In the bit by the river the projection of the river is a calm river. The lights are also quite calm so it relaxes the audience. Then when he shots him it shocks the audience and makes the death more powerful. The bed is used as a river bank. It is tilted with Lennie sitting on the lower side and George standing on the raised bit. This is to show that George has the higher status because he is in control and knows what he is doing. Lennie has the lower status because he is oblivious to what is about to happen. When Lennie looks back it makes the audience feel sympathy for both characters. It makes you feel sympathy for George because he has just killed his best friend and for Lennie because he doesn’t know why his friend just killed him. When Lennie walks away it is showing that he is leaving the play. it makes the audience feel even more for Lennie because he wont be seen again. In the bit with the prostitute she welcomes in curly the same way as George. This shows that she has no emotion about the job and just does the same thing over and over again.
The part where Lennie gets shot is very powerful and I think it shocks the audience. I also liked the use of the projection of a river. Not only did it tell the audience where the scene was it also made the scene calmer. Another thing I liked was the use of the bed throughout the play. At first I didn’t understand why it was being used then I realized that it wasn’t always a bed. The last scene when the prostitute calls in Curly I liked because it was just like the beginning of the play again and it was like the play had started again.
At the beginning of the play it starts with the projection of George running through the cornfield. Then you see George and Lennie sitting in a bar having a drink. While they are having a drink the prostitute (Suzi) is getting ready for George. Then she calls him in and starts to be nice and flatters him “that’s a nice name”. Originally George went up there to sleep with her but then he ends up telling her his story how they want to own a ranch.
The way they projected the video was with a projector on the back wall. The projection was shown in black and white. This could be to show that it is a flash back or a not the present time. Then in the scene with George sitting by the bar there is a spot light on him to show that he is the main character and that we should be following him. Between the scene with George in the bar and George and Suzi in the bedroom together there is a harmonica that plays. I think this is to show a change from one scene to the other.
The projection can make the audience start to think why he is running, what is he running from. It also acts to separate the stage so that the actors could have an entrance and exit. The projection was also used to show the audience a bit of George’s past.
At the beginning of the play after the projection it was a little confusing and you didn’t know what was happening. Then when you found out that is was a flash back it helped. When George is sulking in the bar I think it is to show that George is not happy about life. Also how it is dark apart from the spotlight on him makes the atmosphere darker and sadder.
Another key moment in the play is when George and Lennie go to get a job on the ranch and they meet the boss. You don’t the boss because he is standing in front off a light so you can only see his shadow which makes him look bigger. George and Lennie are standing at the side of the stage and the boss’s shadow is in the middle.
They make the boss look powerful because they use the lighting and his shadow. This makes him look bigger than George and Lennie giving him a higher status. Another method to make him look powerful was that they used a microphone to make his voice louder. They microphone also made his voice deeper. George and Lennie are hunched over making the boss seem even more powerful. One more method that they use is that the boss doesn’t make many movements but when he does they are very fast and assertive. For example when he giving them an order he moves out his hand from his side quickly to point then he brings it back to his side again quickly.
I thought it was done really well and made the boss look big and George and Lennie look small. The shadow was good because you could clearly see his clothes and tell that he was a ranch owner or a cowboy. The microphone also worked well because you could hear his voice and it made his voice sound deeper and more assertive. It is good because it gives the boss a mysterious feel because you never see him but you just see a big figure with a big deep voice. This builds tension for the audience.
Conclusion
My conclusion is that the play was done very well. I like the film because it was done with actors that have a disability, this is good because it can show how just because people have a disability they can still do things like act. I think this was done because in the play it shows that just because some people may have a disability they shouldn’t be treated differently. My favorite scene is the one with the boss because you never see him but he seems very scary just by the use of lighting and sound.
