“I don’t draw like that anymore”
“How do you draw now?”
This is Malcolm’s questioning reply. This is asked hesitantly, as if Malcolm is afraid to know the answer. Cole only says that the teachers don’t have meetings about him drawing rainbows, because they had a meeting about him drawing the men and Lynn had started crying. After Cole is only one step away from the doorway, Dr Crowe knows that he cannot win, and does not even try to come up with an idea. “I was thinking that you’re nice, but you can’t help me.” As Cole turns and walks away, Malcolm can just stare helplessly at where his client used to stand. He knows that he needs to help Cole, but he does not know how. One of his questions was relating to a secret that Cole has but does not want to share. Malcolm understands this and will not force Cole to part with that information unless willing.
As the scene changes, to scene six, the setting becomes darker, and a restaurant is laid before us. There are people eating and talking normally with buses going past in the background, and the back of a lady dressed in red. As Malcolm walks into the restaurant and tries to make light of the fact that he is late for dinner with his wife, Anna, we can see two chairs at the table, but it is only set for one person, meaning that Malcolm is either very late for dinner, or there is only supposed to be one person dining at that table. However, the fact that Malcolm is actually at the restaurant would allude to Anna having actually invited him for dinner, but this could not be as Malcolm is dead. This illusion is reinforced in every other scene in which both Malcolm and Anna appear together. While Malcolm tries to apologise, and talks about how he did not have a good day at work, we think that Anna’s stony silence is only due to the fact that he is late for dinner, and as the camera tracks round the table we get a glimpse of the side of her face and can also see the remains of a meal - a half eaten main course, and a untouched slice of cake with a candle in it. Anna is stirring a cup of coffee, and looking down at the table. While Malcolm talks about the similarities between Vincent and Cole, about the present, and not the past, as you would expect a ghost to do, she looks up for a waiter, and turns her head away. All the while, the camera has been tracking round the table, into a close up of Malcolm’s face. At the point that he mentions that he thinks the problem lies in abuse because of defensive cuts on Cole’s wrists, we see Anna turn back around again, as if she were shocked or intrigued by what he was saying. A glance across the table, presumably at Malcolm, leaves us in no doubt that she is aware that he is there, but in the background. A waiter approaches with a bill, and places it on the table. Before Malcolm can reach it Anna snatches it away, giving the impression that she is still mad with him. Packing her hand bag as Malcolm tries to justify himself, at the same time as apologising, Anna puts her handbag over her shoulder, stands up, glances down at the table, and says coldly, but softly;
“Happy Anniversary”
Then she pushes her chair in hard, and supposedly storms off. As Malcolm turns to watch her leave, we get a close up of his face, and we can see the look of hurt. The red in Anna’s dress indicates that a strong ghost’s presence is there, and we know that it is Malcolm.
These two scenes contribute to the film as a whole by showing us the three relationships: between Lynn and Cole and her handling of him; Cole and Malcolm and how much Malcolm is trying to help him; and finally between Malcolm and Anna, the husband and wife who hardly ever speak to each other. In scene 5, as well as throughout the film, the conversations between Malcolm and Cole also re-emphasises the illusion that Malcolm is alive and that ordinary characters can talk to him.
Even though Anna has a very small part, the scenes she appears in show the turmoil that Malcolm is going through, trying to forgive himself for what happened to Vincent, and how he has been neglecting his own family. Anna seems to be trying to get over Malcolm’s absence from her life by having an affair with another man from the antiques store that she works at, when in fact she is really trying to get over Malcolm’s death by being affectionate with a man that is affectionate back. One scene shows Anna at the store, on a seat with a colleague, Sean. They are embracing, and pull back, looking as if they are about to kiss when a window smashes. They both run to the glass door, go out onto the pavement, but there is no one around. The camera tracks round the corner of the street, and we see Malcolm walking down the alley fast, a look of thunder and anguish on his face, as he realises that his wife is seeing another man. Another scene that shows their relationship in a contrasting light is when Malcolm comes home one evening and finds the video of their wedding playing on the television. The bridesmaid on the video is talking to Malcolm, telling him that he has to look after Anna. After feeling sad about how he has been neglecting her Malcolm goes upstairs and finds Anna in the shower. Seeing her reflection in the mirror, when she is completely unaware of his presence, realistic or ghostly, he notices a bottle of anti-depressants in the medicine cupboard. This shocks him, and the reality of how neglected Anna has been feeling comes crashing down on Malcolm. Atmospheric music builds up in the background as Malcolm leans against the cupboard, in both shame and sorrow. The music never gets too loud, but loud enough to be able to hear it clearly.
