Psycho Analysis - Michael O'Neill

Psycho Analysis

Michael O’Neill

The scene begins with Norman (the main character of the film) and Marion discussing Norman’s duties. The director chooses to film with a rather fixed camera (this could be due to the time period as the cameras in that era where quite heavy) as the shots change rather un-naturally. Throughout the scene the director shoots with a mid-shot (possibly a medium mid-shot).

The mis-en-scene was cleverly put together to have a natural un-suspecting feel, the hotel rooms are decorated with old fashioned furniture. But the furniture themselves fill the room to the maximum capacity to give an isolated feel or to represent “pushing things under the rug” as this suggest that the land owners have something to hide.

Looking deeper into the décor, Norman has a vast collection of stuffed birds (in particular birds of prey such as hawks) these could represent his longing for dominance. There isn’t much lighting to comment on for this scene but one thing that could be talked about is Normans shadow, his shadow represents two people, one the perfectly normal, perfectly kind Norman and his shadow represents the beast that lives inside him. This is important as although she has her back facing light, Marion has no shadow, this is to suggest that she is a good character and only has one personality, the personality that you see throughout.

The soundscapes used throughout the scene are mainly natural sounds for example rain and thunder.