Film Analysis - Big Fish

Big Fish  
During our lesson, we watched 'Big Fish', a 2003 American fantasy drama film, based on the novel of the same name. The film centers on the character Edward Bloom and his seemingly failed relationship with his estranged son, Will. Edward and Will fell out because Edward continued to tell exaggerated stories about his life, which are depicted throughout the film through storytelling or memory sequences. However, in the period the film is set, Edward is on his deathbed and Will has returned to his family home to reconcile with his father.

Metaphors and Symbolism
Throughout the film, themes are established and symbolised through the use of metaphors. There are so many things throughout the film that could be interpreted as a symbol of something else.

A symbol I picked up on during the film is the constant reference to the fish itself. During the title sequence, Edward Bloom is seen tackling the biggest fish in the lake, where he retrieves his ring from its mouth. The fish is later on seen at the end of the film, where Edward takes his ring off, notably with his mouth like the fish from the beginning, and is lowered into the water before becoming that exact fish. This fish symbolises Edward Bloom himself, as it refers to the common phrase, 'Big fish in a small pond', which means someone is a big shot and could be seen as too 'heroic' to be in such a small or unimpressive place, such as the town of Ashton where Edward comes from. This idea is challenged when Edward moves on from Ashton and arrives at the circus. The circus owner tells him, 'you were a big fish in a small pond, but this here is the ocean', suggesting that Edward is a nobody. However, before he departs from the circus, he changes the circus owner's mind, therefore proving that Edward is, in fact, a hero, despite having been unseen or unheard of before. This sets up the idea that Edward Bloom has extraordinary things ahead of him. Before Edward leaves Ashton, the witch tells him, 'the biggest fish in the river gets that way by never being caught', which suggests why Edward leaves the seemingly perfect town of Spectre later on; he wants to explore the world before staying put in one place - he doesn't want to be 'caught'. Edward marries Sandra and, after returning from the army, his life becomes more mundane and average. Despite having unusual run-ins, he's no longer the big shot hero he once was. This implies that he has been caught, his marriage and family life has made him settle down and therefore he is no longer a 'big fish', just like the witch said. This idea is further reinforced when Edward dies, his body is lowered into the water and he becomes the big fish after returning his wedding ring. His stories lived on after his death, therefore his fame lived on, therefore after his death, he became the 'big fish' once more because he's no longer 'caught'.

The title may also reference the idea that as a story gets told more often, it is slightly exaggerated each time. For example, a fisherman tells the story of the time he caught a fish in the river and each time the story is told, the fish in the story gets larger every time. This is because the story is exaggerated each time, and when that story is told through many generations later, the story is far from the original. This just means that the story is made better or more relevant every time it is told, for example, Edward told the story of the big fish so many times throughout Will's life, and then eventually at his wedding. At the end of the story, Edward somehow relates the story to Will's wedding by talking about 'catching an uncatchable woman', which shows how a story can be tweaked to be applied in a relevant situation. This helps the viewers understand the creativity in storytelling, and that incorporating the truth or logic isn't necessary regarding a story, even if the story teaches a lesson that can be applied to reality. Will, in the film, is a realist and is very cynical towards his father's story-telling as there is no logic within his stories, however by the end he realizes that his father used these stories to make his life seem more magical than it is. This made his father memorable, and he truly became a 'big fish' because the stories are what made him so powerful. It taught Will to see things from different perspectives and allow people to live their life how they wanted to, even if it was complete fantasy or not. I believe this is symbolic to the audience because the whole film represents how people should see how other's live their lives and allow them to live their lives how they wish. My first thought regarding the evolution of storytelling reminded me of common stories within our culture, such as the story of Troy or Robin Hood. It seemed rather silly that Will was so against Edward's stories because there were so many esteemed stories like these in modern culture. If nobody else created stories for future generations then the only stories we would have been told were from centuries ago and not from this era.

