Mise-en-scene Elements in The Movie "Twilight"

Twilight is a contemporary love story between a human and a vampire. They are madly in love but cannot be together. According to the movie, Bella Swan moved to a small city Forks, Washington to live with her dad that she did not see for a long time. She started a new school as a senior and did not expect much to happen in a small boring town. Then she met Edward, from the Cullen’s family of charming vampires, as she got to know later. First time they met, Edward could barely brief as he had a strong desire to taste Bella’s deliciously smelling blood. He avoided Bella but came to realization he could not keep himself away from her, so he controlled his urge. Bella fell for Edward and she had to make a choice of leaving her old life to a new dangerous life. There are numerous mise-en-scene elements in Twilight displaying the difficulties of forbidden love and showing what people are ready to give up for one’s love.

The settings of the movie play a big role in demonstrating the idea and the mood of a scene. Forks is a grey old town that does not have a lot of sunlight. Throughout the movie, the weather slightly changes, but mostly it is cloudy, cold and rainy, which gives us an atmosphere of a mysterious fantasy about vampires. As we know, from books and movies, vampires do not like being under the sun. Director of the movie shows why vampires settled there. There are scenes where weather and a situation go perfectly together, like the scene of a baseball game and a thunder. Vampires are very fast and strong, their baseball game is loud, so they only play during the thunder. The scene looks impressive, as every hit of bat followed by the thunder.

The movie takes place in a small local town which gives us a feeling that there is nothing unusual happening. There are not a lot of people and everyone knows each other. There is nothing special about this place, houses look the same, people do not care about what they wear. The supporting characters, such as kids in school are very plain and simple, making you focus on the main characters. Some of the props would be a piano and graduation caps at Edward’s house. The piano shows his romantic nature, as he plays lullaby for Bella later. The graduation caps show for how long he is been trapped in the same age. Open space in Edward’s house demonstrating that vampires do not sleep or eat human food, as they do not have a lot of basic needs over there.

Twilight lighting and colors are two of the main characteristics of the movie. Most of the scenes are outside and they are very bright but in passive grey-blue colors, as it is mostly cloudy. Though, it also makes the film charming and interesting. The colors and mysterious shades make the audience wait for the sun to show up. It gives us a feeling of a thriller, which it is in some way. The action scenes have low-key lighting, which gives a feeling of suspense. One of the scenes would be when Bella was abducted, the lighting was very low-key. The scene took place in an old dance room with mirrors and big windows. It was dark, and the moonlight was only coming from the rectangular narrow windows, making a dramatic effect. In the other scene where Bella and Edward are laying down on the grass, the lighting is high-key, it is sunny outside, Edward’s skin is shining, showing us that he is unusual. The camera movement is very accurately playing with the light, as it moves around them, zooming their faces and then zooming out, showing even more light from the birds’-eye view. The scene is very romantic and peaceful due to the lighting and colors.

Another mise-en-scene element in the movie is acting, which is very important in this genre. The scene where Edward and Bella talk for the first time shows us that they are going to have a story. He disappears for a week after they first met because of his desire to eat her. When she finally sees him for the second time in the class, she looks confident, she wants to confront him, as she thinks she is the reason he skipped classes. However, as she sits next to him, she gets very shy. When Edward starts talking to her, Bella cannot stop looking into his eyes and the camera shows it very close. Her facial expressions show interest in him like she is trying to solve a mystery. Edward, on the other hand, looks confident, keeps a conversation going with her but barely makes eye contact. Later, Bella asks him if he has contacts, as his eye color changes from black to golden brown.

In the scene where Bella gets targeted by another vampire, who is not on vegetarian vampire diet, which is only animals, Edward seems very worried about her. He panics, does not want to listen to her, just wants to drive her away right at that moment, acts on the spot, meaning he cares about her. Bella is shocked and scared but conscious, trying to calm him down. The last scene where Edward and Bella dance in the ballroom at the prom is very romantic. She is wearing a walking boot because her leg is broken, and Edward lifts her up to dance with her. We can see how much love they have for each other by their facial expressions and body movements. Bella tells Edward she wants to be a vampire, so they can be together forever. Edward is not ready to end her life, he wants her to have a life he did not have a chance to live.

Even though Twilight is a modern movie about forbidden love, it is a fantasy that cannot be directly related to our world. However, forbidden love is something we face in our lives. Sometimes, couples cannot be together because of their family differences, traveling, or even people prejudice. It is amazing how much people are willing to give up for another person, who is not a relative. There are people who give up their dreams or move away from their families just to be together with someone they love so much. In my opinion, the movie targeted on a younger audience. The film is very romantic and young girls like to relate, as they want that kind of love Edward and Bella have. The elements of production, mise-en-scene, play a significant role in connecting the audience to the Twilight’s theme and expressing the mood and feelings.

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