Both films introduce the viewer to the main character in the same way. In each, the main character upon which the film focuses is introduced in the middle of an action. The viewer is introduced to them with no background information and without even knowing their full name. In Philadelphia, the viewer is made aware of the name of the company that the lead character, who is a lawyer, is representing before we actually know the lawyers name. He is seen in a legal proceeding, then at a clinic, then conversing with coworkers all before the viewer finds out his name. Demmes use of this technique serves to place the viewer in the middle of the characters life, which makes the character all the more compelling. Philadelphias Andrew Beckett, the viewer gradually learns, is a homosexual man that has contracted AIDS. But before we learn that, we identify with him as an ambitious, friendly young man. Demme possibly did this to make the viewer like the character before revealing his gender or his illness to prove the point that individuals with AIDS are just as likeable and humane as those without the disease. His method serves to make the viewer put themselves in Becketts shoes and be more sympathetic to his situation.
The film, at its core, is about Beckett and his struggle with both his disease and his law firm, which has fired him after learning of his illness. He feels that he was set up, that the firm partners framed him to have an excuse to fire him and that he was wrongfully terminated just because his coworkers found out he has AIDS. Andy enlists the help of Joseph Miller, played by Denzel Washington, a lawyer himself who wants nothing to do with being associated with an AIDS victim or the gay community. After taking the case, Miller comes to regard Beckett as a friend and champions his cause. The film shows how Beckett fights his former employer for damages and a settlement to justify his wrongful termination, while also illustrating how he copes with the increasing complications of AIDS. The film paints a very human picture of the struggle to be treated fairly and equally while also showing the viewer what dying of AIDS feels like both to the infected individual and to their family and loved ones. The film does not focus on AIDS or give the viewer in-depth information about the disease itself, and it is clear that Demme did not intend for the film to inform the viewer about AIDS. While it does address some misconceptions that were common at the time, it does so while addressing the issue of discrimination and hatred against people with AIDS and homosexuals.
Demme juxtaposes the two characters in several ways that make it clear how different the paths of their lives and their beliefs really are, making it all the more profound when they become friends and care about each other. Early in the film, Beckett is rushed to the hospital for an AIDS related illness. The viewer sees him have to fight to get the attention of a doctor that is assigned to treat him, the doctor dismissing Becketts partner as not being immediate family, and attempting to dissuade him from asking questions by requesting to run more tests. Beckett has only his partner for company, and he is seen as solitary, isolated and afraid. The action then shifts to Miller, who is at the hospital because his wife is about to give birth to their first child. Miller is swarmed by congratulatory friends and family, the delivery room is filled with gifts and flowers, and Miller is elated and happy. The scene serves to place Miller and Beckett at specific places in their lives and gives the viewer a clear image of what each is looking forward to. Miller is at the hospital to celebrate a new life, while Beckett is there because of his own impending death.
Demme also employs close camera angles to convey emotion in Philadelphia. Through these close shots and tight angles the viewer feels Becketts emotions in the scene. This technique is utilized early when Beckett is given a high-profile case by the firms senior partners and the camera focuses in on the firm presidents face when he is speaking to Beckett. Here, the viewer feels scrutinized and self-conscious, like Beckett would have felt. Later, during the trial when Beckett is suing his former employer, the camera again focuses in tightly and works to make the viewer feel Becketts emotions. Beckett is struggling with complications from his disease and is on the verge of passing out, but is fighting to continue on so the days proceedings wont be interrupted. The camera focuses in on the defense attorney questioning Beckett at a slanted angle, while her voice becomes distorted and echoed. This technique makes the viewer feel dizzy and confused, as Beckett must have felt. Demme frequently uses camera techniques like this to give the viewer a better understanding of what the character is feeling. He employed this technique in both Philadelphia and in Rachael Getting Married, and the result is that the viewer is given a closer perspective on two unique characters that some viewers might not otherwise have been able to understand.
Demme uses subtle character actions and gestures to make big statements in both films. In each, small physical movements or facial expressions convey clear messages to the viewer. In Philadelphia, the transition of the relationship between Beckett and Miller can be seen in two scenes focused on the action of their hands. When Miller first meets Beckett, he reacts to finding out that Beckett has AIDS by subtly, but very obviously, taking his hand deliberately out of their handshake, looking at it, and wiping it on his pants. Later, when he wipes his face with that same hand, he demands that his secretary make him a doctors appointment. This hand gesture is small, but it conveys a clear discomfort for being around people with AIDS. Later, when he starts to see Beckett as an individual that needs help instead of just an AIDS victim, there is another subtle gesture that indicates this transition. In the law library, Beckett passes him a book across the table. The camera focuses on Becketts hands offering the book, then on Millers hands hesitating, then accepting. This small gesture signifies that he is willing to put himself on the same level with Beckett and recognize him. When Beckett is dying in the hospital, this focus on hands is repeated when Miller puts the oxygen mask back on Becketts face, then holds his face in his hands. They have become friends, and Miller feels no shame or hesitation in touching Beckett now.
