Martin McDonagh employs multiple techniques in In Bruges to express to the viewer various ideas surrounding redemption. These ideas are explored largely through the characterisation of Ray as he seeks forgiveness for his crimes while wishing to survive the enormity of them. The character of Ken is used as Ray’s moral counterpart who serves to protect Ray from Harry’s own idea of redemption, demonstrating that redemption is an individual concept that differs from person to person. The cinematography is used to further enforce these ideas along with other techniques such as mise-en-scène, sound and editing. All this works to accentuate McDonagh’s exploration of redemption and ultimately enable the audience to grasp a firmer understanding of the film. McDonagh alludes to religious references surrounding Christianity and …show more content…
the effect they have on Ray’s character to add significance to the idea of redemption and forgiveness.
The tone of the film is immediately set as melancholy and regretful: it begins with Ray’s narration who speaks to the audience almost as if he is prophesying events the viewer is yet to discover. This is further cemented by the reaction Ray has to Bruges which is contrasted with Ken’s reverence for it. The idea that Bruges is a representation of purgatory is expressed through the agitation Ray experiences as well as the way he is eventually drawn back to it (McCracken). Through the dialogue between Ken and Harry: “like a fairy tale ... I know I’m awake but I feel like I’m in a dream”, it is reinstated to the viewer that Ray is trapped in a place where “sinners are stuck in an unresolved, spiritual disequilibrium” until he is redeemed (McCracken). This is clearly shown through the conversation he has with Ken in the scene where they are viewing the dark Bosch paintings in the medieval museum (McCracken). This scene essentially explains the choices Ray has left. Ken even mentions the idea of purgatory and through subtext the audience understands that Bruges is, in fact, a final chance they both have to redeem themselves, be killed or live in guilt
forever. The imagery within the churches along with Ray’s murdering of the priest and young, angelic-like boy symbolises his loss of innocence. This, along with the fact that Ken physically drags him away from the scene portrays the ways which Ken works as a guardian for Ray while Harry is presented as a mediator who serves to punish those who have done wrong. Sound extends this idea of a coming reckoning through the bell chimes which symbolise the passing of time. While, on the other hand, the repetitive, non-diegetic piano theme in the soundtrack reminds the viewer of the timelessness of Bruges as well as foreshadows how nothing will change until Ray creates change: “I’d have always killed that little boy. And that’ll never go away. Unless I go away”. Other religious references include the character of the hotel keeper, Marie, symbolises Mother Mary who gives shelter to Ray and Ken and ultimately protects Ray by standing in between him and Harry. Her being pregnant makes her innocent and thus protects her from Harry while her worry for Ray explains how this film is ultimately about the decisions Ray makes and whether they will redeem him or not. The ending of In Bruges serves to indicate that the audience cannot know whether or not Ray survives because it would extract meaning from the actions he made to achieve redemption, further showing how through allusion, symbolism and sound, this film is intrinsically about the way Ray is redeemed. In Bruges further explores the treatment of redemption through Ray, Ken and Harry, and their individual views of what redemption means. Ken soaks in the history and beauty of Bruges with awe, presenting his appreciation for art. However Ray, being younger and restless, remains horribly bored. The split opinions both characters have regarding Bruges serve to symbolise their views on life and as the film progresses the audience sees how Ray changes and adopts some of Ken’s principles for he becomes more mindful of his actions. However unfortunately, the price for this enlightenment is Ken’s death (Khairy). For Ken, redemption goes from being as “nice as he can be with the job he does” to keeping Ray alive and protecting him from Harry. For Ray, redemption is understanding the sacrifices Ken has made for him and having the courage to face whatever fate he decides. While for Harry it is far simpler: redemption means punishing people who hurt the innocent (Khairy). Through cinematography, the viewer captures a better understanding of Ray’s and Ken’s dynamic. In the beginning where Ken climbs the tower by himself and looks down at the view, it not only foreshadows his death but also symbolises how Ken is going to be looking over Ray. The editing extends this idea by having a close-up shot of Ken’s face looking down at Ray by himself, which cuts to a long, overhead shot of Ray on the ground, huddled in his oversized coat and looking lost and small among the tourists with his troubled expression and confronting stance. The mise-en-scène in this shot displays how Ray is framed by the strangers surrounding him in moving crowds, showing how he is utterly alone in his guilt. He is also wearing black and white, as opposed to Ken who is wearing gray, symbolising that Ray is between feeling guilty or forgiving himself while Ken is still unsure of his feelings towards Ray’s actions. The cinematography and editing used in Ken’s point of view shot help the audience understand why he goes to such lengths to protect Ray; because he sees him as a boy who deserves another chance. This is contrasted by Harry who also views Ray as a boy but decides that he is nonetheless responsible for his actions. Harry is able to administrate his punishments by keeping a significant distance from the people he may need to punish while Ken is unable to kill Ray because he becomes attached to the idea of Ray becoming redeemed. In Bruges uses characterisation, cinematography, mise-en-scène, sound and editing to explore ideas of redemption. By alluding to religious references, McDonagh adds depth to the symbolism of his ideas regarding forgiveness and guilt. The characterisations of his main characters further explore these themes by showing how redemption can change depending on the situation and mentality of the individual. Through cinematic techniques and idea exploration, McDonagh explains to the audience how redemption is fluid yet essential to the course of one’s life.
