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O’Brien 1
Erin O’Brien
Jim Pickett
English 116: 02
5 October 2006
Mise En Scene
Steven Spielberg’s 2001 feature film Minority Report sets a very distinct visual style. It is an adaptation of the Phillip K. Dick novel, whose novels are no stranger to the silver screen. Most notably are the films Blade Runner and more recently A Scanner Darkly. The films encompassing of dark visuals and the inclusion of a technological society make it aesthetically engaging. However Spielberg does not merely slap a pretty cover over the film. Beneath the visuals are motifs and themes which make the film layered and complex.
The first obvious motif is the eye. The idea that Tom Cruise’s character John Anderton is on a quest to see the truth, yet one of his obstacles is his capability of seeing. This provides an interesting complex in the film. The film utilizes sight in different ways. Having eyes is the only thing a person needs to get around the city. Everywhere anyone goes, their eyes are scanned. Also, when Anderton is running to buy his “clarity” he passes a billboard with ominous eyes casting over him. This is perhaps Spielberg hinting that the corporations alone have too much power and have a high influence on society. Also once he reaches the man who gives him his “clarity” he is surprised to find out that the man actually has no eyes.
Anderton’s character is not shallow by any means. One scene that adds depth to
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his character is the flashback to Anderton losing his child at the swimming pool. Throughout the duration of the first part of the film, we gather the impression that
Anderton is a traumatized man. He is also a substance abuser and lost his wife to divorce. We learn that he lost his son, but the details are not expressed the way they are in this particular sequence. This scene provides dramatic irony. Here is Anderton, a man
whose profession is to provide safety for the community, yet he fails to protect his own child. The motif of eyes is echoed in this scene again. The moment Tom Cruise’s character closes his eyes, his son is taken from him. The Mise en Scene plays a vital role in this scene as well. Anderton is below the water. We see it through his eyes, the water creates a blurred effect on the camera and we see his son disappear from view. Anderton leaves the water for a better view visually or to have a better idea as to what is going on, however his son is already gone. This makes it all the more intriguing that his drug of choice turns out to be negligence of the truth.
One of the clearer examples of Mise En scene is the first meeting between Colin Farrell’s character and Tom Cruise’s character. Farrell is the antagonist. He is providing some of the first opposition the Pre-Crime division has had. So it is only appropriate that when we meet him he is standing opposite from the other four in the room. As he debates the pro’s and con’s of the system he and Cruise shift body positions. More importantly, their body movements correspond to the points they make. This creates the idea that as one tries to out due the other in conversation they take a superior body
position. Also the way in which Cruise and Farrell are standing and dressed is a huge indicator of their roles in the movie. Cruise gives the illusion that he is relaxed with a regular cotton t-shirt unbuttoned at the top a little standing very comfortably leaning back a bit but yet he is clutching his gun. Farrell on the other hand is dressed in a suit
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and tie, standing with his back straight and his hands clasped together nervously. Also in the scene it is evident that Cruise does not want to make eye contact and is a bit nervous about it, but all the while remains calm. While Cruise refused to look at Farrell, Farrell is making complete eye contact with him. It can be said that Cruise unwillingness to look at Farrell is also foreshadowing. Most people that refuse to look someone in the eye are hiding something. Also sight is very evident in the scene with the refusal of eye contact and the staring down.
The Mise En Scene is interesting for the entire film. This is a technologically advanced society. The society itself is even free of crime. However the film has bleak, grim appearance. The absence of color in setting and costume is an interesting contradiction to the overall upbeat nature a crimeless society should have. In the scene just mentioned, both Cruise and Farrell are dressed head to toe in black. The back round consisted of nothing interesting, just a plain, monochromatic, textured back round.
The acting the film is good as well. Tom Cruise manages to employ not only a
tough cop element to his character, but also a vulnerable, sensitive side. This side allows the viewer to sympathize with his character. Colin Farrell is cold as the antagonist. In the beginning, his character is not favorable but towards the end we
discover that his character was caring and is trying to do the right thing.
Minority Report is a great achievement from a director who already has had more than enough successes. Spielberg ambitiously tries to bring Phillip K. Dicks novel to life. He creates a world that is futuristic, but this futuristic society is not over the top with flying cars and meals in pill form as we have seen so many times in film before. It is a clever, sleek production and underneath, are motifs and themes that ad a deal of depth to the film itself, making it all the more memorable.
