Analyse the use of mise-en-scene in TWO of the essential film texts. How do the meanings generated by the mise-en-scene contribute to the viewer’s understanding of the film’s narrative content?
Mise-en-scene is one of the most important and universal aspects of filmmaking. The use of the properties in front of a camera in any film contributes greatly to the overall understanding that the audience has of the film itself. To analyse the impact that effective mise-en-scene can have on a film I will be looking at Taxi driver (1976, Martin Scorsese) and Fargo (1996, Joel and Ethan Coen) as examples.
Martin Scorsese’s film Taxi Driver is often cited as one of the most important films made during the period known as ‘New Hollywood’. This period allowed smaller American filmmakers to show environments and situations previously deemed unsavoury by the Hollywood hegemony. The environment of the film reflects this embarrassment of the darker side of America, set in the dark and dingy slums of lower New York.
The shot above is from the film’s opening sequence and is a great example of how the world of the film looks. This is not a harmonious Hollywood film set, this is a chaotic and decaying New York wasteland. The low lighting reflects the dark and at times disturbing nature of the narrative that is about to unfold, and the stream of water resembles an archway, an entrance that the main character (Travis Bickle) is traveling through. This is not the world that Hollywood has led the viewer to believe is reality, this is a far more horrifying and violent world of darkness. Bickle, despite being a repulsive and terrifying character, also acts as the audience’s proxy in this sense. He frequents porno theatres and when he finally gets a chance to form a romantic connection it is the only place he thinks to take his date. His actions are entirely based and informed by what he sees on the big screen, similar to how the audience’s expectations had been preset by decades of Hollywood cinema.
There are two characteristics of the mise-en-scene that are common in almost every scene of Taxi Driver. Those being filth and darkness. Many scenes share both, notably the key montage sequences of Bickle driving through the streets in his taxi, as seen in the still above. The all encompassing nature of these common elements reveal the mise-en-scene’s purpose. The audience is being asked to enter Bickle’s mind. As a character he is warped, isolated from society and has a dark lust for violence. The mise-en-scene acts as both an extension of his mind and as the possible reason for his alienation. A dilapidated and run-down society that he is prepared to give up on.
When compared to the confined and dingy streets that Taxi Driver occupies, Fargo features far more sparse and pleasant mise-en-scene. The film is set in the American Mid-west and takes advantage of the areas wide open and featureless snowy plains to create a sense of loneliness and as a comment on the noir genre.
As a neo-noir, Fargo subverts and builds upon many of the conventions established by conventional noirs, this subversion is done largely through the mise-en-scene. Classic noirs, such as Double Indemnity (1944, Billy Wilder), were almost universally set in Los Angeles and were known for their use of enclosed indoor environments and intense expressionistic shadows. By setting the film in the Mid-west and making use of a brightly lit and tranquil environment the film subverts the very genre that it belongs to and, much like Taxi Driver, creates commentary on the Golden age of Hollywood.
Aside from commenting on the history of American cinema, the mise-en-scene of these films also affect the audience's perception of the characters. In Taxi Driver his unassuming Taxi acts as an extension of himself, as he prowls through the filthy New York streets. In contrast, scenes featuring the character Betsy (the object of Travis’ obsessions) are set in far more civilised and clean parts of the city and are considerably more brightly lit. 
Travis is horribly out of place in Betsy’s world, sticking out from the clean and well kept surroundings in images such as the one above. However in the aforementioned scene at Travis’s porno theatre, Betsy is equally out of place. The film, through the use of its production design and the presentation of it’s characters, is making a comment on the dual nature of New York city, both psychologically and physically.
Fargo also uses mise-en-scene to demonstrate character, although in a more subtle and less noticeable fashion. Marge Gunderson’s home in Fargo, which she shares with her husband Norm acts as a representation of their life and relationship together and it does so through a very subtle use of the cinematography and production design. In the shot above (the final shot of the entire film), the tight angle demonstrates the closeness of their bond, with the slow zoom implying that their relationship will only get stronger with the coming of their first child. The production design is humble and not ostentatious in the least, reflecting the hard-working and humble personality the Marge has demonstrated throughout the preceding events. Even the lighting is humble, appearing to be coming from a out of shot lamp ather than being professionally set up. In an almost ironic outcome, the Coen Brothers were able to get across large and fairly deep ideas about the two character’s and their relationship to each other by setting a scene as simply as possible.