Another metaphor I picked up through the film was the constant presence of water. Running water is often associated with movement, which I think is symbolic of Edward's stories of his life and how he is never properly grounded or 'caught', as the witch described. This is backed up by Edward saying he's always been 'thirsty', hence he always needs water. This shows that he longs for the adventure and movement that is described within his stories, which is perhaps the reason Edward masks his mundane life with inconceivable, spectacular stories because it represents how he wishes his life was. Contrariwise, water may be restless at times, but in other situations may be calm and consistent. I believe this represents Will. Will has a logical method of perceiving things, however, his dad is more wild and imaginative, but they are still members of the same collective body- they're still family despite their obvious differences.

Another interpretation of the presence of water could be that it is symbolic of the evolution through the film. Water changes, it can go from being calm to being restless, or even the idea of movement could represent progression. I believe this is symbolic of perspectives being changed or evolved, for example, the way Edward saw Spectre at one part of his life as opposed to another part of his life. Although depicted in the film as the evolution of the town, I think it isn't the town changing at all, but in fact just how Edward saw the town.

This brings us to the town of Spectre. Spectre could be interpreted in many different ways. When Edward first arrives in Spectre it is seemingly perfect and all a man could wish for, it is rather reminiscent of Heaven - perhaps why nobody had ever left? There are so many features that resemble the afterlife, for example, the checklist with people's names on and the general light colored, heavenly appeal to the whole location, it just doesn't seem real.

Edward Bloom with young Jenny in the town of Spectre

I believe Spectre represents what every man eventually wants in life, to settle down at the end of his life. This is why Edward left when he arrived too 'early', it suggests how he prioritizes his needs, the need to explore comes before the need to be grounded. The town is what Edward had been hoping to find, however, he found it too early, as he still had ambition. The poet, Norther Winslow, had stumbled upon Spectre too, however, he had decided to stay. Norther left Ashton ambitious and hopeful, however, when Edward found him in Spectre, he had no ambition and was rendered unable to write poetry. I think this is because Spectre is what somebody wants at the end of their life, once they had fulfilled their aspirations, Norther had been blinded by the beauty of Spectre and had settled there instead of following his true dreams. Hence, Norther later left Spectre in order to become a rich man once Edward had changed his perspective on Spectre.

When Edward returned to Spectre, it was run down and broken, it was not how he remembered. I think this represents how Edward's desires have changed, Spectre was no longer what he wanted at this stage in his life, which is why he was 'too late' according to Jenny because his opinion had changed in the meantime.

Another thing Spectre could represent is success. When Spectre was heavenly and seemingly perfect, the road to get there was almost impossible to follow, it was painful. When Spectre had been ruined, there was a simple road there, I believe this is a metaphor for how to gain success, by working hard. When you take the easy road, what you gain at the end isn't as rewarding as when you take the hard road.

Sandra - Edward's wife

Another symbol I picked up on was the girl in the river, when he first saw her I believe that was Edward's sexual awakening, as when he ventured further than Spectre the next step in his life was finding his love. When he returned to Spectre, he saw the girl in the river again, which was foreshadowing his near-affair with the now older Jenny. At the end of the film, he calls his wife, Sandra, 'my girl in the river', because Sandra is the only woman he desires. I believe the girl in the river represents Edward's sexual desires. The fact Sandra is his 'girl in the river', shows that she is her only desire, which is further supported when Jenny tells Will that in his father's eyes, 'there are only two women, your mother and everyone else'. This symbolises his desire and love for Sandra.

In conclusion, it's clear to see there are many different interpretations of the symbols depicted in the film. Almost too many to go into.

Thanks for reading

-WM

Film Analysis - My Week with Marilyn

My Week with Marilyn

During our double media lesson on Friday, we watched the film, 'My Week with Marilyn', a 2011 British true-story drama directed by Simon Curtis. The film follows Colin Clark, a graduate pursuing a career in film making, and his week spent on the set of renowned stage director Laurence Olivier's upcoming film, 'The Prince and the Showgirl', starring Marilyn Monroe. It focuses on the relationship between Marilyn and Colin when Colin escorted Marilyn around London after her newly wedded husband, Arther Miller, returned to the US part-way through the production.

