The Descent – Mise-en-scene 2

Hospital Scene

Props• The cake may not seem

important at this point, but it’s a very key feature at the end of the movie. At this point it is symbolizing Sarah's realization that her daughter is now dead, the blowing out of the candles is to show that her dream/illusion is broken

• The props in her hospital room are just there to add detail to the scene, all apart from the heart rate monitor, this hints at the fact that she /might/ have been dead the whole time after the accident

Setting/lighting• The cake scene is set in the mind

of Sarah,, the darkness is used to show that her daughter is the only thing that’s important, the candles are the only apparent source of light, which is why it goes completely dark when the are extinguished, the light from them is a warm and inviting colour which would make Sarah feel safe and secure

• The hospital at this point is inside of her subconscious, this is the reason for the grungy green/blue lighting, to separate illusion from reality, in her mind she’s running from the darkness

• The scene ends with her crashing into reality, at which point the light changes to a bright, safe colour because she is in the arms of her friend

Location• The location for the cake scene is

inside of Sarah’s head, it is like this to show her internal turmoil as she is trying to grasp at the memory or her daughter, Jess.

• The hospital room is clearly there to clarify that she has been in an accident and possibly even a coma. It is hinted at that she is dead and this is the start of her hell/purgatory.

• The corridor is cleverly used to represent Sarah’s attempt at running from her darkness, it is the ideal location to show the fear and panic as it seems to never end no matter how fast she runs.

• The final corridor is there to show her crashing back into reality, even though it is nearly identical to the previous, it somehow feels safer and less intimidating.

Costume/Make-up• We see Jessica wearing

normal children's clothes at the start of the scene, this shows how Sarah’s mind is trying to create a feeling of normality.

• The hospital gown at first is masked in the green light, however when the light returns to normal you could say that its an pure white colour, almost angelic, which adds to the whole idea that she is in fact dead

• Her friend is dressed in black, possibly displaying her mourning for the death of Paul and Jessica

Movement/Acting• There is the initial shock of

her waking up after the accident where she quickly removes her life support equipment

• During the trombone shot you can see the realization on her face as everything starts to sink in (about the accidient)

• Then there is her frantic running as she tries to escape the oncoming darkness

• Finally, the relief when she ends up in her friends arms and the lighting brightens to signify her feeling safer