Today in class we finished watching No Country for Old Men. We continued to analyze elements of mise-en-scene and how they affect narrative aspects, and the four sentences of analysis based off of the movie are due tonight by midnight on Google Classroom. With all of the characters interacting and more of them becoming aware of Anton, there were plenty of mise-en-scene elements apparent and it was more evident as to how they affected the narrative aspects of the film. Today, I focused specifically on the eye-level shot angles on the two men in the diner following the shocking death of one of the characters, as the shot angles intensified the mood and tone. The overall tone of the film changed following the death of the character, and the rest of the film offered answers to the questions their death raised. The answers, however, may not be the ones that people were hoping to find out, considering the unorthodox ending the film had. I recommend that you watch it soon if you have not because it is unexpected, but well portrayed and surprising to some extent.
The shot angles in the film reminded my of Silence of the Lambs, a film I recently watched for the first time. There is a specific scene in that film when FBI agent Clarice Starling first meets psychologist and cereal killer, Hannibal Lecter, in which an eye-level shot angle is used. This specific shot, similar to No Country for Old Men, changed the tone of the scene. With the camera looking directly into Lecter’s eyes as he tells her to come closer, a sinister, chilling tone is established, intensifying the already established creepy tone. Although the tones of the two movies varied, the eye-level shots that were used in both changed and intensified the tones of their respective scenes, as well as the overall tone of the films. Both films exemplify how the shot angles chosen by producers can affect narrative elements, and as a result, further show us how mise-en-scene elements and narrative elements compliment and accentuate one another.
eye-level shot angle of Hannibal Lecter
This is an excellent post, Emily! Great details and a really logical divide between the class' activities/exploration and your own personal experience with suspense in film. The eye-level shot angle really makes Hannibal look SO frightening, and you've done a great job of showing us how that relates to the kind of craft you're exmaining in No Country on a day-to-day basis.
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