My Week with Marilyn is based on Colin Clark's diaries, 'The Prince, The Showgirl and Me' and 'My Week with Marilyn'. These diaries document Colin's account on what happened on the set of 'The Prince and the Showgirl' and his week of intimacy spent with Marilyn Monroe. My Week with Marilyn (the book) was published after Colin Clark's death, as he wanted to keep the contents of the diary to himself in respect for Marilyn. However, after he passed away his family released the diary.

Representation of Sexuality
In the film, sexuality is presented through the actor's portrayal of the characters as well as the public attitudes conveyed in the film towards it.

Marilyn and Sexuality
Marilyn Monroe is the most renowned sex icon to date, however, within the film, it is revealed that her 'blonde bombshell' persona is just a facade. The Marilyn the public knew was a typical 'dumb blonde' and exhibited the traits associated with this stereotype: naivety, dumbness and sexual behaviour and mannerisms.  Whereas, the film depicts that Marilyn was, in fact, anxious and not confident; almost the opposite of how she is portrayed in the media. She played on her appearance to create a whole new persona for herself, which in turn sky-rocketed her success as she gained a lot of attention for her 'dumb blonde' personality and erotic appearance. This shows that she would not have been valued for her own person, but in fact had to create a sex-oriented character in order to gain public recognition.

Marilyn Monroe depicted in the film,
appearing seductive

At the beginning of the film, Marilyn is briefly mentioned by the other central characters, and they are all star struck to hear that the most iconic sex symbol of the time is going to be working with them. This sets up an assumption from the audience that the character going to be introduced will be portrayed in the same light that Marilyn herself once was. She would be portrayed as how the public saw her and how the public only wanted to see her: a sex symbol. When the character is introduced, she is seen emerging from a plane. The first thing about her that stands out is her appearance, she's dressed glamorously and alluringly; she looks very attractive. This is accurate to the real life Marilyn Monroe as she was renowned for her sexy appearance. She elegantly descends from the plane appearing confident, however, upon closer inspection, she seems uncomfortable with the amount of paparazzi bothering her. This occurred to me as odd because it didn't fit my expectation of Marilyn, having little insight about her prior to watching the film I assumed everything about her would channel confidence and sexiness, even in situations like this.

In her next scene, at the press conference, she seems much more relaxed. She responds to interviewers in a flirtatious manner, appearing extremely confident. The questions directed at her were sex oriented as opposed to acting oriented, font-family: inherit;">'Marilyn, is it true you wear nothing in bed but perfume?', this shows that the public and media didn't care for her career and didn't take her seriously as an actress, she was seen as merely a sex icon as opposed to a 'serious' actress. On the contrary, she didn't seem taken aback by this question, which suggests that she understood and accepted that this is all the public values her for. This made me wonder if she embraced the fact that the public only valued her for her sex symbol persona and if she used it to her advantage to gain such success.

When the production begins, Marilyn was late to the initial read-through, angering the director, Laurence Olivier. This suggests that perhaps even Marilyn didn't take her career seriously, which possibly correlates with how the media sees her; the fact she only embraced her sexuality and prioritised this over her acting career is why she was seen as nothing but a sex symbol in the public eye. However, I dismissed this concept when the read-through began and Marilyn took her time to develop her character's personality upon reading the script, despite Olivier asking her to just read it plainly. This shows she did take her job seriously, as she wanted to create an in-depth character rather than portray it as the director intended: an overly sexualised, female 'plot device'. The fact that she was cast in a role intended to be another 'dumb blonde' role of Marilyn's shows how not only the public saw her as nothing but a sex icon, but even professionals within the film industry. This is also shown as throughout the production the director constantly disrespected Marilyn, and shrugged away any moments Marilyn tried to contribute to her character. The director clearly didn't take her seriously, despite him casting her in his production. You wouldn't think a director would cast someone he couldn't take seriously as an actress in his production if  he wanted a role portrayed 'well'. This clearly indicates that he didn't want her for her acting but merely to add sex appeal to the role, again showing how Marilyn was viewed as nothing but a sex symbol. This idea is further reinforced when Laurence Olivier grows very frustrated when Marilyn doesn't play the character 'right', he asked her to just do what she 'does best' and be 'sexy'. He didn't want an in-depth character but just a character with sex appeal, lacking personality. 