This is not just an example of mise-en-scene contributing to characterisation, but also mise-en-scene affecting how the audience perceives the themes and ideological content of a film. Fargo is a film that harshly criticizes and condemns notions of greed and ruthless ambition, in favour of the humble honesty that characterises the people of the American Mid-west. By ending the film on such a simple and comforting note, with the mise-en-scene feeding this feeling of contentment and harmony, the film's overall theme is tied up conclusively through the mise-en-scene. The film is filled with numerous other examples of this subtle relationship building through production design as seen in the still below of Marge and Norm eating a relaxed breakfast before Marge embarks on a very gruesome investigation. The tranquility of this scene demonstrates how different Marge is from the vile characters we have been following up to this point and how at peace she is with her surroundings.
Colour is also a fairly important factor within mise-en-scene, and Fargo uses the white to great effect throughout the narrative. The desolate snowy plains that the film largely occupies is the home of various gruesome crimes and criminal misdeeds. The scene pictured above features the character Carl hiding some stolen money in the snow. Here the all encompassing and featureless white of the background evokes the inherent purity of the setting, which is being corrupted by the red and bloody form of Carl. The blankness forces the audience to focus on Carl and his actions, blocking out all distractions from the pivotal scene that is taking place. Finally, in terms of narrative the blank wasteland of white confirms that after Carl leaves, the money will be lost for all time, hidden by miles and miles of snowy wastes. Carl dies in a scene following this and so the audience knows that this money was likely never found.
The Coen brothers are fairly well known for their delicate and precise use of colour throughout their other films, such as Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013) which uses a retro-inspired washed out palette. This was used to evoke the distant nostalgia of the early 1960’s. Thier previous film O’ Brother Where art thou? (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2000) used extensive digital to replicate the sepia tones associated with the art produced during the American Depression. Overall the Coen’s are an excellent example of how to use colour and overall aesthetics to immerse the audience in a specific time period, further engaging them with the narrative.
Mise-en-scene does not simply refer to environment, it also applies to a character's makeup and costume. Suffice to say that the way a character is made to look heavily influences what we think about them. Travis Bickle for instance undergoes an extreme visual change throughout the film, going from appearing as an unassuming everyday man to a deranged punk-inspired vigilante. By externalising the characters change and development the audience is made to absorb the information visually, allowing the ideas to be better integrated into the themes of the film on the whole, and making the character more memorable and distinct to the viewer.
Fargo makes even more frequent use of costume and makeup for it’s characters. Carl becomes more frantic and bloody as the film goes on, getting assaulted and shot before eventually being killed in the most gruesome way imaginable. The blood seen in the still above demonstrates this. Not only does this show the increasing danger of the situation for Carl, but it also shows his inner selfishness and rabid animalistic brutality coming to the surface.
Margie is also a character who is heavily affected by mise-en-scene. She is heavily pregnant throughout most of the film, and yet wears a police uniform at all times- a traditional symbol of masculinity. This not only subverts outdated views on masculinity, but pushes many of the ideological ideas that the Coens explore with this film. Marge is a nurturing and wholly positive figure, she is the person that the Coens wish represented law enforcement in America.
By including ideas of the films narrative into the mise-en-scene, the filmmaker allows for the story to go beyond dialogue and action. Film is a medium best understood visually, and so including ideas such as foreshadowing and character development into the visuals increases audience involvement. It is more engaging to have the viewer look and understand how a character is feeling from what is around them than by being told through dialogue.
The narrative of Fargo ends with Margie capturing the surviving member of the crime duo and taking him into custody. In their only scene together the Coens film them separated by a police grate. This informs the audience of their ideological separation far more engagingly than if the characters discussed their difference. The only lines delivered by Marge are a simple lamentation about greed, this does not take more than three or four lines. Most of the weight of this scene comes from Francis Mcdormand’s face and the humility of her environment and dress, which echoes the honesty goodness she represents.
In conclusion, mise-en-scene is possibly the most important and useful way of engaging with an audience and allowing them to understand the film’s narrative. What the audience sees in front of them can tell them so much more than some lines of dialogue, and the best visual storytellers know this. Possibly the ultimate testament to the importance of mise-en-scene is the French New Wave. During this explosive period of filmmaking, directors were not credited as directors, they were credited for mise-en-scene, for instance in the film The 400 Blows (1959, Francois Truffaut). Mise-en-scene, represents filmmaking in it’s purest form.
By Jack D. Phillips
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