mise - en - scene

Mise-en-scene

In the opening sequence of Edward Scissorhands, setting plays an important role in establishing the contrast between the boring suburbs and the Edward’s castle on the hill. The wide angle shots of all the houses as Peg walks around demonstrates a boring suburban neighborhood, where everything look more or less the same. This is reached by the choice of pastel colours on each houses and the bright colours. The bland and boring colours of the residents clothes does not allow any individuality between the them, so that when Edward’s house is shown way up on the hill, the dark contrast between the village houses and his home will symbolise a great difference between the characters of the residents and Edward.

Edward’s castle being up on the hill portrays his individuality, his home is larger and darker than the neighbours. The fact that it is up on the hill portrays a threatening tone with all the dark colours and the large contrast between the neighbours ‘happy’ village and the dark ‘gloomy’ castle. The village looks like it’s a nice sunny day but when you see where Edward lives it is the complete opposite, its dark and looks like a completely different day, a winters evening.

While the his castle seems to have many characteristics an audience would expect an antagonist in a horror film to have such as, the black walls and the dark rooms and the other residents have the ‘perfect American home’ the film presents the question, which one is the nightmare?

When you see Edward, makeup and wardrobe plays a fundamental role to portray his character. His hair, white face, tight leather-like attire not to forget his Scissorhands is an outward interpretation of a disturbed character.   

The costume and make-up in “Edward Scissorhands” is used generate feeling and emotions in the audience. There are stark differences in what Edward wears and looks like and what the humans wear and look like. I think that the costumes are supposed to guide the audience in to thinking what kind of characters the people will turn out to be. I think we are supposed to judge the characters by                                                                                                     their look, at first.