――Han Xi
Tim Burton's name need not be emphasized. Johnny Depp's handsomeness is also world-famous, and the cooperation between the two has always been worth looking forward to, and this time is no exception.
After watching this film, the author is thinking about a very important issue for Chinese audiences, and that is the relationship between style and story. Objectively speaking, the form of this film is far greater than the content. At least we have seen the stage-like scenery, dark and gloomy colors, and those nice and nerve-wracking lyrics. All of these are obvious in form. Performance, it’s no wonder that the film is born out of an award-winning musical thriller. On the other hand, the content is relatively simple. An innocent victimized hairdresser who was exiled for fifteen years and returned to his hometown was already a wife, so he began bloody revenge.
The West has a traditional opera history, especially an opera about revenge. So it seems not difficult for us to understand the Westerners’ habit of watching the film more than the content, but as an Oriental, why Will also indulge in this, seem to be unaware of those forms during the whole process of watching the film? Or even revel in the atmosphere rendered by the form?
A simple story accompanied by a complicated form is actually a taboo when making a movie. But almost all forms in the film undoubtedly serve the film story. This is easy to say, but it is indeed quite difficult to do.
The first is the strongest color problem of the film, which is similar to the gloomy atmosphere of black and white. This is the Gothic style that Tim Bolton is best at. It is weird, chaotic, and dirty. You can make everything you can think of dark atmosphere. Adjectives are put into it, so what this image conveys is the viewing experience closely related to these adjectives, and the film story exactly matches these feelings. In other words, this is a timely interpretation, without any contrast, just simply serving the story. Of course, we can imagine shooting this film with an extremely bright light color. All killings and colors have formed a contrast relationship. Then what will this world be like? In a beautiful world, Todd kills people randomly because of his madness. Even if he has quite a good reason for revenge, he is still a perverted murderer in the hearts of the audience, so his tragic identity has been reduced a lot. Only Gothic's color can prove that Todd's choice may be the only choice in this sinful city, although it is terrible but worthy of sympathy, although sin is out of helplessness.
In fact, color serves the content of the film. I believe that every director will know it, but unfortunately, many domestic films actually give color more meaning than the story, similar to the complex of Chinese red, etc. Although the color in the hairdresser Tao De is strong, But it has never involved anything other than the story, so it only serves the story and never speaks for the director. This is very important.
Since this film was born out of a musical thriller, there are many singing passages in the film. Looking carefully at these lyrics, it is very popular and easy to understand. It is almost entirely written to promote the development of the plot. For those who may not like operas , And there is no jerky, on the contrary, it makes people feel interesting and fun. The scenes in the film also have a considerable stage effect, which is worth emphasizing. Putting a distorted personality in a small space is very meaningful. In the whole film, almost all the scenes are small. These spaces separate the world and create a sense of alienation between people. . But even in such a small space, director Tim Bolton's camera is free to use, not just a matter of angle and scene, but also a foundation in scheduling and rhythm. It can be seen that, in the stage-like space and setting, the transition of the lens is still a standard movie feel, even a standard Hollywood lens feel, and of course the foggy depth of field, which makes everyone not feel the real existence of the stage. . So such a form has also been eliminated invisibly.
In fact, after all, all the styles of the film serve the story, and the success or failure of the story is the most important thing. Compared with such a simple story, the character and the fate of the character are the soul. The hairdresser Todd has quite a characteristic under the interpretation of Johnny Depp. The tight nerves, the calm and poetic murder, etc., have firmly attracted the audience to this character. This It is by no means what a word idol can explain. Other characters in the film are also quite brilliant, of course, Anthony's actor is slightly immature, but not as good as the less-spoken Johanna. Therefore, although the story of the film is simple, it is a complicated interpretation. The detailed performance of the actors and the turn of fate and helplessness all make the audience seem to suffocate, and they will inevitably feel sighed in their hearts.
Simply speaking of the relationship between form and content is a bit hollow. In fact, the interpretation of this review is also empty. However, if the form is aside, the film for the content may be able to solve similar problems. Who knows?
Han Xi
2008-1-31 in Tongzhou
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