Write a review of Gary Sinses's "Of Mice and Men" for a school magazine
Write a review of Gary Sinsese's "Of Mice and Men" for a school magazine. Focus particularly on the opening scenes of the film and consider the effectiveness of the interpretation.
The story of "Of Mice and Men" is set during the depression that followed the Wall Street Crash of 1929. It involves the effects of poverty and it follows two men, George and Lennie and their struggle to find employment. The novel shows a great bond between them and how they try and overcome the problems they face. Like, most writers or directors, John Steinbeck and Gary Sinese try to grab the readers or viewer's attention almost immediately. Even though the novel and film are based on the same story, they use different techniques and ways to try and get the audience's attention.
In the novel John Steinbeck uses a lot of description of his settings and this is how he tries to keep the audience's imagination going. For example in the first two pages of the novel, he uses a strong descriptive style of language to try and give an effect of a natural, calm and peaceful atmosphere. When describing the willow pool he puts as much detail in as possible, as this area of land is one of the most important places in the story as this is where Steinbeck starts the story and ends it in a similar place. It's quite amazing how Steinbeck manages to turn a violent and threatening scene into a calm, relaxing place. The beginning is used to try and introduce the two main characters portraying George as the leader and it seems that he is like a father to Lennie who is portrayed as a small child who cannot control what he is doing.
George also knows he has to take the role as the father or older brother and has to keep rules and tell him what to do, e.g. when they are drinking from the lake Lenny keeps his head in the water and is just gulping the water down, then George says, "For god sake don't drink so much", and also he checks if the water is safe by making sure that its is running although George is of little intelligence him self, he knows how to stay alive and live well.
However, Gary Sinese tries to grab the audience's attention in another way at the beginning of the film. The first scene in the film, you see George on a train, thinking. From a neutral perspective I had no idea what he is thinking or remembering. Sinese then uses the flashback technique, and you suddenly see George and Lennie running like fugitives out of breath down a field. This sense of distress is very different from the calming effect of the novel. It then flashes to a woman in a red dress, who is also appearing to be very ...
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However, Gary Sinese tries to grab the audience's attention in another way at the beginning of the film. The first scene in the film, you see George on a train, thinking. From a neutral perspective I had no idea what he is thinking or remembering. Sinese then uses the flashback technique, and you suddenly see George and Lennie running like fugitives out of breath down a field. This sense of distress is very different from the calming effect of the novel. It then flashes to a woman in a red dress, who is also appearing to be very distressed. She is running the opposite direction to George and Lennie, which illustrates a link because they're running away from each other. The film goes straight into action and leaves the audience wondering what has happened and why. These unanswered questions build up the tension and suspense.
In the film George is played by Gary Sinese, who is the director and producer of the film. Lennie is played by John Malkovich. These two major characters are revealed in different ways in the film; George is the intelligent person who guides Lennie and himself in the right direction. He fits his role very comfortably and plays his role in a very calm manner and illustrates great determination. George in the book is firstly described as "small and quick, dark of face with restless eyes and sharp, strong features". George being described as having restless eyes gives an impression that he is quite alert and a quick thinker of what to do in troubled times. Whereas Lennie on the other hand is described quite differently: "Huge man, shapeless face with large, pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws". Lennie is described as an animal which shows that he is a slow and clumsy both physically and mentally.
Lennie is a disturbed man; I mean disturbed in the sense that he is not capable of behaving or thinking for his actual age. In my opinion I think casting John Malkovich as Lennie was perfect as he was able to portray the child like brain of Lennie and seemed to fit the right description of Lennie. The voice used by John Malkovich was very effective in giving the viewer a childlike impression of Lennie. Lennie might have a child like mind but he has healthy physical strength. This is demonstrated in the scene where he is working on the farm, it took two men to pick up a bag and stock it on the truck but Lennie could pick up the bag by himself. Overall I believe that John Malkovich acted in a convincing way from an audience's perspective. Even though there are differences in personalities and appearances between George and Lennie, there is also great affection and a close relationship between these two characters.
