Juno (2007) Mise-en-scene analysis
Juno (2007) Mise-en-scene, meaning and camera angles.
Scene 1: “I think
it’s best to just tell them”
In this scene, the director wants to portray the unavoidably
awkward situation that Juno has to face whilst admitting her pregnancy to her
farther and step-mother. The director wants the spectator to empathise with
Juno and put themselves into the situation of having to admit something so life
altering to the family members that are closest to you. The spectator
immediately understands and relates to the feeling of being judged due to their
actions by those nearest and dearest to them.
The setting in this scene is based within the home of Juno
and her family, the home is shown to be lived in and loved. This is proved by
the amount of child’s drawings and pictures presumably of Juno and her sister
as younger children visible throughout the area of the camera shot. The setting
of the scene portrays a comfortable and cosy environment as Juno’s parents sit
together reclined. The setting further evokes to the spectator an antique
essence with a lot of wood furniture visible, this can be associated with the
lack of modern luxuries in Juno’s house, (compared to the exceedingly modern
home of Mark and Vanessa) and instantly brings the reader to the assumption
that Juno’s family isn’t particularly wealthy.
The lighting in this scene is primarily coming from one
large lamp that is located between Juno’s farther and step-mother, however a
lot of natural lighting is also brought into the scene from the window behind
Juno’s farther and the glass panes of the door behind Juno’s mother. The use of
both natural and artificial lighting is used to brighten up the faces of Juno’s
parents to prepare the spectator for their reaction, and also to further imply
and homely environment and safe place.
There is an abundance of props visible throughout this scene
including drawings, photos, and various trinkets placed throughout the room, an
example of one of these is a dog statue shown next to Juno’s step-mother, this
is important to the scene as it is aforementioned that Juno’s step-mother has
an ‘obsession’ with dogs. This clever usage of this particular prop helps build
the character of Juno’s step-mother and shapes her personality.
The hair and make-up in this scene is kept to a minimal
regarding Juno as she is shown only wearing a small amount of lipstick. Whereas
her step-mother is shown wearing a full face of makeup. Juno is shown to wear
very little as it implies her fatigue and lack of motivation to make herself
look ‘presentable’. Her step-mother on the other hand is said to be a nail
technician and as her work implies style and fashion it is fitting that she has
spent the time to look nice. Juno’s hair is also rough and untidy further
implying stress and anxiety.
The costume use in this scene varies dramatically. Juno is
seen wearing a t – shirt and a large and ugly jumper; this implies that Juno
has chosen comfort over style with her outfit and the spectator makes the link
that it must be due to the discomfort of her pregnancy. Juno’s farther is shown
wearing a checked flannel shirt or a ‘work shirt’, this is used as he is previously
shown to fix heaters and air conditioning units. Lastly Juno’s mother is shown
wearing a stylish outfit to match her pampered persona.
In this scene character expression and movement vary between
the three characters in the room, Juno is shown and jittery and constantly
moving around making hand gestures, this is unquestionably due to her nerves
and anticipation for telling her parents about her pregnancy. On the other hand
both Juno’s step-mother and father are sat with relatively blank looks on their
faces until the news is delivered, these facial expression suggest deep
concentration and focus on what Juno is about to say. After Juno delivers the
news her parents faces seem to morph into more shocked expressions, as if they
were trying to comprehend what they have just be told.
A lot of camera
movement is used in this scene, primarily swapping between Juno and her friend
Leah to Juno’s father and step-mother. The scene also uses the 180 degree view
technique showing the whole of the room behind Juno.
Scene 2: “Vanessa
talks to her Baby”
In this scene, the
director wants to show that although the two clashing characters of Vanessa and
Juno and separated so much due to social class, wealth, age and altogether
worldly knowledge, the two characters are brought together by mutually common
circumstances that every one of every class partakes in, In this instance a
trip to the mall. This scene does not only demonstrate how the two characters
have linked socially by coincidence, but also how they have been linked by the
child that Juno is carrying (That is to be adopted by Vanessa and her husband
Mark).
The setting in this
scene is based in a shopping mall that is bustling with people. Accurately to
real life. There are many people (extras) walking around behind the
protagonists of the film which in this case are Juno, Leah, and Vanessa. This
instantly shows the spectator that this is a very public environment and
everything that is happening will be seen by others. Due to the public area in
which Juno and Leah meet Vanessa being a mall, a social atmosphere is therefore
projected. The setting used in this scene is a massive contrast from previous
scenes set at Juno’s home; however it is similar to previous scenes set inside
a school environment.
