After watching a couple of films about memory, i began to look at how the directors have used effects to portray memory loss, and I think it’s interesting how different views are used throughout the movies.
Subjective - Based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions. In films this is often a POV shot, showing the world through a characters view.
Objective - (of a person or their judgement) not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts. In films an objective view is one where the scene is shown from the observer’s point of view. It is the most general shot seen in most films.
The Girl on the Train is a subjective view of Rachel. We see what she sees, and form opinions on people based off of her view. For example, we see Megan kissing another man that isn’t her husband on her balcony. And just like Rachel, we also don’t know what happened the night she got covered in blood and bruises. Just as if we were drunk like Rachel.
It is only at the end of the film when the truth of what happened is revealed, and other peoples perspectives on events she thought she knew, bring to light new evidence.
This is the same as the effect used in Memento, as the whole film is subjective to Leonards POV, but at the end the truth about his investigation is revealed, and we feel confused just like Leonard must be.
This is important to understand during the films, that everything we are seeing is through the eyes of the protagonist, and the information we are viewing may not be true. But often we don’t realise until we’re viewing from another perspective, or the film turns on its head towards the end and makes us realise everything we thought was a lie.
Subjective cinema uses the following as its basic characteristics – a dolly-zoom, eye line edits, a steady cam follow, inserts of characters thoughts, shaky cam. All camera techniques to make the viewer feel like they are the protagonist. However, the subjective in a film isn’t bound to the protagonist, or even one character, there can be other characters who present their scene in a subjective view. Such kind of direction is used in thriller, and horror films that can grip the spectators with tension impending suspense that makes them sit on the edge of the seat with along growing excitement.
50 First Dates is filmed in an objective view, observing Lucy's brain condition from the outside-in, so we never get to see or experience the full extent of what she feels. This is probably because of the genre of film. As 50 First Dates is a rom-com, they need to keep it light, and focus on Henry's love for Lucy rather than the tragedy that is the accident she was in. This means we can't empathise with Lucy, but instead understand her world from the view of others.
However, in Memento, as everything Leonard does is a direct result of the accident, the view of the film is subjective to helps us to understand the impact his accident has on his everyday life. The same for The Girl on the Train, because the final reveal in the end is that her ex-husband has been lying to her, having a subjective view of Rachel's life helps to add to the shock and confusion, as it feels like he's been lying to to us as a viewer, and we feel stupid for trusting him or viewing him in a certain way to begin with. It helps to paint the picture of how Rachel sees him vs who he really is.
References:
Burrows, M (2021), SkillsTx, Objective vs Subjective, Available at: https://skillstx.com/objective-vs-subjective/ (Accessed 1/2/22)
Sharma, A (2016), Quora, What is the difference between a subjective and an objective shot?, Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-a-subjective-and-an-objective-shot-What-effect-does-it-have-on-storytelling#:~:text=A%20subjective%20shot%20is%20one,will%20find%20in%20most%20films (Accessed 1/2/22)
Admin (2014), Film Theory, Subjective Cinema, Available at: https://www.filmtheory.org/subjective-cinema/ (Accessed 1/2/22)
Comments