In the opening of the film the camera crosscuts between long shots and close-ups during the chase to highlight the danger. They focus on George and Lennie a bit more than they do with other characters at the beginning. I think they do this so the viewers realise who the main characters are and can get to know them. The film begins by showing the expression on George's face as he looks out of the train. The camera gradually zooms in on George's face in a shadow just to reiterate his feelings. Looking at the expression on his face, it seems as if he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, this makes the audience curious about who the man is, which makes them want to watch on to find out the identity of this mysterious character.
Suddenly the film explodes into colour in a dramatic style as the camera cuts to a long shot of a panic-stricken woman, with her dress ripped, running towards a group of men working on a ranch. The next clip is of the group of men, carrying guns on horseback in denim, chasing two apparently un-armed men. These two men are Lennie and George and it is demonstrated in a long shot view. They are racing through the grassy shrubs of the plains. The camera then goes close up to the girl's face to emphasise her expression of fear. A sense of danger and menace is created as George is continually looking over his shoulder and dragging Lennie along as the men on horseback continue to hunt the two men. We later realise that this is symbolic of the two men's relationship, as George always has to look over his shoulder in real life. It symbolises a mother always looking over her shoulder to see if her baby is all right.
I know that the girl in the red dress and George and Lennie are running in the opposite direction because, first the camera views her from the front and then suddenly from her back. Both George and Lennie fall into a stream and hide under the overgrown reeds and grass from the grassland. The men pass by the stream and this causes a sense of excitement and tension within the audience. The first close up on Lennie shows us his big, frightened eyes, worried like a child, with his open pupils reflecting the sunlight. When they are hiding in the ditch the camera is shown from their point of view, as if the camera was stuck in front of them. This helps the audience imagine what it would be like during that situation. The heavy breathing stops and both men remain silent. As time goes by the crickets begin to chirp and the audience get a chance to get their breath back.
The lighting at the beginning of the film is effective in setting the scene. At first you just see a black screen and then gradually credits appear in white. When you see George caught up in his thought in the train, you can partially see light shining between the carriages and then reflecting to his face. I noticed it looked like prison bars, which gave me a sense that he was being imprisoned which was not the actual case. This effect intrigues the audience who are gradually introduced to the film. The lighting throughout the film was quite natural; there was no real fake lighting.
The film opens with a haunting, chilling melody lingering in the background of a black screen with white credits appearing for several minutes. Sinese puts the credits at the beginning rather than at the end so that he adds to the drama at the beginning and doesn't ruin the ending with them. In the film the music is more dramatic. It keeps you in suspense and is more distinctive. It starts with piano music and then the sound of the train comes in. The director does this to make the opening more effective and attention - grabbing. The non-diagetic (you wouldn't hear it if you were in the scene) melancholy music sets the atmosphere in the beginning. The music then changes to a diagetic sound of the train, which is realistic. All these different types of sounds are used in the film, when George and Lennie are running in the beginning; the music builds up and the volume increases. This just emphasises the tension of the atmosphere. The diagetic sounds of the dogs barking, horses galloping give the impression of chaos and panic.
In conclusion, my personal favourite between the novel and the film, is the novel as it is an impressive and thrilling read. I think that the film version is very emotional, and the director Gary Sinese portrays the novel in a different way, although the detail and description of the film can never compare with the original novel. You will find that in most cases the film cannot reproduce the same empathy and imagination used when the author first creates their masterpiece. The beginning of the book and the beginning of the film are based on the same storyline. The way the scenes are described and presented are really quite different. Gary Sinese is able to create a sense of action and suspense, whilst Steinbeck creates a very rich and calm descriptive opening scene, which contrasts with the violence of what is actually happening.
Gagandeep Jauhar English Coursework
1B
