Example of Film Analysis using Mise-en-scene

Authors Avatar
Example of Film Analysis using Mise-en-scene

The opening scenes of The Godfather Part Three, (Coppola, 1991), we see the family compound in ruins on a grey wintry day. The lighting is dark and depressing and depicts the nature of what has passed and what might be to come. Something sad has occurred. You need not have seen the previous two films to have some idea of the weight and brevity of the narrative. If the film makers had chosen to shoot that opening scene of the flooded and derelict family home on a bright sunny day how would the audience have known that some form of change has occurred? A family home bathed in sunlight implies happiness and family togetherness. The darkness and brooding cold of the shot tells us that the extension of the narrative that will make up this new film comes from a time of depression and of obscurity for the Corleone family.

The opening scenes of The Godfather Part Three also highlight the importance of setting as a way to drive and develop the narrative. The family home is in ruins. It is a grand and once luxurious compound that has fallen into decay and abandonment. The audience is aware from the start that the family, the central premise of the whole trilogy, has fallen and broken. Love and togetherness, the strength of the family unit to support and unify the goals of the individual members has been left to ruination and rot. The film's narrative is therefore still about family, but as a broken one with a destructive past.

Once the location changes to New York City, the arena of the church illustrates the social position of the family and their power. The Cathedral is tall and grandiose, steeped in tradition and history. It is the defender of the family. Yet, its insertion at this point of the narrative sets out quite clearly that the story will involve the fractured family and its involvement with the church. It poses the question, what are evil gangsters trying to achieve through the involvement with the church, and moreover, what is the powerful Roman Catholic church doing getting involved with the mob? The setting smacks of hypocrisy, and therefore intrigue. The audience is now interested in the story that is to come, awaiting the inevitable conflict that the collision of these two worlds will present. If the opening of this film had been set in Michael's place of work or his home, the premise of the coming story would have been entirely different. The overall setting of the film does not overwhelm the characters, but it does model our understanding of the film and our perception of those character's goals. It emphasises the narrative and the highlights the nature of the people we are dealing with.
Join now!


Contained within this setting, and illuminated under its soft ominous lighting, the characters act in a certain way. They express themselves, talk, and move in a deliberate manner, designed to add to the overall effect of the film. Michael is solemn. He is grey and his face is lined and drawn. He does not smile, which is a surprise because one would expect him to be happy at being awarded the highest order of the Roman Catholic church. There is a deep and sombre mood created by the action. The pace is very slow; no one moves quickly ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Here's what a teacher thought of this essay

Avatar

While this essay contains many insightful observations, and on the whole is quite well written, it is poorly structured and it has no conclusion of any kind. These are formal requirements so important that their omission severely limits the grade that can be ascribed to the essay, even though I think it's evident that this author has a quite sophisticated grasp of what mise en scene is and how it functions in the context of cinematic storytelling. 3 stars