
by Monica’s suburban house. As Cynthia enters the house she greets Monica with a
kiss on the cheek, Monica pulls back looking uncomfortable which connotes a sense
of tension and Monica’s snobbery. Cynthia then begins to make scornful comments,
‘you’ve landed on your feet ere aint you Morris’ Cynthia hands Monica a bunch of
bright yellow daffodils which don’t match with Monica’s colour coordinated rooms,
Monica shows dislike as she takes them ‘these are very bright’ however Monica
reluctantly places them in a vase holding them at arms length, Cynthia is offended by
her lack of ungratefulness and begins to make snidy comments, ‘Oh do you not like
em?’ Cynthia’s smoking also annoys Monica; ‘I thought you would have given up by
now’ Cynthia seems to be invading Monica’s privacy and space like an intruder in her
house. The difference between there language sets them apart as well Cynthia’s
colloquial tongue in a London accent makes her seem a lower class to Monica’s
clipped Scottish brogue.
Monica gives Cynthia and Jane a tour to show off her house, this highlights
Monica’s priorities are wrong in that there is an obsessive element to her interest in
her house. As Monica opens the door to the downstairs toilet she boasts, ‘I wanted to
give it a Mediterranean feel’, the toilet is all shades of peaches and yellows also
highlighting Monica being pretentious and her obsession with materialism. She then
includes the garage and the airing cupboard in her tour to show off her trophy house,
which is strange, but then again connotes Monica’s priorities and materialistic values.
She then leads them upstairs to show them her very white feminine ‘fairytale’ master
bedroom, the more Monica brags the more Cynthia makes spiteful remarks, ‘I can’t
see Morris thrashing about on there’. Jane also comments its ‘like a hotel’ although
Jane said this as a compliment it can be seen negatively as there is no cosy warm feel
to the room. Jane then quite wrongly states ‘you’ve got everything Monica’ this is
highly ironic, because the one thing Monica wants most in life she cannot have so she
hides this with a façade. Cynthia feels envious about all the money Monica has spent
on her house when she lives in a run down small house with her daughter Roxanne.
Cynthia’s house is cluttered with old junk with un coordinated wallpaper and old
carpets, the contrast between there houses separate there social status making it harder
for them to socialize with their envy and hatred towards each over.
Monica and Cynthia fight to play the role of the Mother at the barbeque, both
competing with each other to prepare everyone’s food and make sure everyone’s
happy. Leigh places Cynthia and Monica next to each other at the dinner table this is
effective as it shows the audience the awkward tension between them squished
together, however both are trying to ignore it but cant help each spiteful remark to
each other. Contrast is also shown between Cynthia and Monica in how they serve the
food, with Monica using tongs and Cynthia simply using her hands, which suggests
her down to earth no nonsense nature. In an attempt to compete with Monica’s wealth
she brags about Hortense using her as a trophy daughter, ‘Hortense went to college!’
Reaction shots of Cynthia’s hurt is then used when Roxanne is given a card full of
money for her birthday, as Cynthia cannot compete with the money and this shows
Monica’s insensitivity towards Cynthia knowing she could not compete with the gift.
This may have been the cause for Cynthia’s
Subsequent revelations regarding Hortense which before was kept secret because of
guilt and shame however as the audience we sympathise with her.
At the very climax of the scene when all the secrets are bought out into the
open, we see reaction shots of each of the characters, which builds tension and
emotion to the scene. Monica and Cynthia have more similarities then they think
when it is revealed they both have problems linked with children, Cynthia having a
bad relationship with Roxanne and the secret adoption when only sixteen and Monica
not being able to have children. Pathetic fallacy is used when the cake is being bought
out to Roxanne, the sky is grey and storm clouds are gathering with the digetic sound
of thunder being used. Low lighting is also used creating a pensive atmosphere. As
each secret is revealed the storm clouds shift bringing the family closer together and
leading to Monica crying in Cynthia’s arms, Leigh delivers the message to the
audience that honesty is an important element of a strong relationship and without it
the relationship will fall apart, ‘why can’t you tell them… im sorry but its almost
destroying our relationship’. Leigh’s message is portrayed thought Maurice’s speech
‘Why can’t we share our pain’.
One of the central theme to the film is family relationships and honesty
however could initially be thought to be a film on racial issues when Hortense is
mistaken to be a Jehovah’s witness by Monica, The ending scene is gloomy and the
atmosphere is ominous, however it is strangely inspiring and we are left with a feeling
of hope and a sense of optimism for the family