Film Language and Representation (IV)

http://chs.smuhsd.org/bigue/art_of_video/index/FilmGlossaryforTextualAnalysis.html

   The five minute extract I have chosen from Psycho is the scene in which Marion drives away after having just purchased a new car from a dealer. The scene begins as the policeman suspicously stare at the woman driving off before the scene cross dissolves into Marion pondering inside the car. At first the scene is not as striking because in comparison to more of the famous scenes from Psycho  (the shower scene, the murder scene, etc) it lacks action. However after my second time watching the film I must say that this excerpt is much more than meets the eye. The scene demonstrates a collective use of stunning performances, dialogue, color, editing, and shot designs to create suspense and signify characterization.

(a photo of Ann Savage)

The issue conveyed in the scene is that Marion Crane had just stolen a large sum of money from her investors and is trying to escape town. This scene defines the characterization of Marion and her transition from innocence to impurity. From an article about Hitchcock's previous life the author stated that since Hitchcock was born outside of the US he brought in many ideas and cultural impacts from Europe. A great example of culture transcending the limitations of film is when after US soldiers had been stationed in France, they adapted to this unique style of classifying women as dangerous and bold.  Women viewed as mysterious yet bold in their actions and body language. The idea of the femme fatale can be used to represent the change in Marion's character throughout the story.

     The actor chosen to play Marion was the talented Janet Leigh. Although she was in many shows and films prior to Psycho, she was personally ecstatic about being able to work with Hitchcock. Also she was very bold to accept the opportunity despite Hitchcock's negative motif that "blondes make the best victims...like virgins that show up on the bloody footprints." Janet Leigh's performance during the driving scene exemplified the metamorphosis of Marion from the beginning of the story. Her acting was entirely based off of her expressions while certain non-digetic dialogues were running through her head. In the beginning she imagines her boss finding out the truth, "In fact I did see her... I think you'd better call Mr.Cassidy". At this point her expression is of worry and fear because she is imagining the worst of a bad situation. Eyebrows furrowed and concern plastered all over face.  This reveals her innocence as shown through her reflection of her bad deeds; feeling guilt for fooling her advisor and being chased by the police. This however transforms afterwards with a simple change of expression. Marion begins to smirk as she thinks about how heinous her deed was, I believe she was feeling, "I can't believe I got away with it!" By this point this a close up of her profile and the shadows all over her face are more apparent. Her eyebrows curve downwards and Marion's eyes reveal this angst and rebellious look. She's proud of what she's done and ultimately as any archetype of the femme fatale her defiance will lead to her undoing.

An interesting visual in the scene is the use of lighting. Although color had already been developed Hitchcock wanted to create a black and white film because of production costs and most importantly black and white films demonstrated a film noire-esque expression that could not be achieved by color. Lighting in the scene comes from two sources : the lights coming from other cars as well as the transition from night to day. The transition from driving from day to night was done on purpose, as Hithcock's crew explained the change from light to dark was metaphorical of Marion's character. In the first scenes with day, white can be seen in the extract, her white face, white clothes, white face, white car, and white background as she's leaving her town. With the violin strings reaching a crescendo darkness consumes day and the entire scene is casted in dark shadows. Her dimly lit car and the light from other cars on her facial features providing fast fall off on her face that add dramatic tension. 

 In terms of camera angles, the camera stays situated in the same spot during the extract. The medium close up only brings attention to Marion's face and her environment. However the framing occasional gets tighter and tighter along with the voice overs becoming more louder and more violent. This is done on purpose to show Marion's reaction to the voices in hear head. In terms of editing, the shots transition from Marion's face to the front of the car. This is done to signify the setting of the story and maintain continuity within the film. If Hitchcock had not done so the audience would lose focus by just staring at the protagonist the entire time.

The musical score in this extract is a merging between the violin screeches of the murder scene along with a symphonic thrilling sound. The music does well to create emotional tension in the scene, and becomes louder and distortive along with the dialogue getting louder. Also representing the inner turmoil in Marion's mind and character. Towards the end the weather takes a dramatic change and it begins to rain and block her vision. The rain was metaphorical for Marion losing focus of her goals, and it ultimately leads to her finding the Bates Motel. The only source of light on the unused highway and seeming a sanctuary for someone like Marion. Unfortunately she checks in and will never check out.