Later in the film, when Marilyn and the lead character, Colin, begin their week of 'intimacy', Marilyn says that 'All people see is Marilyn Monroe. As soon as they realise that I'm not her, they run.' This line is significant because it shows that Marilyn recognises the fact that she is only seen for her sex appeal and not for herself. 'Marilyn Monroe' is a sex icon and she knows that she knows that this is just a persona she created and is in fact not her. The fact that people realise she is not this sex icon and 'run' shows that she is most definitely only valued for her sex appeal. 

During the film, when Colin goes to retrieve Marilyn and she is not ready, she says, 'Forgive my horrible face'. The fact she has to apologise for looking remotely messy, despite her still looking very attractive, shows just how important her appearance was, as it was all the public valued her for. 

Marilyn Monroe depicted in the film, dressed provocatively

When Marilyn and Colin go on a date, Marilyn says 'I want this to be the perfect date, I haven't been on a real date since I was thirteen.' Given the historical context, men were expected to be chivalrous and respectful of women, especially during courtship. The fact Marilyn hadn't been on a real date shows how she was valued, nobody respected her as a woman because of the negative connotations that surround being a 'sex symbol'. The purpose of a date is to get to know someone, nobody wanted to 'get to know' Marilyn because they liked her face and not her person. She wasn't taken seriously as a woman, let alone an actress, people just saw sex appeal and nothing else. During the date, Marilyn goes on to say 'Shall I be her?' when approaching a crowd of fans and paparazzi. She then proceeds to act sexily and pose for the public. She was embracing her sexuality and gaining publicity by acting how they wanted her to act: sexy. She knew that's all people wanted. 

Colin and Marilyn discuss running away together and ending her career, however, she refuses, despite her blatant unhappiness because of it. This indicates that perhaps she's been valued for being one thing for so long, that even she knows that that's all she is, she cannot be valued for anything else. She finds acceptance in being seen as nothing but a sex symbol.

On the other hand, the film depicts Marilyn embracing her sexuality to the public by dressing provocatively and flaunting her features. She's flirty and confident and allows the public to see her just for that, despite aspiring to be a 'serious actress'. She engaged in an affair with a man despite being married, upholding the promiscuous nature associated with being a sex symbol. It is suggested that she has engaged in other affairs when her assistant warns Colin that the same thing happened to him, and she 'breaks hearts' all the time.

Vivien Leigh and Sexuality
Vivien Leigh was Laurence Olivier's wife, and a very successful stage actress during her heydey. She was intended to be cast as the role that Marilyn was cast as, however, is said to have been too old for the role, because the role had to have sex appeal. This shows that as a woman ages, she is deemed as less sexually attractive and therefore loses value. The fact that Vivien Leigh could not be in a role (that she apparently could play far better) because of her age and sex appeal goes to show how appearance is deemed more important than any other factor, including talent. 

Colin Clark and Sexuality
Colin Clark, the leading character, is conveyed to be very naive. When he first laid his eyes on Marilyn Monroe, he was obviously very enticed by her. Despite his blatant attraction to Marilyn, he pursued a more 'obtainable' romantic interest: Lucy, the wardrobe assistant. They went on dates together and there was seemingly a lot of chemistry between the couple, they had spent time together and gotten to know each other, so they valued each other for their personalities. However, when Marilyn Monroe shows a slight interest in Colin, Colin begins to chase her. This shows that he still valued appearance over personality, as he went for someone he did not know over someone he had gotten to know just because of appearance. Once Marilyn had ended it with Colin, he returned to Lucy. This shows how he valued women too. 

Moreover, during his relationship with Lucy, he was very eager to have sexual relations with her, which shows how he viewed sex as he wanted to rush into it and not wait. 

Overall 
Overall, the film clearly presents how the characters and public felt towards sexuality, and how they each behaved uniquely regarding the subject. I enjoyed the film very much and reading into how the film conveyed sexuality.