While trying to think of films that portray emotion as much through cinematic techniques I suddenly remembered the beginning to Harry Brown (Barber, 2009), I can distinctly remember it having quite an effect on me the first time I saw it. As in A Lonely Man, the performance of the actor helps a great deal in the portrayal of the given emotion, rather than it being so performance driven however, its the fact that Harry Browns character is old that gives the scene poignancy. Its very easy as an audience member to sympathise with the older generation, especially concerning the themes of loneliness and isolation.
The scene opens with a close up of an alarm clock that reads 6.30. Instantly the audience can recognise that its early morning, for a first time watcher this doesn't mean anything yet, however it sets the scene for whats to come. In terms of the scene stylistic choices, its obvious to see that quite a heavy grey/green filter has been applied to the footage. The result is a sapping of vibrant colours, everything in the room is monotone, giving the audience an instant feeling of sadness and depression. In other words, Harry Browns out look on life is bleak. Lastly, the use of shallow depth of field gives the impression of bleary eyes, without wanting to read too much into this, it could be the case that its representative of Brown's old age.
Its following this shot that the audience sees Cain's character for the first time. The close up is unforgiving and immediately gives the audience a good idea of how he's feeling. The fact that he's already awake and waiting for the alarm to go off suggests a depression that, as I've already mentioned, is represented though the colour grading. Not that you can tell though these screen grabs, but each shot of Brown is drawn out, this both reiterates his sadness i.e. not wanting to get out of bed and secondly, suggests he's in no rush to go anywhere or do anything.
The next edit cuts to the other side of his bed, revealing him to be alone. As I've said before, the fact that Cain is an old man, his being by himself automatically suggests widower in the way that a twenty something lying by them selves simply does not. Instantly this throws up sympathy from the audience without anything needed to be said or explained.
The conformation of a deceased spouse comes in the next shot, a cut away to a bed-side-table on which photo's of whats assumed to be his wife are sat. In terms of art direction, the numerous bottles of pills that surround the pictures tell yet another unspoken story, clearly he's not aging well, another reason to feel sorry for Brown.
To further establish to suspected death of this wife Brown then strokes the pillow where she used to lie, this shot in particular holds for a long time, reiterating the fact he misses her company. Its now that the theme of loneliness becomes apparent. Art direction, again, is worth noting here, his green pajamas blend him into the background (you can see the green wallpaper on the walls), this suggests he's succumb to his depression, loosing his character and vibrancy. In a sense, becoming just part of his flat, rather than living there, he now just exists there.
After some time, it cuts to a wide of his whole room and the first thing an audience notices is its lack of any outstanding features, all the furniture is plain, all the colours dull thus continuing the concept of bleakness. It also shows him at his most alone, this wide, as a result of the mid shots and close ups that precede it is almost shocking, despite it being a small room, due to the minimal set dressing it makes him seem small in comparison and frail. This idea is represented through the action of his taking a long intake of his inhaler, confirming an illness hinted at in the previous cutaway.
These two cutaways serve as a frank introduction/explanation of Browns morning routine. The fact they are extreme close ups accompanied with brutally crisp audio recordings suggests Barber wants to make a point out of whats he's eating for his breakfast. The solitary mug reiterating his loneliness and the poor quality white bread with a thin scraping of jam hints at poverty, (not that the look of his apartment hadn't already) not only this but the plainness of his breakfast further adds to the general plainness of his life.
The position of the camera in this next shot looks as if its the point of view of someone sat across from him, for this reason when the next shot reveals him to be sat alone it becomes very apparent that he has no one.
For me, its this shot that has the most emotion attached to it, the empty chair epitomizing the way he feels and his current existence. Without a word spoken, the audience completely understand Brown's situation and his emotional state. The use of light is really evocative in this shot too, although colour grading has contributed to its look, the use of pale morning light refuses to lighten the mood. The whole scene is almost too somber to bare.
The sound used in this scene also attributes to the tone, as I've mentioned, no dialogue is used and in its place is deathly silence. In this instance I feel this is much more befitting to the scene as it firstly, takes no attention away from the depressing imagery but secondly, continues the theme of isolation, further instilling the fact he is completely alone. The way in which Barber has made the sounds of the scraping of toast and pouring in of water so loud could be to exaggerate to the audience how the sounds of him making breakfast are the only ones he hears in the mornings, a depressing thought in its own right.
