Summary Of The Film 'On The Waterfront'

Does the truth always set you free? On the Waterfront is a classic, award-winning and controversial film. The director, Elia Kazan, directed a film based on actual dockside events in New Jersey. On the Waterfront is a story of a dock worker, Terry Malloy, who tried to overthrow a corrupt union. Terry was a young ex-fighter, then a dock worker given simple jobs because his brother was the right-hand man of the union boss, Johnny Friendly. After Terry allowed himself to be used in setting up a man's death, he started to question the basic elements of his life. This included his loyalty to his brother and Johnny. The film's controversy existed in the fact that Terry decided to testify against Johnny Friendly. His testimony showed how it is right

to break group silence in a tough situation, even if a person appears to "rat" on his friends. Kazan’s main message is if one wants to be morally stable, they must speak the truth even if it means getting sent out of his/her hometown or even being murdered. This message is conveyed mainly through mise en scene and sound design, cinematography, and narrative structure.
The mise en scene of On the Waterfront had a very dark, dense theme.

It was obvious that the set actually took place on a loading dock because of the cramped, dank spaces in which the union workers lived, and the smoky, smoggy bars of the area. The background sounds on the dock- ship whistles, chains clanging, men grunting- all added to the environment. Breathes of the workers were visible, which gave the hint that they were working hard during a cold time of the year. Smog and fog were also visible and noticeably gave the workers a hard time. All of these decisions resulted in an environment that depicted the reality of the characters’

struggles.
The film’s use of point-of-view shots allowed the audience to better understand Terry’s experiences. During Terry and Johnny’s brawl, Terry referenced his new perspective, “You ratted on us Terry!” “From where you stand maybe, but I’m standing over here now!” After Terry and the mob leader brutally fought on the waterfront, Terry was horribly injured and had struggled to stay conscious. In a final scene of the film, Terry staggered to his feet and walked into the dock with the rest of the dock workers. To show Terry’s intense determination to give his message about speaking the truth, the camera cut often from a medium close-up of Terry stumbling toward the loading dock to a point-of-view shot of his perspective. The camera also shook around to imitate Terry’s walk of honor. Also, rather than showing Terry staggering on the dock, the viewer was able to see through Terry’s eyes and empathize with his feelings of dizziness.
The narrative structure of On The Waterfront is what made the storyline incredibly full and meaningful.

The film’s structure imitated a hero-type film. There were mistakes in the world that was developed, a call for help to Terry, a mentor, a refusal, enemies, and a solution. The opening scenes of the film oriented the audience to the world ran by Johnny Friendly and his gang. If dock workers did not play “d&d,” or deaf and dumb, then they would most likely get killed, just like Joey Doyle. The death of Joey Doyle was essentially the cry for help from the dock workers, because he was well-liked and the workers wanted to restore justice for the crimes Johnny’s gang had committed. The refusal was how Terry refused to spill information regarding Joey’s death to the crime commission- by playing “d&d.” Father Barry served as Terry’s mentor. He encouraged Terry to testify before the Waterfront Crime Commission. He also explained how important the truth was, and how much his soul was worth by not speaking up against lies. While this went on, Terry developed a relationship with Edie. Johnny Friendly was concerned that Terry was too close to Edie. He sent Charley to force Terry to make a choice – to be on the inside or the outside. Terry decided to be with Edie, which got Charley killed. This was Terry’s final decision that the gang was his enemy- so his response was to testify before the Crime Commission. After being brutally beaten by Friendly’s goons, Terry was able to get up and

walk into work. He was not truly beaten and was able to lead the waterfront workers into work.
The one major question this film answered was whether truth leads to freedo. Although the truth had the ability to lose good relationships, or even kill, it ultimately lead to freedom. This film, along with its superb mise-en-scene, cinematography, and narrative structure, proved that no one should ever stay silent when the truth is hidden, because silence lead to even more trouble- hence the multiple killings Johnny’s gang had done. Speaking the truth lead to triumphant endings, such as Terry’s.