Mise-en-Scene in Edward Scissorhands
Tim Burton directed the film Edward Scissorhands which tells a story of an unfinished creation, a young man named Edward, who leaves his isolated mansion into the world of a suburban town for the first time. Despite having giant scissors instead of hands, the town accepts his unique anatomy. However, they then try to make him conform to how they live. Edward does try to fit in but to no avail. Eventually, he escapes back to his mansion. The storyline for the movie is unique and interesting, and the mise-en-scene enhances the story, especially through the use of set design, costumes, camera shots, and lighting.
The most distinguished element of mise-en-scene in the film was the set design. The contrast between the suburban neighborhood and the mansion that Edward lived in immediately showed the vast differences between the two worlds. The set design showed Edward’s life as isolated and withdrawn compared to the suburban’s extroverted and gossip-filled atmosphere. The film showed the difference in the atmosphere through the vivid color used for the suburban neighborhood. The grasses were rich green colored, houses were bright pastel, and even the weather was clear. The set design for the suburban area symbolized this community’s
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An example would be looking at the scene where Edward first comes into the family and eats at the dinner table with them. In one shot, you would see the entire family at the table, and then it would switch to a close-up of Edward. In the close-up shot, Edward showed his facial expressions when he struggled to put some peas on his bladed fingers. After that, the camera switched to show his struggle from his perspective as the camera moved to a point-of-view shot from Edward’s perspective as he struggled to bring the peas to his mouth by keeping them balanced on his bladed