Mise en scene- Far from heaven (2002)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSNvF3CEzno

This scene is from the 2002 film 'Far from Heaven' which is a melodrama that is set in the 1950s. The miss en scene of this scene helps the audience indicate the era, the time, the location and the power dynamics.

Firstly, looking at the costume in the scene, the women in the scene are wearing bright vibrant colours of blue and green, where as the man is wearing dark browns. This already creates the impression of the 50s era because the women are dressed to look nice where as the man is dressed to work. The clothing, hair and makeup reinforces the era and reinforces the age of each charter. The women in the blue dress is younger which is indicated through her Marilyn Monroe aesthetics, whereas the older women are in a more traditional older women's outfit. The blue dress is a typical 1950s house wife dress. We see this type of silhouette and accessories a lot in old 1950s Hollywood. The single ring of pearls was very common in the 50s as well as the belt and collar style. The other lady's green outfit was very typical for older women in the 50s, we notice that she is more covered up then the younger women hence the addition of the gloves. The man’s costume is his work clothes; however, he still looks smart even though he is in his gardening clothes. The other servant we see at the end of the clip is wearing her yellow uniform. There is a clear distinction between work and leisure attire.

The colours we see in this clip are very vintage and have a nostalgic aesthetic to them but they do also seem artificial. When the main character walks into the garden to question the gardener, the plants in the background are extremely still and perfectly coloured. This tells us that all these plants are fake, this was done by the director/ set designer to emphasize the fact that this movie is not a 1950s film, it is a 2002 film that is creating a scenario that is set in the 50s. These fake plants also remind us of what tv and films were like in the past, around the time of the 1950s, as the fake plants are very similar to the fake plants we see in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy enters the dark woods.

Lastly looking at the characters we see in this clip. We clearly see stereotypes that were commonly used in the 1950s. When the gardener enters the shot both the female characters almost panic and the older women immediately says ‘should we call the police’. This reinforces the stereotype of when people in the 50s immediately associated people of colour with danger. The actors also play their characters in a stilted way. This reinforces the idea that this isn’t an authentic 1950s film, it is a construct of a 50s film. The younger women are also very polite and familiar to the gardener which surprises him as he thinks she would be quite commanding. She even brings herself to the same level as him, where as before she was above him. She continues to talk to him and touches him which is a sign of comfort and affection. We can also tell by the man’s expressions that he admires the women which may be foreshadowing that there is a potential romance between these two characters.

Overall, the mise en scene of this scene not only helps create enigmas for the narrative but it also brings in an audience. The typical audience for this film would be older people who lived through the 50s but also people who are interested in the 50s.