Another significant relationship is that shown between Cole and his teacher. During a history class, Cole puts his hand up in order to answer a question, about what their school building used to be used for. Cole says that it used to be a place where they hanged people. A boy at the chalkboard, writing down everything that is being said, stops and stares at Cole. The teacher tries to correct Cole and he looks at Cole patronisingly, but Cole tells him not to. While the teacher is getting more confused, and Cole is getting angrier, he reveals that his teacher used to stutter, and that he was called Stuttering Stanley at school. This information shocks the teacher, as he is unable to comprehend how Cole has knowledge of this. He starts getting nervous, and as Cole covers his eyes in an attempt to hide from the looks that the rest of the class are giving him, as well as the look from his teacher. We get an extreme close up of Cole’s mouth, and see him repeating the teacher’s former nickname over and over again. As the music reaches a climax we see a camera shot of the boy at the chalkboard with a stick of chalk slipping slowly down the board, making a white line and, as it slips further, we hear violins screeching almost like fingernails scratching down a blackboard. The teacher has had enough of Cole shouting and, after struggling to get the words out, slams his fist down on Cole’s desk and shouts
”STOP, you ffffffreak”
Cole finally takes his hands down and stares into the furious face of his teacher, horrified to be called a freak by a member of staff who should actually be trying to stop the other children calling him the same.
A further example of Cole’s relationship with his mother, Lynn, is shown when they are leaving the supermarket. Cole is sitting in the trolley while Lynn is pushing it. Cole is keeping silent and, to cheer him up or get a reaction from him, Lynn starts running through the car park. As Cole realises how fast they are going he smiles and puts his hands up as if flying. Once they reach the car Cole’s hands remain in the air for a few more seconds before dropping them, turning to his mother and smiling. Lynn seems happy with what she has achieved, and does a little wiggle in satisfaction, as she then proceeds to load up the car with their groceries, amongst which is a pumpkin, possibly indicating that it might be Halloween soon, providing another ghostly reference to the play. This would show how strong their relationship could be, but over dinner one day this all threatens to fall apart. This is when Lynn discovers that her mother’s bumblebee pendent has been taken by Cole and put in his bureau. When she confronts him about it over dinner one day, she claims that she will not be angry if he just admits to it. Cole is not in fact the one moving the pendent, but the felon responsible is the ghost of Cole’s grandmother. When Cole tells the truth, and pronounces that it is not he, but someone else moving it, Lynn does not believe him.
“You’ve had enough roast beef; you need to leave the table. Now Cole!”
His mother, convinced that Cole is lying, sends him away, and it is not until later that they re-unite, after Cole has seen a ghost, and is to scared to sleep alone.
Half way through the film, Cole is at the birthday party of a boy in his class. After hearing his mother recall the last party he had been invited to, Cole watches a red balloon float up the middle of a long spiral staircase. Cole follows on the stairs, and, as he nears the balloon, we hear a voice asking to be let out. It isn’t until we reach the top of the stairs that we see the voice is coming from an open cupboard. Cole seems unable to move and has gone pale. In the background we can see the red balloon bobbing next to the light. The red would symbolise a ghost’s presence, as well as Cole’s red jumper. At the bottom of the stairs two boys, who bully Cole at school, notice him and creep up the stairs behind him. Cole turns around, and in a strained voice, through which we can tell that he has received a shock, he wishes the second boy a happy birthday. The other boy notices Cole fear of the small cupboard and thinks quickly about how he could lock Cole inside. Once the second boy had caught onto the plan they grab Cole’s arms and throw him in, slamming the door behind him. We can hear Cole shouting for help and then silence. A close up of the red balloon next to the light reveals the balloon bursting from the heat. Meanwhile, we can hear Cole shuffling around inside the cupboard. Once the balloon has burst Cole starts screaming again, but more loudly, higher pitched and more urgently. There had been an absence of any loud music until Cole’s shouting, but now the music starts, and the zenith on the orchestra comes when the cupboard unlocks. At the bottom of the stairs, Cole’s mother can hear someone screaming and walks up to find out who it is. It isn’t until she is half way up the stairs that she realises it is Cole. Running up the last few stairs she pushes past the two boys who are staring in amazement at the fuss Cole is making. Lynn tries to open the door, but cannot which confuses the boys as there was no key to lock the door. Feeling helpless Lynn looks around at the other parents gathering on the stairs. Shaking her head and starting to panic she doesn’t know how to get Cole out. As suddenly as it all started, Cole stops screaming, and the door opens. Lynn reaches inside and pulls Cole out, who is unconscious. As this dramatic scene finishes we realise that this is our first experience of seeing Cole with ghosts and how he reacts to them. It shows us that Cole is afraid of the ghosts, but will not break down like Vincent did. When Cole is in the cupboard, we hear only screaming, with no crying or sobbing.
