Analyze The Mise-En-Scene In The Film Strangers On A Train
With reference to “Strangers On A Train” analyse the mise-en-scene.
In this essay I am going to write about the film “Strangers On A Train” and look at how mise en scene and narrative structure are used to establish the film’s themes.
Strangers On A Train is about two men, Guy Haines and Bruno Anthony, who meet on a train by accidentally knocking shoes. Guy is a professional tennis player and Bruno recognises him and starts talking to him. Bruno knows from the papers that Guy wishes to marry the senator’s daughter Ann Morton, but he cannot until he is divorced from Miriam, his current wife. He also tells guy of his hatred for his father, and tells him of his theory and that they should swap murders. When Bruno assumes they have made …show more content…
From the moment the film starts we can notice this through Bruno’s idea of swapping murders, “criss-cross” and then we see this through the use of the crossing train tracks, becoming symbolic only after further plot development. This theme is cleverly carried on through out the film, such as when we see Hitchcock in his cameo appearance carrying a double bass, and when Bruno orders doubles on the train, “the only kind of doubles I play”, playing on the word doubles as it is also used to describe a tennis game played with two people on each side. The crossed tennis rackets on Guy’s cigarette lighter is also another example. Another theme used in a variety of Hitchcock films such as “Psycho” and “North By Northwest” is that of the mother, often shown as a bizarre character. In “Strangers On A Train” Bruno’s mother is very much like himself, flamboyant and a little strange. Another theme which interests Hitchcock and which he uses in this film is the use of characters that are insecure and uncertain of their identity. Guy is suspended between tennis and politics, and between Ann Morton and Miriam, and Bruno is trying to create an identity through the use of violent, unusual actions and flamboyance. This is shown through his lobster patterned tie and his showy
In this essay I am going to write about the film “Strangers On A Train” and look at how mise en scene and narrative structure are used to establish the film’s themes.
Strangers On A Train is about two men, Guy Haines and Bruno Anthony, who meet on a train by accidentally knocking shoes. Guy is a professional tennis player and Bruno recognises him and starts talking to him. Bruno knows from the papers that Guy wishes to marry the senator’s daughter Ann Morton, but he cannot until he is divorced from Miriam, his current wife. He also tells guy of his hatred for his father, and tells him of his theory and that they should swap murders. When Bruno assumes they have made …show more content…
From the moment the film starts we can notice this through Bruno’s idea of swapping murders, “criss-cross” and then we see this through the use of the crossing train tracks, becoming symbolic only after further plot development. This theme is cleverly carried on through out the film, such as when we see Hitchcock in his cameo appearance carrying a double bass, and when Bruno orders doubles on the train, “the only kind of doubles I play”, playing on the word doubles as it is also used to describe a tennis game played with two people on each side. The crossed tennis rackets on Guy’s cigarette lighter is also another example. Another theme used in a variety of Hitchcock films such as “Psycho” and “North By Northwest” is that of the mother, often shown as a bizarre character. In “Strangers On A Train” Bruno’s mother is very much like himself, flamboyant and a little strange. Another theme which interests Hitchcock and which he uses in this film is the use of characters that are insecure and uncertain of their identity. Guy is suspended between tennis and politics, and between Ann Morton and Miriam, and Bruno is trying to create an identity through the use of violent, unusual actions and flamboyance. This is shown through his lobster patterned tie and his showy