SSC Film Studies

The scene begins with Commodus looking over his nephew in an eerie way; we get a sense that something is not right because of the shadowing used to cover his face whilst his nephew can be seen clearly.  Another shot from this scene shows Commodus looking over the well lit bed whilst his figure is still dark and shadowy, it’s as if he brings darkness with him wherever he goes. Throughout the entire clip Commodus will have at least half of his face covered with shadows, this represents how his character is very two-sided and can be evil. An example of this is when he tells his sister that he is ‘afraid of the dark’ and turns to look behind him, half of his face is entirely covered symbolizing how despite how evil he can be, and there is still a weak side to him. The use of fire in the clip symbolizes his destructive ways. Whilst Commodus is never well lit his sister and nephew are always easy to see and clear to the audience, telling us that they are the good characters and with his nephew, representing how he is innocent. We can also see through the windows that it is daytime outside which is interesting to know considering how dark it is inside the house.