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.