I grew up with the sounds of Karen Carpenter and Todd Haynes' unauthorized biography of her brought back a lot of memories. The use of the dolls was off-putting at first because I thought it was funny, but once I got used to it, I thought it was a great choice to represent her story and that time period. I think using the dolls, besides creating multiple visual metaphors, allowed Todd to put the focus where he wanted it to be. And though he told the story in a chronological way, it was chockfull of information and innuendo that made this seem to be more than just a story about Karen Carpenter.
It Wasn't Love used music, costumes, props, acting, and found images to make this story seem more than just a story of that one night and lost/found love. Some of the choices made seemed quite personal and I couldn't grasp onto all of them, but I was fine with that because the film was entertaining and I was able to connect with enough of the choices to feel as though I was an insider.
What I took from both of these films (besides their entertainment and artistic value) was choosing the music, acting, props, footage, etc. that fits not only the 'story' being told, but also the film itself. In other words, keep the colors you choose within the palette you've created and this will allow the personalization of those colors not make the viewer seem like an outsider. This will be especially important in our next project.
It's also worth noting that both are period pieces in their own way (although It Wasn't Love blends periods a bit, mixing 90s grunge culture with rockabilly and a lot of other stuff.
ReplyDeleteI think that the comments on color seems interesting. There's a way that specific choices can further alienate the viewer as well (have you ever seen Dead Ringers? I still have misgivings about surgeries after seeing the blood red gowns they wear in that film).