William Wagner

FST 201B

Essay #1

Narrative

This scene shows the growing distance between Susan and Charlie.

Beginning at 1:38:30, Charlie enters the scene as Susan is putting together a jigsaw

puzzle on a large table by the enormous fireplace in the palace. They talk idly about

the time, not really interested in meaningful conversation. It is obvious that Susan is

bored. She tells Charlie that shes lonesome and that she wants to go to New York

and have some normal fun, but he is stubborn and wishes for the both of them to

remain at the palace. Susan objects but Charlie stands his ground, patiently. The

audience is then taken through a time-lapse of Susan putting together a number of

different puzzles, showing a tedious passing of time. After the time lapse, Charlie

walks into the room again, but this time Susan is sitting on the hearth of the

fireplace and there is no fire burning this adds a cold and uncomfortable feeling to

an already-uncomfortable situation.

Cinematography

Through the entire scene, Charlie enters from up above via the staircase,

descending into the darker, stark and bare hall in which Susan spends most of her

time. The scene opens with a close-up of Susan and her puzzle. The film then cuts to

a long shot of Charlie as he enters the room; the high ceilings and huge doorway

make him appear very small. We then cut back to Susan, and the camera pulls back
into a medium close-up, showing the puzzle lying in front of her and the look of

disdain on her face as Charlie enters the room. The camera cuts back and forth

between the two, following their dialogue until Charlie and Susan are in the same

shot at the table all the awhile, the massive furnishings of the palace dwarf the

two. We then see the time-lapse of Susan putting together the puzzles through a

close-up of the puzzles themselves, showing their intricacy. We then see Charlie

reenter the room he walks down the stairs through a long-shot while light from

above casts a shadow of him into the great hall. We then see Susan in the

background, sitting on the hearth and still assembling a puzzle. The film then cuts to

a medium close-up as Susan as she converses with Charlie from across the room.

They are never close together and even have to shout in order to hear one another.

Editing

The most obvious impact editing has on the scene is the time-lapse we see of

Susan and her puzzles. It shows a large passing of time, spent meddling with a

tedious task that would seem boring to the average person. Also important are the

shots we see of Susans face immediately following Charlies entrance. She reacts to

his presence with contempt and disdain. The audio also emphasizes the distance

between the two with the echoing of their voices (this may have happened naturally

depending on the construction of the set, or it couldve been done artificially).