Understanding the Film: the Overall Picture
NB these questions are generally not repeated in the Close Reading Task Sheets that follow.
1. When did you realise that some of the characters were not real?
No right or wrong answer, of course, though the film is structured so that it is not until Dr Rosen comes on
the scene that the viewer is let in on the secret – and even then you can't be sure until Alicia produces the
unopened envelopes.
2. Why did the delusional characters appear? At what points in Nash's life?
Charles when Nash felt his loneliness, his isolation from the other students.
Parcher when he felt neglected, unappreciated, by the Cold War military powers.
Marcee when he is wondering whether to marry Alicia; is perhaps worried about how it will affect him.
3. Did you notice any pattern in the way the delusional characters are introduced?
They are all heard before they are seen – at all their entrances. (One exception only)
Charles coughs, then speaks, and then Nash sees him walk into the study. Marcee speaks to Nash while he is
working; he looks up and sees her. Parcher calls Nash's name as he walks away from the lab. The one
exception is the first time we see Parcher – a shadowy figure behind the barrier upstairs at the Pentagon.
Each time they appear, the pattern is followed. Scenes are shot from Nash's POV – we see and hear what he
sees and hears. "After the delusional character has been introduced into the scene, we reverted to normal
shooting." (Howard)
4. What clues are given to us that these characters and events are delusional?
 clear light on Charles cf. the chiaroscuro on Nash;
 Charles doesn't touch the door in the first bar scene;
 the Pentagon officials ignore Nash's question about "Big Brother".
 the computers are far too advanced for the early 50s; the SF quality of the technology – embedded
isotopes;
 the pigeons don't fly away when Marcee runs among them;
 no one else sees these characters – they mostly come when Nash is alone, or are 'ignored' by others – e.g.
the guard at Wheeler.
5. At what point does the film finally come clean, finally stop being ambiguous?
After Alicia shows the unopened envelopes to Nash.
6. When does Alicia finally realise Nash is sick?
When she sees his office. Rosen has caused doubt but she is not quite convinced.
7. What persuades Nash to agree to the insulin coma therapy?
He can't find the embedded code in his arm.
8. Why does Nash stop taking his medication?
He can't think, can't work, can't even function in the house; he is impotent.
9. When does Nash finally face the reality of his illness?
When he is faced with returning to hospital, with losing Alicia. When he knocks Alicia down.
10. How does Nash learn to cope with his delusion?
He ignores the delusional characters. He does not let himself see the world in patterns – he says this in his
conversation in the coffee bar.
11. Can you identify the four different genre styles that the film is shot in?
 The "Life Magazine" section – the 'biopic' – warm, nostalgic, golden haze
 the "noir thriller" scenes – the "Cold War look"
 the romance scenes - warmer
 the "reality" scenes - cooler
12. Did you notice any repeated motifs, ideas, behaviours throughout?
Circling camera shot; the handkerchief = their love; Nash's knuckle on the forehead; the running figure.
Venetian blinds and the light/shadows through them cf. prison bars – on both Nash and Alicia.
13. Although we are told that much of Nash's life, including the whole spying scenario, is delusory, there
are several signifiers that put him into a semi-military world. What are they?
Guards on the gate, passes being checked; Nash has a guard outside his door (Alicia sees him so he is real);
guards at desks in corridor etc.
14. What aspects of the setting at the various times did you find particularly interesting? In what ways were
things different from today? (Students wearing ties!)
15. In many ways, Alicia is the hero of this film. Explain.
16. The ending has been described as 'sappy'. Do you agree? How else might the film have ended?
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Close Reading Task Sheets - Answers
Task Sheet 2: Scenes 1 – 5; DVD 1 - 3
Setting
1. Where is this story set? How do you know?
Princeton, in the USA. Screen text, supported by scenes of a traditional university environment: neo-Gothic
buildings, panelled lecture theatres, blackboards, etc
2. When is it set? How do you know?
1947 – screen text. Supported by the clothes and the hair – especially the women's fashions.
3. What is the social situation?
Prize winning, graduate mathematics students - "my doctorate thesis." Scholarship; competition.
4. What mood is established? How?
Nostalgic, warm, friendly, with an edge of competition. Golden light suffuses everything. Music supports this.
Nicknames but some bite.
Characters
5. How is the main character introduced? What clearly identifies him as the central character?
The camera closes in on him in the opening lecture. He sits alone; Hansen looks at him. The camera finds him
several times. He is the object of focus at the challenging words of Professor Helinger: Who among you. . . ?
6. What early impression do you get of him?
He is a loner, seems shy, seems to be interested in what he is thinking about. Outside, he remains shy,
awkward, socially inept; no social small talk – his statements are uncompromising and critical. Put down by
Hansen, he comes back quite strongly.
7. List the signifiers indicating that Nash is odd, a misfit.
His abruptness in conversation, his bow tie and suit; his mannerisms.
8. List the signifiers indicating that he is highly intelligent.
He gives as good as he gets from Hansen. His insistence on originality. The sense that he is always thinking.
His awareness of the patterns made by the glass.
9. What other characters are introduced? Where do we see them first? What are they doing? What
initial impression do you get of each?
Martin Hansen: seen first in the initial lecture; he looks at Nash. He is talked about before he arrives at the
punch bowl; he shares the Carnegie Scholarship with Nash – and resents this; he expects to achieve, to win.
He is confident, assured, articulate, handsome. socially adept.
Richard Sol: arrives late – tall and dark. "Play nice, Hansen." Is the friendliest to Nash; he will visit later.
Bender, Neilson: discuss Hansen, introduce themselves to Nash. Pleasant and agreeable.
Professor Helinger: gives the opening lecture.
