Another film I have decided to analyse that is relevant to our research in the process of creating our romantic comedy film that is a literary adaptation, is Of Mice and Men. Although Of Mice and men is not a romance or comedy novel or film, it is an adaptation of a critically acclaimed novel that explores the theme of friendship. This is an important element to the plot of our project EARNEST, and therefore it seemed appropriate that we analyse films with this shared theme so we could obtain an understanding of how to portray the friendship of two characters to audiences.
The Opening
The first character in the opening of the film that we see is a woman running through a field in a bright red dress, who is out of breath and in distress. The film then cuts to George and Lenny running quickly, not playfully. The upbeat but ominous music shows their mischievous relationship as they are clearly running from trouble. They are being followed by an angry, armed mob who are chasing them to punish Lenny for accusation of rape on the woman we saw at the beginning. The tempo and sense of danger can be heard in the music when we see the mob running with dogs, horses and weapons. Pan movements follow the running of the characters and highlight the fast pace and sense of danger.
Mise en Scene
What is immediately noticeable from the outset of the opening five minutes of Of Mice and Men is the low saturation and faded, dull colours. This was deliberate on the part and decisions of the director, Gary Sinise who also stars as George Milton in the film. The colour scheme and lack of saturation reflects the era of time for workers in which the novel and film are set, in 1930s America. The dull colours reflect the monotony of work as George and Lenny move from place to place in search of new job opportunities as ranch workers during the Great Depression. The costuming of the two main characters also reflects the influence of work on their lives which was the case for many during the Great Depression. The costumes of George and Lenny, as well as the other ranch workers, reflects their economic status and occupation for example they all wear similar denim work clothes with distinguished plaid shirts and work hats which are all different to separate each character.
The first character we saw at the beginning was a woman wearing a vibrant red dress, which could emphasise the element of danger which is set from the beginning of the novel
Focus
The majority of the scenes that feature interactive conversation between George and Lenny (which are most scenes) use focus pull to isolate the two main characters and emphasise the outline of the main characters. This directs the audiences attention towards the characters and forces them to focus on the conversation of the characters. This is achieved by manipulating the camera lens to capture the characters and lighting in a way that creates sharp outlines. Even when George and Lenny are running in the beginning of the film, their red and blue costuming contrasts with the faded but bright yellow hay fields, which could symbolise fear or danger they are running from. This adds to the ominous tone created by the music
Differences and similarities between the book and the film
Differences
The Opening
The first character in the opening of the film that we see is a woman running through a field in a bright red dress, who is out of breath and in distress. The film then cuts to George and Lenny running quickly, not playfully. The upbeat but ominous music shows their mischievous relationship as they are clearly running from trouble. They are being followed by an angry, armed mob who are chasing them to punish Lenny for accusation of rape on the woman we saw at the beginning. The tempo and sense of danger can be heard in the music when we see the mob running with dogs, horses and weapons. Pan movements follow the running of the characters and highlight the fast pace and sense of danger.
Mise en Scene
What is immediately noticeable from the outset of the opening five minutes of Of Mice and Men is the low saturation and faded, dull colours. This was deliberate on the part and decisions of the director, Gary Sinise who also stars as George Milton in the film. The colour scheme and lack of saturation reflects the era of time for workers in which the novel and film are set, in 1930s America. The dull colours reflect the monotony of work as George and Lenny move from place to place in search of new job opportunities as ranch workers during the Great Depression. The costuming of the two main characters also reflects the influence of work on their lives which was the case for many during the Great Depression. The costumes of George and Lenny, as well as the other ranch workers, reflects their economic status and occupation for example they all wear similar denim work clothes with distinguished plaid shirts and work hats which are all different to separate each character.
The first character we saw at the beginning was a woman wearing a vibrant red dress, which could emphasise the element of danger which is set from the beginning of the novel
Focus
The majority of the scenes that feature interactive conversation between George and Lenny (which are most scenes) use focus pull to isolate the two main characters and emphasise the outline of the main characters. This directs the audiences attention towards the characters and forces them to focus on the conversation of the characters. This is achieved by manipulating the camera lens to capture the characters and lighting in a way that creates sharp outlines. Even when George and Lenny are running in the beginning of the film, their red and blue costuming contrasts with the faded but bright yellow hay fields, which could symbolise fear or danger they are running from. This adds to the ominous tone created by the music
Differences and similarities between the book and the film
Differences
- Book - linguistic (language based) : Film - visual (image based)
- Book - conceptual (relating to or concerning concepts e.g racism, sexism : Film - perceptual (interpretive)
- Book - one author (based on his own experiences as a bindlestiff : Film - a collaborative effort
Similarities
- Characterisation
- Relationships
- Themes (racism, sexism, work, power)
- Events (Curley's wife's death, Lenny's death)
Unlike many modern adaptations which only use the original novel as a subtle basis of the film, Of Mice and Men remains loyal to the novel very well in terms of detail and nature. Little Women and The Great Gatsby (other film openings I analysed) did the same whereas Clueless (an adaptation of the novel Emma) Easy A (adaptation of the Scarlet Letter) and Edward Scissorhands (adaptation of Frankenstein) are loose adaptations that feature new characters and plots that suit the modern audience. This is the direction we went in our project however we also wanted to make sure that elements of the original story were clear in the film.
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