Personally I enjoy watching black and white movies more than colored movies. When making a black and white movie, the director can play around with the lighting to contrasts between areas of a set. Also these placements of lights, the intensity of the light and how focused the beam of light is can give off a certain mood and can hint about what is going to happen next. The director can cast a very bright light on the side of the camera that can cause a huge contrast on a character’s face (half of it being lit to the point that all the facial structures are exaggerated and the other in the shadows). In addition, the placement of the light directs the audience as to where to focus their attention. These visuals and others were done in Christ In Concrete. Should I ever be given the chance to make a big budget movie, I would have a lot of fun playing with the lights to cause different effects. I would love to make a black and white movie someday…
“Film noir moods of claustrophobia, paranoia, despair, and nihilism constitute a world view that is expressed not through the films’ terse, elliptical dialogue…but ultimately through their remarkable style.” (Peterson, page 326) I could have not found better words to describe this movie. This movie, although has very good dialogue (especially between Geromio and Kathleen in the end), what the characters are actually feeling is better expressed through its visual aspects. One of the key visual aspect of this movie is its lighting. Throughout the film, the camera was very close to the characters and the sets are small. The only place where any negative characteristics were not portrayed was during the honeymoon scene. (I liked how the director chose to film Geromio with the pieces of wood in front of him (when he is discussing the fact that he does not have the house) to show that they were to some extent separated from the joyfulness of the other guests….it kind of reminded me of the Pawnbroker. During the honeymoon scene, there weren’t many close ups that are seen throughout the rest of the film nor was the set of the scene hiding in the shadows. The lighting was filtered and not harsh. Thus this gave off a sense of romance and fantasy. However, the rest of the movie showed the claustrophobia and despair.
As time went on, and capitalism was not helping Geromio at all in getting the house his wife desperately wanted, there was a change in Geromio. In order to make more of the pieces of paper that dictate his life, he went against his morals. The internal fights he has with himself are clearly shown through the high key lighting. Most of the time, with the help of close ups, there would be a harsh light being cast on his face, whether it be from the side or from below him giving the audience a clear picture of what he is thinking. During times when he felt guilt, there would be a low-key lighting causing shadows to occur on some aspects of his face. In addition, the lighting on his wife changes as she loses her naivety and youth. Her face was at first showed through a filtered light that made the light diffuse out causing a sense of innocence and vulnerability. As time goes on, the light becomes harsher and her eyes become those of someone who has faced hardships and prevailed.
Although many of the shots forced the audience to focus more on the characters and less on the lighting, most of the movie had its background very focused. In other words, the clarity of the background was the same as the clarity of the people (but through lighting we did not first focus on it). In order to do this, a wide-angle lens was probably used. However, the closer a subject is to the lens, the more distorting the shot becomes. Anyway, the background (thanks to its clarity) provided us with the feeling that the characters were in a cramped place. For example, when the couple first moved to Geromio’s apartment, it seemed pretty spacious and well light. However, as the film moved on and the more distant the husband and wife became because of money, the house seemed smaller and darker. Besides the table and the bedroom (when she is giving birth) the rest of the house was forced into the shadows…By the way, I found that scene of when she was giving birth to her first child amazing. The fact that we do not see her face but can hear the weariness in her voice really left her facial expression up to our imagination. That shot must have been taken that way to express the worry that Geromio has for his wife…the table being well lit in the movie can signify the family bonds they have. I found it very sad how this movie portrayed how money tore a family apart. This desperation of money is what leads Geromio into becoming someone he is not, and this was effectively shown through the change in the lighting.
