We Need To Talk About Kevin: Key Scenes
identify and annotate three key scenes, focusing on narrative theory and ideology.
The climax
The tomato scene
Scene where Eva broke Kevin's arm
Martyrdom -> crucifixion imagery throughout the film
Washing the hands constantly -> relates to Lady Macbeth, trying to wash away the guilt, literally having blood on her hands
The Supermarket Scene: (23:00)
Notes:
Sound:
- Muzak -> flow of diegetic muzak (piped music) is synchronised to speed of Eva's walk -> Greensleeves (lullaby-esque, assoc. w/childhood) -> ironic, isolates Eva from society, contrapuntal to the scene
- Diegetic sound of trolly wheels over music -> about consumerism, buying
- Crunching of egg shells -> hyperrealistic -> white noise in background has hallucinogenic quality; Eva reminiscing
- Non-diegetic dialogue - mirrors Eva's internal thoughts & Franklin's echo-ic voice, talking to Kevin, sinister & soothing at the same time, phantasmagorical (dreamlike), lullaby like, envies Franklin as he's dead at this point
- Sound bridge at the end of the scene with Eva's non-diegetic words to Kevin ('mommy')
Mise-en-scene:
- Costume: long raincoat - acts as a disguise, originally makes her fit in but then makes her stand out. She's an outsider, marginalised -> dressed differently from others, drab colour - shifts focus from her clothing, she doesn't car what she looks like.
Narrative Features & ideological analysis: In terms of representation of women, it hides her feminine physique - disguises her womanhood from society -> deliberately goes against the male gaze
- High-key lighting highlights the colour of her skin, her paleness - Association of eggs = fertility/conception/birth, 'there all broken' -> a indirect comment on the broken state of her motherhood & her fertility. Idea other mother lost her egg with cut to the next scene
- This scene directly parallels to the lychee scene and the egg eating relates to Kevin biting his nails in the prison scene
Editing:
- The use of editing of the other character in the background conveys the other woman broke the eggs -> editing technique of intercutting between present and flashback, whilst remembering the shooting -> the cuts get a lot quicker
- Stretcher: slow motion used & fast cutting
- The Kuleshov effect: the broken eggs, know what Eva's feeling in the present -> know about it through the backgrounds, provides egg eating with meaning
- Pacing - slow & tense, when showing flashback cutting is a lot faster, flashbacks answer as action codes, allievates the tension as most tense when in the present, flashbacks chaotic (can use personal argument to cover own opinion whether it gets tenser in flashback or the present is more tense).
- The fast editing cut to the mother crying over her child being carried out of the attack on the stretcher gives the audience the information as to why she broke the eggs
- Constant flashbacks -> lots of shots of the mother and focuses on nature, set up persistent enigma code, gradual reveal of information
-
The climax
The tomato scene
Scene where Eva broke Kevin's arm
Martyrdom -> crucifixion imagery throughout the film
Washing the hands constantly -> relates to Lady Macbeth, trying to wash away the guilt, literally having blood on her hands
The Supermarket Scene: (23:00)
Notes:
Sound:
- Muzak -> flow of diegetic muzak (piped music) is synchronised to speed of Eva's walk -> Greensleeves (lullaby-esque, assoc. w/childhood) -> ironic, isolates Eva from society, contrapuntal to the scene
- Diegetic sound of trolly wheels over music -> about consumerism, buying
- Crunching of egg shells -> hyperrealistic -> white noise in background has hallucinogenic quality; Eva reminiscing
- Non-diegetic dialogue - mirrors Eva's internal thoughts & Franklin's echo-ic voice, talking to Kevin, sinister & soothing at the same time, phantasmagorical (dreamlike), lullaby like, envies Franklin as he's dead at this point
- Sound bridge at the end of the scene with Eva's non-diegetic words to Kevin ('mommy')
Mise-en-scene:
- Costume: long raincoat - acts as a disguise, originally makes her fit in but then makes her stand out. She's an outsider, marginalised -> dressed differently from others, drab colour - shifts focus from her clothing, she doesn't car what she looks like.
Narrative Features & ideological analysis: In terms of representation of women, it hides her feminine physique - disguises her womanhood from society -> deliberately goes against the male gaze
- High-key lighting highlights the colour of her skin, her paleness - Association of eggs = fertility/conception/birth, 'there all broken' -> a indirect comment on the broken state of her motherhood & her fertility. Idea other mother lost her egg with cut to the next scene
- This scene directly parallels to the lychee scene and the egg eating relates to Kevin biting his nails in the prison scene
Editing:
- The use of editing of the other character in the background conveys the other woman broke the eggs -> editing technique of intercutting between present and flashback, whilst remembering the shooting -> the cuts get a lot quicker
- Stretcher: slow motion used & fast cutting
- The Kuleshov effect: the broken eggs, know what Eva's feeling in the present -> know about it through the backgrounds, provides egg eating with meaning
- Pacing - slow & tense, when showing flashback cutting is a lot faster, flashbacks answer as action codes, allievates the tension as most tense when in the present, flashbacks chaotic (can use personal argument to cover own opinion whether it gets tenser in flashback or the present is more tense).
- The fast editing cut to the mother crying over her child being carried out of the attack on the stretcher gives the audience the information as to why she broke the eggs
- Constant flashbacks -> lots of shots of the mother and focuses on nature, set up persistent enigma code, gradual reveal of information
-
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