As Jo and Geoff walk down the stairs, he continues to rhythmically express how he would look after her baby, almost making is sound like a fairly tale, with a happy ever after. This somewhat romantic conversation comes to a harsh halt, as Jo reveals she wants Geoff with her since he wants nothing in return. Jo is seeking for that material love and providing of love that is unconditional which she did not receive from her estranged mother.
Editing sets the pace to the scene. It opens with a cross fade of the two images which implies a passing of time. The editing is slow, as it cuts back forward to a shot reverse shot as Geoff and Jo have the conversation about whether she still love jimmy. The scene also end with a cross fade into the next which again implies the passing of time.
The opening of the sequence is started with a medium shot of Jo, looking out on the docks. As the shot cuts to Geoff coming up the stairs to find her, the next shot frames the pair in a medium shot, against the harsh industrial backdrop of Manchester.
The camera is mainly kept at a distance, importantly as the conversation of whether Jo still loves jimmy, the camera backs away as both characters walk towards the camera. As Geoff and Jo talk about who’s happy the camera frames both of them, this is when the camera has been closest to the characters allowing the audience to feel close to there emotional state as we can clearly see facial expressions.
As both characters come down the bridge, the low angle shot frames them both, with a backdrop of a grey dull sky, this adds to the industrialness of the scene, as well as complimenting the fairy tale/ dream like dialogue with the blankness/bleakness of the sky.
Performance is important to note within the scene as it allows the audience to identify with the characters. Its important to point out, that in the first half of the scene Jo is clearly more dominating. She bluntly resists Geoff efforts of him providing for her. She is in control of the conversation and situation they are discussing, this can be seen as Geoff follows after her as the camera backs away from the pair. This dominance or control is then switched, as Geoff dreamily express a rhythmic poem to Jo as she then follows him down the stairs.
Throughout the sequence both Jo and Geoff, are fairly emotionless, the faces don’t portray a real sense of emotional, even if Jo is in a rather emotional situation. Jo asks Geoff if he has been unhappy with her, with is reply ‘who’s happy’, his monotone voice and lack of facial emotions alienates the audience. Thinking of chucking yourself in’- Geoff asks Jo, with his face turned to the camera and Jo looking away, both the characters are at a distance from the camera keeping the audience out of tune with here emotional state. Jo’s shows affection towards Geoff only at one point within the scene as she touches his shoulder, as they talk about marriage and love. Geoff almost offers himself to Jo, which will complete him in terms in the eyes of society, as he is a homosexual. This lack of affection between the characters keeps their relationship platonic, even though Geoff is wiling to look after Jo and her unborn baby.
Mise-en-scene is important for setting an atmosphere and tone to this scene. The industrial town in the background and dock where the scene I am talking about takes place heightens the sense of ‘working’ class. Jo is looking on to a town, which from the location she is in within the scene is rather industrial denoting hard work and labour.
The location of the dock, that Jo has run to, is similar to the dock where she met Jimmy, the father to her unborn child. The openness of the landscape mimics the entrapment of Jo current situation, as she is a jobless, single mother about to have a mixed race baby. Even though the backdrop of this scene is open/ vast, it is still industrial, the bridge and railings could be metaphorically seen as barriers or bridges that Jo is facing and will have to cross due to her situation.
The harsh, cold and imposing metals seen in the bridge and other structural railings give the scene a cold and indelicate atmosphere which causes a juxtaposition to the type of conversation Jo and Geoff are having which is about love, care, happiness and marriage. The harsh, tough and industrial backdrops pose the same emotion and atmosphere that both characters portray even though the conversation is somewhat the opposite.
This scene with A taste of honey allows audiences to relate the emotional vagueness of characters, as they are lost in this big, industrial, bleak town in Manchester.
