Building Relationships of the Dancing Scene

The dancing scene at the 1 hour minute was one that started unfolding Jenny’s and Amsterdam’s relationship, and creating tension in Johnny and Amsterdam’s relationship. The camera follows Amsterdam into the dance hall and as soon as he enters it, it immediately turns to Jenny letting us know these two characters are going to be the focus of the scene. When the camera turns again we see Johnny’s hopeful face and then the camera slides down to Amsterdam standing next to Johnny looking uncertain. Camera movement helps build up suspense when the men in line are supposed to look in the mirror as Jenny’s back is turned towards them. The camera shows us the men through the mirror as Jenny sees them and them flips to show us her reaction to who it is. It helps us see things from her point of view. When Jenny doesn’t pick Johnny we see from her facial expression as she giggles that she looks at him like she did the other men. However, when Amsterdam steps up she looks drawn to him left at a loss for words. It is the first sign that Johnny sees that Jenny prefers Amsterdam over him. He already is jealous that Amsterdam is getting closer with the butcher but Jenny is supposed to be his. As the camera follows him while Jenny’s and Amsterdam’s conversation is in the background, it shows that there will be significance to Jenny and Amsterdam’s relationship that ties back to Johnny.

In the dancing scene the conversation feels minimal and cordial between Jenny and Amsterdam. It reveals Amsterdam’s loyal character, he knows his friend Johnny loves Jenny and tries to respect it, he even asks her, “Why didn’t you pick Johnny.” Her response is the last piece of dialogue we hear in that scene and it is rather flirty which leads perfectly into the next scene in which the two characters are kissing. After her response the camera starts to slowly pan out but we don’t lose focus of the two dancing, and we even are able to see Amsterdam finally smile; a smile that looks genuine, something we haven’t seen at all during the movie. Clearly Jenny has a powerful effect on Amsterdam.

The music plays in the background for the entire scene. The only time the music stops is when Jenny is picking a partner and all is quiet except for when Johnny walks up and we hear his music box. We know there’s value to this box that links to the character because we always hear it and the camera always zooms into to it. Perhaps the reason why this music box is so important to him is because it is for Jenny? As the scene comes to an end the camera pans out to show the entire floor is just couples dancing the same steps. Some couples are holding a candle.  The candle is something we see often in the movie. It represents light, so maybe the couples are holding candles to be able to see each other. Later on these candles represent the families who want to riot against the draft. And the same candles are used to light the bodies that are dead due to the draft riots.

In terms of color scheme we see green to represent Ireland. Jenny is wearing a green dress in this scene which contrasts with her orange hair, a characteristic of the Irish people, also another color of the Irish flag. There are lanterns hanging on the ceiling and although all are white lights, there is one green light lantern. As the camera pans out we also see the American flag hanging on the wall. Slowly we hear the music and see the camera fade out and the start of a new scene begins.