Donnie Darko Mise En Scene Analysis
Donnie Darko (2001) is a surrealist, mystery, sci-fi film set in suburban America, which follows the disenchanted and troubled teenager, Donnie Darko. The film follows the teen as he begins to explore what it means to be alive and believes to uncover secrets of the universe that gives him, what he believes to be a tempting power to alter time and destiny, letting him lose touch with what is and is not reality. In the following text I will be analysing and focusing on the opening scene of Donnie Darko and how mise-en-scene is used to create the mood, theme and setting of the film to audiences. Also how it establishes the characters and their state of mind, mainly of Donnie’s.
Mise-en-scene (originated from a French term ‘to place in the scene’), …show more content…
“ The position of the camera governs our access to the action. how we experience a given set of events is going to be profoundly affected by the nature of the view, or views with which are presented” meaning the way the opening scene is filmed, can govern the way in which the audience can perceive the narrative and characters. The first shot that is seen is a panning shot across the countryside/woods to give the audience a perspective of where the action is taking place, and showing the audience what I mentioned earlier about the setting and lighting, in this one shot the audience is able to establish an understanding of what the tone of the film is, and an idea of the genre. An establishing shot is then used to show Donnie in the middle of the road, showing he has fallen off his bike, having this establishing shot, without any action, or seeing that Donnie has fallen, the audience already has gathered what has happened. A close up shot is then used to let the audience see Donnie’s facial expression in order for the confusion of this scene to be shown. After, another panning shot is used, almost as a point of view shot so that Donnie is aware of his surroundings, using a point of view shot, then lets the audience go into the mind of the character, which highlights the convey of loneliness and the tranquility that is presented in his
Mise-en-scene (originated from a French term ‘to place in the scene’), …show more content…
“ The position of the camera governs our access to the action. how we experience a given set of events is going to be profoundly affected by the nature of the view, or views with which are presented” meaning the way the opening scene is filmed, can govern the way in which the audience can perceive the narrative and characters. The first shot that is seen is a panning shot across the countryside/woods to give the audience a perspective of where the action is taking place, and showing the audience what I mentioned earlier about the setting and lighting, in this one shot the audience is able to establish an understanding of what the tone of the film is, and an idea of the genre. An establishing shot is then used to show Donnie in the middle of the road, showing he has fallen off his bike, having this establishing shot, without any action, or seeing that Donnie has fallen, the audience already has gathered what has happened. A close up shot is then used to let the audience see Donnie’s facial expression in order for the confusion of this scene to be shown. After, another panning shot is used, almost as a point of view shot so that Donnie is aware of his surroundings, using a point of view shot, then lets the audience go into the mind of the character, which highlights the convey of loneliness and the tranquility that is presented in his