Trapped in a Punch Drunk Window

Paper by Daphne Janelle. Viewed on DVD in Introduction to Film Studies, Summer 2011 (taught by Roger Durling).

Punch Drunk Love and Rear Window make their mark in the world of film from different eras and within different genres. Despite this, similar themes of entrapment and love run strongly throughout both films. Both directors, Paul Thomas Anderson and Alfred Hitchcock, manage to trap us with their characters and allow us to watch the characters’ freedom emerge with the aide of love. Barry in Punch Drunk Love is mentally trapped by the chaos within his own mind, while Jeff in Rear Window is wheelchair bound and thus physically trapped within the confines of his own apartment. Jeff is also mentally trapped by his own prejudice and his stereotypes of himself and the lives of those around him. Both films use love and romantic relationships to transform and free their protagonists from their enclosed worlds, as indicated in their mise-en-scène. Beginning immediately with the opening scenes the framing, colours, and other aspects of mise-en-scène, are used extensively to allow us to share the situations and feelings experienced by Barry and Jeff.

In Punch Drunk Love the framing techniques show us that Barry is a loner who is hidden and trapped within himself. The film begins with Barry seated in the far left of the frame, facing outward. This placement weakens our view of his character, giving us a sense of his overall insignificance, at least in his opinion. The fact that Barry is the owner of his own business is not indicated here in any way. His solid blue suit blends into the blue wall, withdrawing him even further into the corner in which he is trapped. The long shot gives us little indication of his emotion as we hear him talking on the phone, which is used to obscure half of his face as well. Despite the fact that Barry is on screen nearly the entire time, we do not see his emotions or reactions until nearly two and a half minutes into the film when we watch his reaction to the car wreck. Barry is a very introverted person. He seems uncomfortable in his own skin, preferring to hide or lie about his emotions than to reveal his true self. This opening scene shows Barry’s emotions the way he’d like us to see them, which is not at all. He is alone, hidden and trapped within his own mind because he chooses to be, as indicated by the framing, and he does not allow anyone else in, including the viewer.

Unlike Barry who chooses entrapment, Jeff is trapped against his will and unable to freely walk around his world. Framing is used in Rear Window to purposefully isolate the viewer, and hold us in Jeff’s apartment with him. It restricts our view by not showing any activity beyond what Jeff himself is capable of seeing. We begin with the view that we’ll see for most of the film. The opening scene shows a slow reveal of the window frame and courtyard beyond Jeff’s apartment. This little neighbourhood is the only area we will be in throughout the entire film. We see everything as Jeff would see it from this window. The camera lens and binoculars that he uses later in the film cleverly provide our closest views of the neighbours by zooming us in while still keeping us confined within the restrictions of Jeff’s own view point. Jeff has become mentally trapped as well, obsessed with his neighbours’ lives and his own lack of ability to continue the busy traveler’s lifestyle that he desires over his current state of boredom. It takes over three minutes for the film to reveal Jeff’s face, but we then see that he sleeps, shaves, and talks on the phone comfortably near his window, in contrast to Barry, who prefers to remain hidden. Additionally, colour is used to illustrate Jeff’s emotions. His wardrobe is a boring, plain brown, which is warm enough to pull him towards us, but bland enough to further indicate his uninterested state of mind. In contrast to Barry in Punch Drunk Love we are not meant to be hidden from Jeff’s emotions, but to be a part of them and to share them with him. In the second scene when he is on the phone we see a full shot of Jeff’s face and thus are able to observe his reactions to both the conversation on the phone and his views out the window. Jeff’s framing is centered on the screen in a medium shot, with the camera at a low angle. It is clear through the purposeful use of mise-en-scène that he, his opinion of himself, and his role in this neighbourhood are extremely important.

Our introduction to the female leads of the two films is equally significant in portraying the importance of their characters, and the impact they will have on our leading men. Lena is introduced to us within the first five minutes of Punch Drunk Love. In fact, she is the first main character we see after Barry, suggesting an importance to her role. There is no history between her and Barry, so we are able to view their relationship from the very beginning. When she arrives Barry remains hidden from us via shots of his back, ¾ shots and profile shots, but Lena arrives in a bright and warm coral outfit, running strongly towards the camera and viewer. She is lit in a very angelic light from to the sun behind her, nearly blinding out her face, which is never clearly shown. The two shot of her first conversation with Barry shows us the balancing sides of the relationship. It also shows them in a social proximic pattern, demonstrating that their first encounter is strictly business. She leaves without us knowing anything about her, or even her name. The camera does not move during their entire encounter until it begins to follow Lena as she walks away. Through the lighting, colour and her approach to the camera is it clear that Lena is an important contrast to Barry.

