'Color Techniques Used In Written On The Wind'

In the movie Written on the Wind, we notice that most of the colors were muted and cool toned, the only colors that stood out were things such as Kyle’s yellow car and some scenes which had either red wallpaper or red seats. However, there are two primary color that we see throughout the whole movie, blue and brown. This is shown through Kyle Hadly and Mitch Wayne and is used to represent them as distinct characters. These elements support the mise-en-scene of the movie and helps us further understand the characters and story. One reason for the color scheme of the character’s costumes could be that the muted brown shades best represent Mitch as he is level-headed and serious, while the blue matches Kyle’s impulsive and confident personality.
At the beginning we first notice Kyle’s bright blue suit, this color reflects his bold personality and arrogance and as he was described later on in the movie, “electric”.
When Lucy is introduced to Kyle we can see that she too is wearing the same shade of blue as Kyle, this suggests that these two characters are connected in this movie, as well as Kyle’s clear attraction to her.
On the other hand, we see Mitch clad in different shades of brown throughout the movie. This color reflects him as the underdog of the movie, which makes sense as he is described as the “sidekick” by Kyle in the bar scene at the beginning of the movie. This also shows how he blends into the background and is often forgotten about as we saw in the scene where Kyle and Lucy leave him behind and go to the airplane as well as how Mitch was in the back while Lucy and Kyle were at the cockpit.
In the scene where Lucy meets Kyle’s father, Kyle is seen wearing different shade of blue. This rich and royal color is indication that Kyle now has all that he wanted, his wife, soon to be heir of the business and
money.
However, as the movie progresses we notice Mitch wearing a blue suit at the party, this is when he rejects Marylee’s advancements and emphasizes his love for Lucy, in a way he is mirroring Kyle’s outfit subconsciously, giving the audience a taste of his longing. He however is seen wearing his brown suit in the scene where he confesses his love to Lucy, only to be rejected. This revert shows us that he has gone back to who he was before with no hope of ever winning over her heart.
We see a change in Kyle as he is seen wearing a brown suit when the doctor informs him that there is a chance that he might be sterile, this shows us that he entered a distressed mindset and feels that he has been stripped of who he was, hence the brown suit.
In the end we see Mitch in a blue suit in the courtroom, this represented his victory as well as sadness as he honors his best friend in his typical attire.