The scene opens with a close up of an alarm clock that reads 6.30. Instantly the audience can recognise that its early morning, for a first time watcher this doesn't mean anything yet, however it sets the scene for whats to come. In terms of the scene stylistic choices, its obvious to see that quite a heavy grey/green filter has been applied to the footage. The result is a sapping of vibrant colours, everything in the room is monotone, giving the audience an instant feeling of sadness and depression. In other words, Harry Browns out look on life is bleak. Lastly, the use of shallow depth of field gives the impression of bleary eyes, without wanting to read too much into this, it could be the case that its representative of Brown's old age.
Its following this shot that the audience sees Cain's character for the first time. The close up is unforgiving and immediately gives the audience a good idea of how he's feeling. The fact that he's already awake and waiting for the alarm to go off suggests a depression that, as I've already mentioned, is represented though the colour grading. Not that you can tell though these screen grabs, but each shot of Brown is drawn out, this both reiterates his sadness i.e. not wanting to get out of bed and secondly, suggests he's in no rush to go anywhere or do anything.
The next edit cuts to the other side of his bed, revealing him to be alone. As I've said before, the fact that Cain is an old man, his being by himself automatically suggests widower in the way that a twenty something lying by them selves simply does not. Instantly this throws up sympathy from the audience without anything needed to be said or explained.
The conformation of a deceased spouse comes in the next shot, a cut away to a bed-side-table on which photo's of whats assumed to be his wife are sat. In terms of art direction, the numerous bottles of pills that surround the pictures tell yet another unspoken story, clearly he's not aging well, another reason to feel sorry for Brown.
To further establish to suspected death of this wife Brown then strokes the pillow where she used to lie, this shot in particular holds for a long time, reiterating the fact he misses her company. Its now that the theme of loneliness becomes apparent. Art direction, again, is worth noting here, his green pajamas blend him into the background (you can see the green wallpaper on the walls), this suggests he's succumb to his depression, loosing his character and vibrancy. In a sense, becoming just part of his flat, rather than living there, he now just exists there.
After some time, it cuts to a wide of his whole room and the first thing an audience notices is its lack of any outstanding features, all the furniture is plain, all the colours dull thus continuing the concept of bleakness. It also shows him at his most alone, this wide, as a result of the mid shots and close ups that precede it is almost shocking, despite it being a small room, due to the minimal set dressing it makes him seem small in comparison and frail. This idea is represented through the action of his taking a long intake of his inhaler, confirming an illness hinted at in the previous cutaway.
These two cutaways serve as a frank introduction/explanation of Browns morning routine. The fact they are extreme close ups accompanied with brutally crisp audio recordings suggests Barber wants to make a point out of whats he's eating for his breakfast. The solitary mug reiterating his loneliness and the poor quality white bread with a thin scraping of jam hints at poverty, (not that the look of his apartment hadn't already) not only this but the plainness of his breakfast further adds to the general plainness of his life.
The position of the camera in this next shot looks as if its the point of view of someone sat across from him, for this reason when the next shot reveals him to be sat alone it becomes very apparent that he has no one.
For me, its this shot that has the most emotion attached to it, the empty chair epitomizing the way he feels and his current existence. Without a word spoken, the audience completely understand Brown's situation and his emotional state. The use of light is really evocative in this shot too, although colour grading has contributed to its look, the use of pale morning light refuses to lighten the mood. The whole scene is almost too somber to bare.
The sound used in this scene also attributes to the tone, as I've mentioned, no dialogue is used and in its place is deathly silence. In this instance I feel this is much more befitting to the scene as it firstly, takes no attention away from the depressing imagery but secondly, continues the theme of isolation, further instilling the fact he is completely alone. The way in which Barber has made the sounds of the scraping of toast and pouring in of water so loud could be to exaggerate to the audience how the sounds of him making breakfast are the only ones he hears in the mornings, a depressing thought in its own right.
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