Erin O’Brien
Jim Pickett
English 116: 02
5 October 2006
Mise En Scene
Steven Spielberg’s 2001 feature film Minority Report sets a very distinct visual style. It is an adaptation of the Phillip K. Dick novel, whose novels are no stranger to the silver screen. Most notably are the films Blade Runner and more recently A Scanner Darkly. The films encompassing of dark visuals and the inclusion of a technological society make it aesthetically engaging. However Spielberg does not merely slap a pretty cover over the film. Beneath the visuals are motifs and themes which make the film layered and complex.
The first obvious motif is the eye. The idea that Tom Cruise’s character John Anderton is on a quest to see the truth, yet one of his obstacles is his capability of seeing. This provides an interesting complex in the film. The film utilizes sight in different ways. Having eyes is the only thing a person needs to get around the city. Everywhere anyone goes, their eyes are scanned. Also, when Anderton is running to buy his “clarity” he passes a billboard with ominous eyes casting over him. This is perhaps Spielberg hinting that the corporations alone have too much power and have a high influence on society. Also once he reaches the man who gives him his “clarity” he is surprised to find out that the man actually has no eyes.
Anderton’s character is not shallow by any means. One scene that adds depth to
O’Brien 2
his character is the flashback to Anderton losing his child at the swimming pool. Throughout the duration of the first part of the film, we gather the impression that
Anderton is a traumatized man. He is also a substance abuser and lost his wife to divorce. We learn that he lost his son, but the details are not expressed the way they are in this particular sequence. This scene provides dramatic irony. Here is Anderton, a man
whose profession is to provide safety for the community, yet he fails to protect his own child. The motif of eyes is echoed in this scene again. The moment Tom Cruise’s character closes his eyes, his son is taken from him. The Mise en Scene plays a vital role in this scene as well. Anderton is below the water. We see it through his eyes, the water creates a blurred effect on the camera and we see his son disappear from view. Anderton leaves the water for a better view visually or to have a better idea as to what is going on, however his son is already gone. This makes it all the more intriguing that his drug of choice turns out to be negligence of the truth.
One of the clearer examples of Mise En scene is the first meeting between Colin Farrell’s character and Tom Cruise’s character. Farrell is the antagonist. He is providing some of the first opposition the Pre-Crime division has had. So it is only appropriate that when we meet him he is standing opposite from the other four in the room. As he debates the pro’s and con’s of the system he and Cruise shift body positions. More importantly, their body movements correspond to the points they make. This creates the idea that as one tries to out due the other in conversation they take a superior body
position. Also the way in which Cruise and Farrell are standing and dressed is a huge indicator of their roles in the movie. Cruise gives the illusion that he is relaxed with a regular cotton t-shirt unbuttoned at the top a little standing very comfortably leaning back a bit but yet he is clutching his gun. Farrell on the other hand is dressed in a suit
O’Brien 3
and tie, standing with his back straight and his hands clasped together nervously. Also in the scene it is evident that Cruise does not want to make eye contact and is a bit nervous about it, but all the while remains calm. While Cruise refused to look at Farrell, Farrell is making complete eye contact with him. It can be said that Cruise unwillingness to look at Farrell is also foreshadowing. Most people that refuse to look someone in the eye are hiding something. Also sight is very evident in the scene with the refusal of eye contact and the staring down.
The Mise En Scene is interesting for the entire film. This is a technologically advanced society. The society itself is even free of crime. However the film has bleak, grim appearance. The absence of color in setting and costume is an interesting contradiction to the overall upbeat nature a crimeless society should have. In the scene just mentioned, both Cruise and Farrell are dressed head to toe in black. The back round consisted of nothing interesting, just a plain, monochromatic, textured back round.
The acting the film is good as well. Tom Cruise manages to employ not only a
tough cop element to his character, but also a vulnerable, sensitive side. This side allows the viewer to sympathize with his character. Colin Farrell is cold as the antagonist. In the beginning, his character is not favorable but towards the end we
discover that his character was caring and is trying to do the right thing.
Minority Report is a great achievement from a director who already has had more than enough successes. Spielberg ambitiously tries to bring Phillip K. Dicks novel to life. He creates a world that is futuristic, but this futuristic society is not over the top with flying cars and meals in pill form as we have seen so many times in film before. It is a clever, sleek production and underneath, are motifs and themes that ad a deal of depth to the film itself, making it all the more memorable.