The following scene takes us to the hospital where Cole is being treated. Lynn is sitting down talking to the doctor, who is puzzled as to how Cole got into this state – he had not had a seizure as had been suspected. The doctor then goes on to talk about some cuts and bruises they found on Cole. Lynn is angry that they think that she beats her child and we realise that Dr Crowe is also present, as an inclusive shot shows him stretching back and saying “Oh boy!” Meanwhile, the hospital social worker is pointed out to Lynn. She then starts getting frantic about what has actually happened to Cole at the party. Once again, Malcolm has been completely ignored but has not tried to put forward any comments at all. If he had, we might have realised that he was a ghost earlier on. This scene is a replication of scene 5, where Lynne and Malcolm appear to have been talking, and are shown together in an inclusive shot with Cole between them, linking Dr Crowe to this world. Whenever Lynn and Malcolm are shown together, appear to be united in their joint support for Cole, adding to the illusion that Malcolm is alive and is there in his professional capacity.
Cole and Malcolm are shown together after the meeting with the doctor. Cole is explaining to Malcolm how to tell bedtime stories. Cole then surprises us by revealing that he is ready and willing to tell Malcolm his secret. As the music starts up in the background Cole whispers “I see dead people”. The interested look on Malcolm’s face disappears as he tries to discover more. Malcolm’s reaction to this information is one of delight that Cole has confided in him, mixed with horror at the content of the secret. One sentence that particularly relates to Malcolm Crowe is when Cole explains that ghosts walk around like ordinary people, not noticing each other and not realising that they are dead because they only see what they want to see. Cole seems shaken and asks if Malcolm will wait with him until he has fallen asleep.
In the second to last scene with Lynn and Cole, they are in a traffic jam, and Cole is just looking at Lynn, trying to decide whether or not to tell her about his secret. When he decides to, she thinks that he is just trying to scare her, but he talks about her mother, and says things that only she would have been able to tell him. It is like she spoke to Lynn from beyond the grave, and used her son as her mouth piece. We see Cole cry properly for the first time in the film, exactly when he and his mother are united properly, and are in each others confidence. Cole has become a helper of the ghosts, and a perfect example is when a girl visits him after she has died, and tells him to go to her house, into her bedroom. Cole does, and Keria is waiting for him. Cole is given a video, and takes it to the girl’s father, who plays it, and finds out that his wife was pouring floor cleaner into his daughter’s food. The scene then ends with Cole on the swings outside with her sister, and gave her a present from Keria. Cole then helps another ghost he meets at school feel better about her self, just before he goes on stage for his school play. She then advises him on how much make-up to put on, and when Cole’s teacher enters, walks away. This is very significant because it shows that Cole has overcome his fear of the ghosts, and is helping them to understand that they are dead, but to get used to it.
As has been mentioned, red appears throughout the film, but, one of the most important features is Cole’s red tent, where he hides to escape ghosts. Inside the tent Cole keeps all of his toy soldiers and statues of Saints to protect him from the ghosts. The strong red of the tent indicates the amount of ghostly activity in that area. Also, at Malcolm’s house, the doorknob on the door leading to the basement is red, and light appears to be reflected into in, representing a depth of ghostly presence. The door leads to the basement, where Malcolm keeps his files. In the final scene, a table, obviously put there to prevent access to Malcolm’s past life has blocked this same door. In the first scene that Cole meets Malcolm, he follows Cole into a church, and a camera shot shows that the large doors are red, with black studs in them. Red is important throughout the film, because it gives the audience something to relate to when they watch the film.
At the beginning of the film the Director makes us believe that Malcolm survived the bullet wound and recovered. In the final shot of the first scene we see an aerial shot pulling back higher as Malcolm’s spirit is taken, but the first shot of the second scene would indicate that Malcolm survived and is now trying to redeem himself and his professional career. Malcolm is sitting on a bench contemplating the similarities between Vincent’s and Cole’s health reports. The Director hoodwinks you into believing that Malcolm never stopped working, apart from to ‘recover’ from his wound.
In conclusion, the link between the two scenes I have been evaluating, together with the rest of the film, show the different techniques that the Director utilises, particularly but not exclusively in scenes 5 and 6, to make it appear that Dr Crowe is alive, when in fact he has been expunged. The Director juxtaposes with skill and precision the reality and normality with the supernatural and other worldly ghostly arena. Some of the techniques used to epitomise this ghostly presence include aerial camera shots, mis-en-scenes with the colour red, and the different people Malcolm appears to interact with, especially Lynn and Anna.