Lisa’s contrast to Jeff is equally important in Rear Window, as indicated by the mise-en-scène of her character’s introduction. Unlike Lena, we do not meet Lisa until approximately fifteen minutes into the film, well after we’ve already seen all of the neighbours, as well as Stella. We see Lisa framed in a close up, heading towards the camera, and casting a shadow on Jeff’s face. They are immediately in an intimate proximity as she leans in for a kiss. She is important, imposing, and invasive on both us and Jeff, who is considering the end of their relationship due primarily to his opinions about the differences in their lifestyle. Lisa introduces herself as she turns on the lamps. The camera follows her left to right around the room smoothly. Despite, or perhaps because of, her air of high society, a strong contrast to Jeff, she literally and figuratively brightens up the atmosphere. She is dressed in a flowing angelic white, with a contrast of black, hinting at the two contrasting sides of her personality, and the contrasts in her lifestyle compared to Jeff’s. Jeff is now dressed in a cool blue attire, suggesting that Lisa has not been able to brighten him up enough to convince him that she is the woman for him, and he remains withdrawn from her. Even though Lisa is introduced in a much different way than Lena, through the use of mise-en-scène, we understand that her character will provide a strong parallel and contrast to our protagonist.

As the films progress, both Jeff and Barry reach a turning point in their journeys that puts in motion everything that will set them free. Barry makes a brave and impulsive decision to drop his work and life to travel to Hawaii to meet with Lena. Until this point in the film the significant emotions that Barry has shown have been through fits of rage and despair. While we know he is very impulsive, this sudden decision to follow the woman he cares about seems contrary to his neurotic, angry character. Lena has already managed to begin breaking Barry out of his mundane life, and getting him out into the world which he had previously been content to leave unexplored. There are several elements of mise-en-scène that help us to realize the importance and outcome of this decision. As he speaks with his co-worker Lance about his plans to travel to Hawaii, we follow Barry left to right across the warehouse, which is a positive movement. The chair that had trapped him in the corner at the beginning of the film now breaks symbolically. Additionally, a bright red truck passes by him as he runs out of the warehouse, strongly representing the new found passion that he is following. Employees of the airline are dressed in bright red, and Barry’s tie has brightened from a dark blue at the beginning of the film to yellow and then red as he reaches Hawaii. Also, as Lena answers the phone when Barry calls her during the parade his payphone lights up. Lena is once again introduced in a bright, angelic way, thanks to her flowing white wardrobe, and her quick, direct approach towards the camera as she greets Barry intimately in the middle of the hotel lobby. The smooth, undulating camera movements of the long take in the beach scene help to indicate the significance of this change in Barry’s life and personality as a result of his relationship with Lena. Instead of an unmoving camera showing them walking away into the distance as we would have seen earlier in the film, the camera moves along with them, keeping them in a medium shot as they navigate the hallway towards Lena’s hotel room. It is also worth noting the framing of the iris-out transition of their holding hands. This represents the idea that although Barry may always remain trapped, it is clear that Lena will be with him, and remain on his side. Through this sequence of scenes, we are finally introduced to Barry’s softer side, and his character is able to transform from a nervous, angry, weird and shy person to a slightly braver, happier and more emotionally available one. The following scene of Barry and Lena’s car accident, the spinning of the camera mimics the spinning of their car and further demonstrates a literal spin in Barry’s persona. The four brothers that he earlier ran away from in terror, now meet a Barry who is fuelled by love and brave enough to beat them each with their own crow bar. When he calls and confronts the owner of the mattress company and sex phone line, and we see Barry in a ¼ turn close up to experience the full effect of his determination to end their impact on his life and privacy. We can not imagine the small, insignificant Barry from the opening scene able to pull this off. As demonstrated in the showcase of his emotions and the mise-en-scène, Barry’s transformation is nearly complete thanks to his growing relationship with Lena.

