In Danny
DeVito’s adaption of Roald Dahl’s novel Matilda,
mise en scene demonstrates the different positions and beliefs of
characters in Matilda’s life and how these clash in her journey to find her
place in the world.
Colour, lighting and actor performance in different locations demonstrate this idea and is best seen in the scenes involving her family and the television, where they will sit on the couches in the longue and eat dinner. In the three or four times such a scene is shown, the only source of light comes from the television, which the characters find themselves staring at while eating. Such movements indicate a sense of zombie-like, mechanical behaviour where the characters themselves are ruled by what is on screen in contrast to Matilda, who, in one scene, concentrates and reads through a thick paper back, the area around her lit by a lamp.
Colour, lighting and actor performance in different locations demonstrate this idea and is best seen in the scenes involving her family and the television, where they will sit on the couches in the longue and eat dinner. In the three or four times such a scene is shown, the only source of light comes from the television, which the characters find themselves staring at while eating. Such movements indicate a sense of zombie-like, mechanical behaviour where the characters themselves are ruled by what is on screen in contrast to Matilda, who, in one scene, concentrates and reads through a thick paper back, the area around her lit by a lamp.
Also, the fact that the light from the television while the family
watches Sticky With Mickey is
coloured yellow almost takes over the form of firelight to show the Wormwoods
are in the position of believing watching a television is a natural family
norm. We see here through the comparison between the lighting and colour
present in shots of the Wormwoods watching television and Matilda reading that
their beliefs in what make family time what it is are radically different, but
one will not be persuaded by another.
Set is used to demonstrate
conflicting character beliefs existing around the protagonist and how these
clash. For example, two sets within the interior of Crunchem Hall: the
classroom of Miss Honey and the Headmistresses’ office. Miss Honey’s classroom
is set up to almost appear like a secret garden within a bland school, with a
number of flowers throughout the room, a blackboard with drawings of
butterflies, suns and animals. Drawings of fish of the sea have also been
placed behind the students and a number of shelves with books filling them can
clearly be seen. Within the confines of the school, this set is designed to
reflect the sweet nature of Miss Honey, who encourages creativity and
intelligence and the audience feels as welcome within it as Matilda.
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| The Trunchbull's office (8) |
On the
other hand, the headmistresses’ office has walls which are painted brown and a
many shelves, file cabinets and stuffed animals, all of which create a sense of
hostility within the viewer. Also, the setup of “The Chokey” in this office,
where children are placed in a room with nails and leaky pipes, communicates
the Headmistress’s view that children are something to be loathed. The fact
that these exist within the same general set communicate a clash of beliefs and
personal positions that cannot exist in a school setting.
CITATIONS 8) Matilda. Dir. Danny DeVito. Perf. Danny DeVito, Rhea Pherlman, Mara Wilson. TriStar Pictures, 1996. DVD.
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