This scene contains
no natural light from windows or doors, however the scene is still very bright
due to all of the lights in the mall. The main source of light in this scene is
not fully shown however it is fair to assume it comes from overhead lights on
the malls roof. Lighting is also used through shop windows that are dotted
around the main characters during their dialogue, these shops are never in the
camera’s focus but their flickering lights of white and blue are still visible
and help add depth to the camera shots.
In this scene no
props are used by the character themselves, however various shops and stalls
can be seen with objects in their windows or on show. The use of merchandise as
a common prop in this scene further emphasises to the spectator that the
building the characters are in is a shopping centre or something similar.
There is a lot of
hair and makeup in this scene as all three character are female and all of them
have glamorised themselves ready for a trip out to the mall. Leah’s makeup in
this scene is subtle and not overall noticeable. Subsequently Juno and
Vanessa’s makeup are similar as they are both wearing bold red lipstick further
linking them together as characters. In this scene both Leah and Vanessa’s
hairstyles are tidy, this emphasises to the spectator that these are both
characters who care about their appearance and how people look at them. Juno on
the other hand is shown to have the same hairstyle that has been repeated
throughout the whole film so far, making the spectator believe that she doesn’t
care how she looks or what others think of her.
The costumes in this
scene follow the same principle as the hair and makeup, both Vanessa and Leah
are wearing appealing outfits that imply style to the spectator, further proving
they care about their appearance whilst Juno continues to wear a T shirt and a
thick, unattractive jacket, further proving she doesn’t.
The character expression and movement in this scene shows
the characters in motion instead of standing still or sitting down. At the
start of the scene Vanessa’s expression is shown as surprised and confused with
her encounter with Juno. Throughout this scene all characters have relaxed
expressions and this is probably due to the fact they are in a social situation.
Scene 3: “Like the city in Alaska”
In this scene, the director wants the spectator to
immediately develop an opinion on the two newly introduced characters of Mark
and Vanessa. Furthermore, the director wants the spectator to understand the
wealth and class divide between Juno and Mark and Vanessa solely based on their
clothing, temperament and housing.
The setting of this scene starts outside of the Loring
family household with Juno and her father standing outside the door, however
for the majority of this scene the setting is based inside of the Loring
household. A large proportion of this scene is based in the hallway or opening
entrance to the household. The layout of the room portrays a lot of white
furniture implying purity and also wealth. The background that is visible is
tidy, clean and well kept. All of these attributes make the setting appealing
to look at, it isn’t clustered so it contrasts highly to the previously shown
home of Juno and her family and proves to the spectator that these families are
completely different.
There is a lot of
natural lighting in this scene, at the beginning the two character of Juno and
her father are seen standing on the doorstep of the Loring household, as the
characters are outside the scene is exclusively lit by bright sunlight beaming
in the background. As the characters enter the house the lighting changes from
natural lighting to a combination of natural and artificial lighting. The room
continues to be brightened up by light entering through several windows
throughout the living room and entrance area. Artificial lighting is also seen
from ceiling lights in the lounge area above the couches.
Many props are
visible in this scene however none are used by characters. The props in this
instance and visible when certain camera shots capture them in the background;
an example of these props are flamboyant lamps, a mirror, various decorative
candle holders and flowers. All of these props can be associated with wealth as
they look expensive and modern, the director did this to further emphasise how
well off the Loring family is. In addition to this, the aforementioned
decorative flowers that are shown on several occasions whilst the camera
changes angels in the Loring household can be associated with Vanessa’s
maternal instinct; she looks after and keeps flowers alive. This makes the
spectator believe that she would be the same with an infant.
Makeup in this
scene is only visible with Vanessa, she is seen wearing a light amount of
makeup whereas as Juno is seen wearing none. In this scene Vanessa’s hair is
tidy compared to Juno’s scruffy hairstyle keeps continuity throughout the
movie.
In this scene Juno is shown wearing more common and
work-like clothing that has clearly been worn, this implies to the spectator
that Juno does not care about the impression she makes of the Loring family. On
the other hand Juno’s father is shown wearing a nice shirt and smart jacket,
both Mark and Vanessa are also wearing smart clothing implying all three of
these characters wish to make a good first impression on one another.
The character expression and movement in this scene is
very reserved in regards to Mark and Vanessa, both characters are polite and
show a calm approach towards Juno and her father as the adoption of Juno’s
unborn baby is very important to them. Juno on the other hand acts naturally
and talks to Mark, Vanessa and their lawyer in a tone she would talk to a
friend in. This tells the spectator that Juno doesn’t accept the social
division between the two families and talks to all types of people with the
same attitude.
Joss Lonsdale Q11.
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