Citizen Kane Analysis PDF

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Analysis of the Movie Citizen Kane...

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RTF 03373: Film Noir All Good Things Must Come To An End Citizen Kane: a failed production in 1941 that later became a staple in the movie industry follows a reporter attempting to unveil the meaning of the economic powerhouse Charles Kane’s last word of “rosebud.” Throughout the movie, the reporter is collecting information about Kane’s marriages, businesses, and other affairs: all of which had tragic downfalls before his ultimate death. Kane lived a privileged life after his mother signs over her parental authority at a young age, after running into some money, to a banker named Walter Thatcher. Thatcher is a terrible guardian but eventually Kane gets ahold of his trust and buys out a popular newspaper. Despite having no regard for others, Kane marries; this marriage was unsuccessful in the end. The marriage montage scene between Charles Kane and his first wife, Emily, reflects the downward spiral of Kane’s life as a whole from birth to death. The marriage montage scene begins with Kane’s college friend, Jedediah Leland, describing the relationship of Kane and his wife. The reporter interviews Leland as the camera is framed for a medium shot; only his chest up shows. With this medium shot, Leland’s facial expressions are more emphasized. Leland sits slightly to the left of the frame, exposing the miseen-scéne of a retirement home; he is clearly the focus of the shot as the background is slightly blurred. Leland is also not directly speaking at the camera; his line of vision is to the side. He speaks in a very monotone voice about the marriage, which he calls “a marriage just like any other marriage.” This interview of Leland slowly dissolves, as the lighting is stripped, into the marriage montage. The few words that Leland speaks about the marriage are pivotal in establishing how the viewer feels towards Kane as his life progresses. The next scene opens with Kane telling his wife that she is beautiful. They are eating breakfast together after a night of partying; Kane needs to go to work but Emily insists he stay

home. Without hesitation, he stays home. The medium shot of the couple sitting at the dining table side-by- side can be described as an illusion to Kane’s life as a child. He is carefree and happy. As a child, however, he was a troublemaker, which is clearly shown when Kane avoids work. Kane and his wife seem to be in the “honeymoon” phase of their marriage; typically, this is the most romantic and lustful first year of marriage. The third scene of the marriage montage is presented with a fast visual effect. It opens with Emily Kane complaining about how long she was kept up waiting for Charles to return home from work. This is where the audience begins to get a touch of the downward hill the marriage is about to take a turn for. Although this scene is very short, the husband and wife are positioned across the breakfast table, unlike previously. The couple is separated by a grand floral arrangement. Charles and Emily still seem to be in love and are smiling towards each other; the front lighting on each character’s face enhances this. The next scene is where the couple starts to completely spiral downhill. Still separated by the floral arrangement, the couple fights over what Charles is writing in his newspaper about the president, who happens to be Emily’s uncle. They are no longer in a cheery mood towards each other and Charles is even facing away from the breakfast table. The montage is continuously shot at medium length, which allows the audience to watch the couple’s tense body language towards each other. Following, the next two scenes depict the couple acting very snarky and distant towards each other. In the latter, Charles is holding a cup of tea then puts it down sternly as he remarks that he will have people think what he wants them to think. The marriage has now become meaningless. No feelings towards each other are shown in these two scenes. One aspect of the mise-en- scéne that did change is that the floral arrangement separating the couple is now gone.

This causes the couple to look distanced from each other, resembling the point they are in in their marriage. Charles and Emily no longer have a healthy relationship and the newspaper is not doing well. Charles’s life as a whole also moves in a downward direction. Finally, the last scene with the couple simply shows the couple both reading the newspaper in a medium shot. Then it zooms-out to show the entire space the couple has been eating breakfast together this whole time. Neither speaks to each other; this depicts the essential end of the marriage. It is an illusion to the death of Charles. After this, Leland describes that all Charles wanted in life was love. Charles was stripped of a childhood and sent away. This caused him to miss pivotal childhood events. The characters are placed so meticulously throughout the scenes to show how Charles and Emily were distancing themselves throughout every year of the marriage. A subtle front light of each character allowed the audience to capture every micro expression on their faces. The marriage montage quickly is able to capture the downward turn his marriage to Emily takes due to his work at the newspaper. It is an illusion to Charles’s entire life; he begins with a great life and slowly starts to lose everything until he essentially dies. The marriage begins wonderfully but progresses to an eventual divorce and remarriage....