In the beginning of the poem Roethke writes, “-And an attic of horrors, a closet of fears.” (1.4). This is where you start to feel that the poem is about something more. He uses metaphors to describe the house, or in this case, what may have happened in the house. Roethke starts by saying that this house is for sale and he describes it like a regular house, but then all of these thoughts just hit the reader. It is not exactly yet clear that it may have been a death or whose death it was. But you can see that something had to have happened to fill the attic with horrors and to fill the closet with fears. It gives the aroma or sense of a death but doesn’t exactly say it. These things remind the author of bad things and bad memories. It just gives the poem an eerie connotation right there at the beginning of the poem.
In the play “The Crucible”, Miller explores the concept of anger and revenge through the complicated relationships in Salem. Through the whole play, anger keeps increasing and sadly succeeds the people who wanted revenge. Miller shows us the idea that your anger can be used as a tool to your enemies for it blinds you from seeing things as it truly are. However, the triumph of revenge is only an illusion, for the dying of the characters shows that they had actually won through their persistence of their personal integrity.
The story features a dark and gloomy setting which is evident throughout the entire plot. Pouring rain under a late night sky hides a pool of crimson blood; the result of a cruel execution by blade. There is frequent repetition of the pain and looming despair, which is only highlighted as the reader learns that the victim is unaware of his
As explained before, the "dull, dark, and soundless" house serves as both "the castle" and "gloomy atmospheres'' in this story. Poe uses the house as the main tool to create a gloomy and mysterious atmosphere. However not all of Poe's gothic elements are actual physical objects. Fear is Poe's next choice of gothic elements as even our main character Roderick predicted would "sooner or later'' become his untimely demise. Fear is the dark recesses of the human heart and conscience and Roderick's fear in this brilliant story was not even death; but it was fear its self. Lady Madeline death is Poe's next gothic element because her death is a crime. Lady Madeline is the victim a the incompetents of her twin Roderick and unfortunately suffered a premature burial. Poe dose this the emphasize the extreme emotion of Roderick and the severity of the situation. Poe as well uses the description of the "decaying house...ghastly river..[and] black and lurid tarn'' to create feelings of darkness, shadows and gloominess and give the story a gothic ambiance. Poe Uses these elements to give his literature a gothic, gloomy, and overall dark atmosphere.
Many themes encompass the Tragedy play Arden of Faversham, including death and revenge. However, one theme in particular arises in every character of the play; betrayal. While almost every character becomes both the betrayer and the betrayed, the center of deceitfulness rests on Alice. Though she only betrays a few characters in the play, nearly every act of betrayal occurs because of her actions or words. Alice betrays her own husband, as well as her secret lover, and convinces other characters to consent to her malicious plan to murder Arden. However, justice prevails, and Alice betrays everyone she seems to care about, including the person she appears to care about the most – herself.
The author of The Crucible, Arthur Miller, created many themes to go along with his story. It is the character’s personalities and the drama’s events that form each of the themes. One of the most noticeable themes is the presence of ruining of virtuous acts. Since most of the characters are conceited and looking for a way to climb up the social ladder, not many examples of pure acts of virtue make themselves known in The Crucible. Throughout the drama, the characters and events spoil acts of virtue or of piety for their own profit or selfish advance.