Demme employs many of the same techniques in Rachael Getting Married. A drama like Philadelphia, the film introduces the viewer to the main character as she is in the midst of action. She is leaving somewhere, later revealed to be a mental health facility, to go somewhere, later revealed to be her sisters wedding. She is not Rachael, as the viewer might immediately conclude, but Kim, Rachaels sister. As in the previous film the viewer is inundated with bits and pieces of information but left to understand the whole character throughout the film. There are mentions of anorexia, a modeling career, drug abuse, incarceration, vehicular homicide, and arson within the first few minutes of the film, but the viewer is given no immediate understanding of how these all relate to Kim, the films main character. It is gradually revealed that she is a recovering drug addict who feels guilty for the death of her younger brother, who drowned when she drove the car off a bridge because she was high. The film paints an emotional picture of a family torn apart by guilt and grief over the loss of the boy and Kims troubled past and present. This painful story is set against a joyous occasion, the wedding of Kims sister Rachael, and made more chaotic by the inclusion of Rachaels fiances family and all of their friends. Again, Demme possibly introduces the viewer to Kim in bits and pieces so that the viewer can come to relate to her and understand her instead of immediately disliking her or misunderstanding her because of her drug use. Even a viewer that has no personal connection to addiction or drug abuse can understand Kims emotional ties to her family, thereby seeing her as a person and a human being.
Demme again uses distinct camera angles and close shots to give the viewer a better understanding of his characters emotions. The most obvious of these is perhaps the rehearsal dinner, in which there is a lot of talking, music and toasting the guests of honor. Throughout this event the camera repeatedly focuses in on Rachael by herself and the expressions on her face. This conveys to the viewer that Rachael feels isolated and alone even though she is in a room full of people, and that she feels sad at being physically and emotionally segregated from Rachael and the rest of her family. This use of camera angle gives Rachael a voice in a scene where her actual dialogue is scarce.
Music is another technique that Demme uses in both films to convey emotion and drama. In Rachael Getting Married, Rachaels fiance is a musician and music has obviously played an integral role in their relationship together. At several times the presence or absence of music serves to convey how the characters are feeling. The rehearsal dinner includes musical performances by several of the couples friends and loved ones. In the absence of music, one guest giving a toast mentions Rachael and Kims dead brother, Ethan. This mention makes the sisters both stop smiling and find themselves on the verge of tears. Though it is not clear at this point who Ethan is, it is clear that he was important to both girls. Their isolation from one another is signified in the way that each is visibly upset, but neither turns to the other for comfort. The music has stopped, so the room is quiet and the viewer is forced to focus on their obvious grief. In a climactic argument between Rachael and Kim they finally begin to address Ethans death while musicians rehearse outside. Both women yell for them to stop playing, then find themselves unable to discuss the emotional subject in silence. This is evident again at the wedding reception. Music is being sung from variety of artists inside the reception, but outside Rachael is again alone and outside the music and celebration. She is seen lighting a candle and sending it floating across the water. This could be a memorial to her lost brother and signify her guilt over his death. She is alone, and her feelings and those of her sister are markedly separate.
Demme employs this musical technique in Philadelphia, though not giving music quite so significant a role in the lives of the characters. The theme song, sung by musician Bruce Springsteen, is played at the films opening and in various parts of the film and conveys a feeling of brotherhood and community to the viewer. This is in stark contrast to Becketts experience of discrimination and isolation from the men that were supposed to be his friends and colleagues. More emotional, however is the scene between Beckett and Miller featuring Becketts favorite opera. In what was supposed to be a strategy meeting to prepare for court Beckett stops to turn up his favorite aria and explains it to Miller. He weeps as he translates the Italian lyrics for Miller. It is revealed that the opera is about the renewal of life after tragedy and that life should always be appreciated and lived to the fullest. Beckett and Miller are shown in separate close shots, with Beckett visibly moved by the music while Miller sits and watches, still and composed. His face does not change, yet the viewer understands from his reaction after the aria is over and his words to Beckett that he understands what the piece means. He leaves Beckett and goes home, kissing his newborn daughter and hugging his wife. There is no music, only silence, and it is understood that the message of the opera has reached Millers heart.
Philadelphia and Rachael Getting Married were made roughly fifteen years apart, yet each resonates with the viewer equally. Neither seems dated or irrelevant, and each conveys an understandable, relatable story to the viewer. In each, compelling characters with tragic yet vibrant lives are brought to life in a mix of music, intriguing character detail and careful use of dialogue and back story. Demme has brought both films to life using elements of music, compassion and character development in each that allow the viewer to understand the perspectives of characters they might not otherwise understand or even like. It is Demmes skill as a director and his creative use of all the elements of film that make both of these movies films to be watched, deeply felt, and appreciated.
Categories:
0 comments:
Post a Comment