In Rear Window Jeff’s transformation is powered by Lisa’s revelation of her wilder, down to earth side, as well as the neighbourhood’s murder. Jeff began the film brightly lit in the daylight, and warmly dressed. As he digs deeper into the mystery of the murder, he is dressed in cool blue, and often retreats to hide in the shadow of night as he realizes the dangers of his involvement and snooping. He is humbled, and disguises his face behind the lenses and binoculars, which also frame his view and ours on the most important neighbours in the area. It also matches the iris-out framing in Punch Drunk Love, despite the effect being used for different purposes. As for Lisa, she was initially sceptical of Jeff’s theories of murder, but once she believes him and begins to help him solve the murder she is dressed warmer, puts her hair up, and traps her face under a veil. This veil mimics the trapped feelings of Jeff’s predicament, as well as his desire to remain hidden to protect himself from the suspected murderer. Lisa shows off her overnight wardrobe, which happens to be very warm and angelic, in contrast to Jeff’s cool blue, and similar to Lena’s dress in Hawaii. Furthermore, during the scene with Lisa, Jeff, and Doyle in which Doyle tries to foil their investigation and prove them wrong, Lisa denies Doyle’s request for another drink, and walks over to stand with Jeff. This movement and framing of them together clearly indicates that she is on Jeff’s side, and will not leave nor betray him. They are often shot at eye level, indicating their equality, and suggesting that one is not stronger or weaker than the other. As they begin to doubt their suspicions of Mr. Thorwald, Lisa closes the blinds, before her wardrobe change into the overnight outfit, refocusing Jeff’s interests onto her. Aided by the speech of the dog’s owner after her dog is found dead in the courtyard, this scene reintroduces Jeff, Lisa, and the viewers to a new perspective on the neighbourhood, while renewing Jeff and Lisa’s motivation to solve the murder. The following day, Jeff is dressed in a light pink outfit, breaking from the cool blue that he has worn since changing near the beginning of the movie. The love and support of Lisa, as well as the excitement and danger of trying to solve this mystery seems to free Jeff from the monotony and boredom of the apartment. Lisa proves her ability to keep up with Jeff’s exciting lifestyle in several ways. Her daring and adventurous actions are warming her up in Jeff’s eyes, and connects with the audience while she breaks from her high society shell. Climbing through windows and getting arrested are not things we’d expect from the prim and proper girl we met at the beginning of the film. We see this represented in her warm, orange flowery dress, as she bravely delivers the note to Thorwald, helps Stella dig up the garden, and sneaks into Thorwald’s apartment, which we are still only able to view from Jeff’s window. We remain helplessly trapped with Jeff as we watch Lisa’s assault at the hands of Thorwald, framed tightly through the window, and thrown into darkness when Thorwald turns out his light. Jeff and Stella are shot from a high angle, feeling very insignificant and weak as they watch Lisa’s arrest. While Lisa has gone from a stuffy, rich girl to a daredevil, and Jeff has transformed from a worldly adventurer to a weak, hidden and terrified man. Indicated mainly by their wardrobe, and Jeff’s retreat further into shadow, we see that they have changed from one extreme to another. This brings them closer together in their social standings, and ultimately their relationship.

The mise-en-scène at the ending of both films solidify the relationships of the characters, while hinting at the future of those relationships. Punch Drunk Love‘s camera movements now bring us along with Barry as he races through the halls of Lena’s apartment building to bring her the harmonium. As he presents his gift to her and reveals his true feelings, is it Lena who is trapped within her door frame. We do not see Barry’s face as he speaks from a ¾ turn, but we see the full effect of his words and his honesty as we watch Lena’s reactions while she listens to him. They are in an intimate proximity for an extended period as they hug. In the final shot, Lena enters the warehouse and walks towards Barry to join him. The camera moves with her in a smooth dolly shot, then towards them together to focus on a close up of the two of them. Their faces are lit clearly, and shot from a low angle, emphasizing their strength together. With the help of Lena’s unconditional love, Barry gained a partner, a new outlook on life, and a willingness to travel and see a world he previously avoided.

Instead of merely focusing on its two main leads, Rear Window‘s final scene gives us another view of the neighborhood. The film had progressed deeper and deeper into the dark of night, and we are finally able to see everything brightly lit in the daylight again. We smoothly pan and tilt from apartment to apartment, watching everyone continue with their renewed lives, and moving on from the chaos of the murder. Jeff is no longer interested in watching them, and is once again dressed in blue; however it is now meant to show his willingness to remain uninvolved in his neighbours’ private lives and instead recede into his apartment. We pan from him to Lisa, who is dressed warmly and more casual than previously in the film. We see that despite her daredevil alter ego, and willingness to do what needs done to stay in Jeff’s life, she remains true to herself as she reads the Harper’s Bazaar magazine. She is with him, and he is content even though he faces another eight weeks in his apartment with his new broken leg. The decision to end the film on a shot of Lisa indicates her transformation in Jeff’s mind and the important role she played in freeing his mind and allowing him to be content with an alternate lifestyle.

Punch Drunk Love and Rear Window have both shown us the transformation of their characters in different ways via the mise-en-scène, as explored through framing, colour, and camera movement. We are never released from Jeff’s apartment, yet we have witnessed a change in his perspective and relationship with Lisa. While Punch Drunk Love ends with Barry in his warehouse again, he is no longer framed as a lonely man trapped in the corner. Instead, he is joined by Lena, the new love of his life who we know will be taking him along with her into new worlds and continue to free Barry from his mind, allowing him to reveal more of his positive emotions. Both films have successfully and beautifully portrayed the positive and liberating impact that love can have.