The Philadelphia Story: Movie Analysis

Unlike real life, a film can limit its scope to only the objects, characters, and settings that are important to its story. Despite these limitations, a classical film attempts to get the viewer to believe in the film’s diegetic elements so that as much of the audience as possible is emotionally fulfilled when the story ends. The Philadelphia Story maintains a sense of believability by downplaying its stylistic elements so that the audience remains immersed in the film’s universe. For example, a sequence where the film subtly utilizes stylistic elements to a great effect is when Lord is attempting to convince a journalist, Macaulay Connor, and a photographer, Elizabeth Imbrie, that she is an idealistically feminine bride-to-be. Lord enters the scene speaking French with Dinah. Connor, Imbrie, and most of the film’s audience cannot

The sudden use of shot-reverse-shot also enforces the disconnect between media workers and Lord, as Lord utilizes Connor and Imbrie’s awkward romantic chemistry against them in order to give them a taste of their own medicine. Overall, this sequence emphasizes that although classical films do not allow style to overshadow story, classical films can still use style to great effect to emphasize character relationships. Although harmony within a classical film is important, subtle nuances such as the length of shots and the distance put between subjects can be used to completely change how a film can be interpreted. In the case of The Philadelphia Story, Lord’s relationship with the media would be much less apparent if her dialogue with Connor and Imbrie were on more even-ground; however, the film cleverly utilizes editing and elements of the mise-en-scene to emphasize her attempts to outsmart them. As the film is classical, the stylistic elements exist to aid the story’s