Scene Analysis: A Beautiful Mind

Below is an analysis of the climax of A Beautiful Mind

Mise-en-Scene	Cinematography
the mise-en-scene is depicted as a dark, dreary, and overall negative. With a consistent emphasis on the stormy atmosphere, and shaking trees it is clear that something bad is about to happen. Everything in the scene seems to be broken. The gate and windows of the house are left ajar, and the shed is damaged and cracked. Inside of the house everything seems to represent a typical family home, but the grey tones of the stormy weather outside is carried inside to house, and no lights are turned on. the baby in danger and naked in the bath and exposed to create a sense of vulnerability among the audience, and enforce the overall negative connotation of all of the visual aspects of the scene	in the beginning there are multiple occasions where the camera is focused up at the sky, emphasizing the weather, and the foreshadowing that it embodies. Because this is a breaking point in the film, the cinematography is used as a tool to guide and help the audience decipher between what is part of John’s imagination and what his wife is actually seeing. For example, many times when the camera is behind Alicia’s shoulder, Parcher and the others that John sees are not visible, but when the camera is following John they are crisp and clearly present. This being said, sometimes the cinematography is used to confuse the audience, because there is still a sense of doubt and mistrust in John’s diagnosis. For example, when Alicia is approaching the shed, the camera is positioned way back in the trees, suggesting that she may have been watched, further complicating the two worlds. The director also strategically uses angles to identify John as a threatening character in this scene, even though he is the protagonist of the film. The full body of the baby is shown from and aerial perspective, suggesting vulnerability, while John is looked up to from a lower perspective. An example is when he is walking down to stairs, chasing after Alicia and the baby. director also uses many closeup of Nash to emphasize his confusion and delirium. Another way that close ups are used is to hone in on marcy’s features (the little girl), and establish her importance in his revelation.
Editing	Sound
Editing is standard until John, Alicia and the baby enter the living room. The shots become quicker and are compiled rapidly, helping to build tension among viewers. To enforce that Charles, Marcee, and Parcher are hallucinations, the editor uses jumpshots and slow motion to portray them getting close to John (like when marcy grabs his hand, or when the image of charles jumps from a bust shot to a close up). Color correction and montage style editing is used to identify the contrast between John’s flashbacks in chronological order and what is happening in the present. The pace of the jump cuts are sped up, even more, making the situation even more climactic. Frantic transitions are used as a device to almost transport the audience into Nash’s delirium	The sound as a whole is very influential and adds to the tense atmosphere of the scene as a whole. the diegetic sounds of the rain and thunder increase their intensity as the scene develops. For example the thunder in the very beginning only suggested that the storm was impending, but when Alicia realizes that John has had another break, the rain begins to pound and the thunder is more intense. Also diegetics, the baby crying elevates the negative tone. The sound of Marcy’s voice is soft and ringing, highlighting her youth. When Alicia becomes suspicious of the open gate at the beginning, the radio sounds begin to play, which I would consider non-diegetic, because we later find out that the radio is not real, and only serves as a symbol of John’s illness. Another very prominent non-diegetic sound in the frantic piano that comes in and out throughout the scene. It stops for good, and is replaced by only the sound of rain at the end when Nash comes to realize that he is in fact hallucinating.

 

Purpose of this climax: All of the elements of the scene work together to increasingly build tension. The Mise-en-scene is constantly dull, and negative, the sounds becomes more intense, and the editing becomes quicker as the scene moves forward. Cinematography not only contrasts the protagonistic image of John earlier in the film, but helps the audience decipher between what John is hallucinating and what is real.