All of his stories have a trend of darkness and fearfulness. In “Masque of the Red Death” the Prince and his 1000 friends were hiding from the red death. The people were terrified to get this disease, “There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution”. In the poem “Alone” the mood is shown in the lines “My sorrow -- I could not awaken” and “My heart to joy at the same tone – “. He was never accepted, making him fear that he will forever be alone. In “The Fall of the House of Usher” the mood shares similar qualities with its setting, “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day…”. In “Cask of Amontillado” the mood is expressed when they enter the catacombs “a low moaning cry from the depth of the recess”. The mood throughout all his stories are very similar and can be compared to the depressing events in Poe’s
There are many elements in Shakespeare's play, The Tempest, which one cannot reconcile with the real world. The main theme in The Tempest is illusion, and the main focus is the experiment by Prospero.
In many relationships, there is suspicion or distrust, but it rarely leads to such murder, hate, and suicide so contemptible as in William Shakespeare’s Othello. In the play, three innocent characters spiral downward to their deaths as the sinister Iago unravels his scheme for revenge. These three are Othello the Moor, Cassio, and Desdemona who is Othello’s faithful wife. Desdemona receives the sour end of the bargain as she has never done anything to upset Iago, but rather she is killed for loving Othello and for being a friend toward Cassio. However, her love for Othello stays strong, though she realizes she is quickly falling out of his favor, soon to meet the death of their love.
The simplest and superficially the most appealing way to understand Shakespeare’s Hamlet is to see it as a revenge tragedy. This genre was well established and quite popular in Shakespeare’s time, but it was precisely part of his genius that he could take old forms and renew them by a creative violation of their standards. As this essay will explore, Hamlet stands the conventional revenge tragedy on its head, and uses the tensions created by this reversal of type to add depth to its characters and story.
Vengeance. A vicious, violent way to make oneself feel better about an offense against them. Throughout the tragedy of Hamlet revenge is a recurring theme, amongst all of the characters. Whether this revenge is in physical form, or mental form, it is equally hurtful. Mahatma Ghandi said, “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” Ghandi is literally saying that if one person commits a revengeful act, it will create a continuing reaction of bitterness and violence throughout everyone. This quote is highly significant throughout the duration of Hamlet, as it portrays almost precisely, both the plotline of the story, as well as the conclusion. From the murder of King Hamlet to the murder of Prince Hamlet the tragedy is filled with violent acts of revenge.
Kong Qiu once said "before you embark on a journey of revenge dig two graves". This represents how seeking revenge can cause detrimental damage to one's relationships. In the novel "other side of the bridge" by Mary Lawson the author demonstrates that betrayal motivates one to seek their Revenge; which in turn causes irreparable damage to one's relationships. Jake, Arthur and Ian encounters with Revenge help build up their character and furthermore obliterate their connections.
So forgive and forget, huh? It appears forgiveness is quite an important force in the tempest, bringing the story together beautifully. Forgiveness helps us learn about the characters in the play. Forgiveness is also what brings the play to a happy ending, but not without making one wonder whether forgiveness was really achieved. The role of forgiveness in the tempest is so significant because it is only through forgiveness that the characters truly succeed, but also because it raises the question of the extent of human forgiveness and helps the reader learn plenty about the different characters in the play. Forgiveness is of great significance to the plot and thematic context of The Tempest.
In Bruges is a dark comedy written and directed by Martin McDonagh. This movie is Martin McDonagh’s feature début and was the opening night film for the 2008 Sundance Festival. McDonagh received a nomination for best original screenplay at the 81st Academy Awards and won the BAFTA award for best original screenplay for the film. The movie was filmed entirely in the Belgian city of Bruges, a beautiful city distinguished by its canals, cobbled streets, and medieval buildings. The film centers around two Irish hitmen hiding out in Bruges. The two hitmen are sent to Bruges by their boss to await orders after botching a job in London, where a young boy was accidentally killed during the hit of a priest.
Amidst the global warming crisis in the Arctic and subsequent lack of food, there have been reports of polar bears eating their own children due to the lack of food. While gruesome, being threatened causes one to take drastic actions to protect oneself. If bears can lose their most maternal instincts for self-protection, how easy is betrayal among friendships? As seen in William Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago’s deliberate and carefully thought out betrayal demonstrates the theme that one often loses sight of humanity in a quest for revenge.