The Shining Analysis

 The opening scene begins with a cross dissolve, which then leads to a birds eye view of a vast sea going on for miles, showing that the landscape overpowers anything it comes into contact with, which gave me a sense of awe and wonder. The sea also highlighted mis en scene colour connotation, to the blue that could represent a convention of isolation, showing that the family were going on a journey into the unknown. Since the man was isolated from other people, danger was almost certain.

 There was then a jump cut, to the car driving out of a tunnel. The jump cut used, foreshadowed unexpected moments, as well as the action moving along very quickly, implying that this film was going to build suspense. As the forward tracking followed the car through the valley, repetitive, non-diegetic music added a ghostly feel and it made me feel cold and unsettled and I couldn’t help but feel worried for the man driving through. This tense and worried feeling became more prominent, when a straight cut to the mis en scene of the landscape opened up. A high angle shows the car driving through a view of forests and empty valleys, which enhanced the convention of isolation and alienation. From this, I could see that this film was going to be of Horror genre. The landscape showed a lot of green, which suggested the idea of a lingering sickness or a poisonous atmosphere, which the man was driving into. The vast landscape showed that the man was inferior, compared to the superior surroundings.  Additionally, the car was seen at a high angle, suggesting that the man was being watched, as though he was prey, ready to be hunted down and that he was being led into a trap. This linked to the idea, that he was already trapped, as the straight cut to the inside of the car, zoomed in to form close up of the man, which in my opinion, felt claustrophobic. This foreshadowed that the feeling of being trapped, was going to be a recurring theme.

There was then a straight cut to an extreme long shot, zooming in on the Overlook Hotel, as well as panning to the right side of the hotel. I interpreted this, as someone stalking/watching the hotel at a safe distance, which created mystery and made me ask questions to who that person may have been. The hotel is seen as a dull darkened grey colour, implying that it is in a lifeless state, yet the surroundings are high key lighting with bright colours such as blue, creating juxtaposition because of the two contrasting colours. This shows that the hotel does not fit in with the scenery, creating a feeling of mystery to why it is there. However, the colour of the hotel, was seen from the perspective of whoever was watching, suggesting that the idea of the hotel being lifeless and depressing, was from only one point of view. I liked that the hotel was a grey contrast because it gave me a clue that the hotel was going to be a creepy place fitting in with the horror genre.

The most significant scene for me was when the man was in the hotel room. This scene started with a still extreme long shot of the Overlook Hotel with an establishing shot of mountains behind. The mountains being high up, gave the connotations of being close to heaven, which showed juxtaposition to the hotel being the idea of hell, with its darkened colour and past incidents. This made me question why the hotel had any reference to heaven, since it was a sinister plot and heaven went against the genre conventions. This lead me to think that it may have been there to suggest, that there was still good in Jack and that he was not yet possessed. There was then a straight cut to a forward tracking of a mid-shot of Danny on a bike, riding round corridors in the hotel.  The diegetic sound of the wheels constantly turning became increasingly louder, which built suspense and made you think that there was going to be a sudden climax, which in turn made my heart pace quicken. The original long shot of Danny on the bike became more of a mid shot as he rode around the corridors because of the camera gradually zooming in. This suggested that he was not safe and gave me the impression that he was being followed. Danger was not off the cards for him, as his clothing was red, foreshadowing blood and death. There is a close up of Danny’s face, when we see him stop outside room 237. His performance and facial expressions highlights his curiosity to venture into that room. The close up was sustained for a while, suggesting that Danny couldn’t decide whether to go in or not. Additionally, there is a low angle, showing that in that moment, Danny was able to take control of the situation, as though he was superior to whatever was in the room. There is then a soft focus on Danny, whilst there is a clear view of the door room 237. This may show that the room is more important than Danny at this point and that what lies inside is significant to the plot. The use of a static shot of the door, foreshadows that Danny was going to enter eventually.

Parallel editing occurs, taking us from Danny on the bike, to Jack on his bed in the hotel room. The camera pans to the left, so it faces a mirror with Jacks reflection. This was a very meaningful shot as from this, I could depict that the person in the mirror was not Jack anymore. Jack on the bed was looking at someone who had transformed, an unrecognisable man who had grown to be sinister. There was a static shot of the mirror reflection, implying that Jack’s transformation was permanent. This idea became more convincing when there was a pan to Wendy walking into the shot in the bedroom, however she didn’t walk into the mirror reflection shot. This showed that her personality was still the same and she did not have any new sides to her, unlike Jack. Wendy not being in the reflection with Jack may also suggest distance in their relationship because she does not recognise his transformation and wants to stay away from him. Finally, the mirror may show Jack’s self indulgence, as mirrors have connotations to vanity – he only thinks about himself, which isolates their relationship further. This links to the fact that there is no eye line match between Wendy and Jack. This shows that their connection has most certainly been lost and it is almost like, she is not even in the room from Jack's perspective.