Plot
10. One of the functions of the exposition of a film is to get the plot quickly underway. What, if anything,
have we learned about the plot by the end of these scenes?
Not much, really. It is mostly setting the scene: the competitive environment, to earn both recognition and to
earn a placement. That both Nash and Hansen want the one place at Wheeler – seeds of conflict sown. Nash's
fear of failure. The Cold War environment is mentioned. But little actual plot?
11. What is the purpose of each of the following episodes?
a. the glass and the tie: to show that creative geniuses see the world differently. The glowing light is a
symbol for the moment of inspiration.
b. the punch episode: to emphasise that Nash doesn’t quite fit in. His clothes are not quite right. To
suggest Hansen is a worthy antagonist.
c. Nash at his study window looking down: that Nash feels alone, isolated. He justifies it – "lesser mortals"
but he craves companionship, hence Charles.
d. Nash and the pigeons: to show his search for the mathematics that underlie the world; to show that
other students think he is odd – "psycho".
e. The game of Go: the game symbolises the competition for placement at Wheeler, and for recognition.
[Nash invented a variation in which luck played no part; this was filmed but did not make the final cut.]
f. the maths on the window: reinforces the way that Nash looks at the world differently from most, that
he sees the world in patterns.
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12. What do the following pieces of dialogue tell us?
a.
Nash: Despite my privileged upbringing, I am actually well balanced. I have a chip on both
shoulders.
That he comes from a "good" family. That he has a sense of humour. That he is quick and witty. That he
is aware of his social awkwardness
b. Nash: I cannot waste time with these classes and these books. Memorising the weaker
assumptions of lesser mortals.
That he will not go to class – he considers himself to have a greater and more original mind than his
teachers and textbook writers.
[The real Nash was well known for solving problems from scratch; for ignoring what others had written
about things and doing it all himself. This sometimes meant he found solutions or made 'discoveries' that
had already been made by someone else, but also meant that he was able to find elegant solutions because
he came at problems from a different perspective from the way others did.]
c.
Nash: "No starch. Pressed and folded." What does he mean?
When Hansen challenges Nash to Go, Nash expects to "take him to the cleaners." He loses.
Production Techniques
13. Analyse the camera work of the opening three scenes in detail. (See page 40)
14. Look carefully at the scene when Charles is introduced. Are there clues that he isn't real?
The light on Charles is bright and shadowless, unlike the chiaroscuro on Nash. Charles' hair is fair and like a
halo, especially after his shower. His appearance and behaviour so soon after Nash's humiliation by Hansen also fair, articulate and handsome – is surely not coincidental. Charles is not a mathematician, thus no
competition. He is sexually successful; his specialty is D.H. Lawrence with all that that implies.
15. From scenes 3 – 5, identify examples of the following production techniques. Comment on their effect
/ suggest reasons for their use. There are sure to be many other examples.
a.
OS dialogue:
Charles – every scene he is in, he is heard
before he is seen.
Focus stays on Nash and his POV
b.
outpoint/inpoint
Whisky flask
links scenes 3 & 4
c.
TWO SHOT
Nash and Charles
highlights differences between them
d.
back lighting
Nash at desk, Charles jumps on desk
e.
over shoulder
shot
Charles on desk looking at Nash
looks cool + hints at the shadowy i.e.
non-existent nature of Charles
as in c.
f.
high angle shot
– great EST shot
- visually reinforces the meaning of
Nash's words
g.
L.S.
Charles and Nash on roof
Nash looking down on the students – "lesser
mortals."
as in f.
h.
sarcasm
CH: But why - with all your obvious wit and
charm?
Humour + Charles says what Nash
thinks
i.
signpost
Mathematics is never going to lead you to
higher truth.
Hansen: Nash is going to stun us all with his
genius.
In his final speech Nash concedes this.
on the winning Go counter
It is a symbol of the threat to Nash
j.
BCU
30
He does!
Task Sheet 3: Scenes 6 - 14; DVD 4 –5
Setting
1. Where is scene 6 set? What signifiers create the setting?
In the university library. Tables, bookcases, books, panelling; quiet atmosphere, working students.
2. Scene 11: why is Nash working in the bar in?
Charles has smashed his desk, reassured him that his pursuit of "governing dynamics" is worth doing and that
it is in the real world that he will find his answers, not in books.
Plot
3. What is the purpose of including the scene with the blonde at the bar? (scene 7)
It reinforces Nash's social ineptitude; it will provide a nice contrast for later when Alicia responds rather
differently to a similar speech – she is able to see past the crassness to the real man underneath. The colour
the blonde is wearing is the same pink Alicia wears when she asks Nash out to dinner.
And it provides a link and parallel with the next scene with a blonde when Nash discovers his Equilibrium.
4. Why does Charles push the desk out the window?
Nash's failure to come up with an idea for his thesis, and the very real fear that he will fail, makes him decide
to play the game – to study books, to read the texts, to go to class. Charles persuades him that he is on the
right track, that these methods will not help him. In other words, validates the way he works.
Character
5. How does Nash's dialogue in the bar (scene 7) contrast with that of the other students? What does
this tell us about Nash?
He follows a string of clichés – "Come back a man, Bombs away, etc" – with a formality of speech: "Gentlemen,
may I remind you that my chances of success increase with every attempt." He is rather stiff, formal, not
relaxed, incapable of the colloquial language the others take for granted.
6. What is the significance of the following pieces of dialogue?
a. Nash: In competitive behaviour, someone always loses.
Charles: Well, my niece knows that, John, and she's about this high.
Nash is confronting the fact that he is trying to prove the obvious. Also, the first mention of Marcee.
d. Charles says, "It's not my problem. It's not your problem. It’s their problem."
Charles confirms to Nash that he is going about things the right way, that he is not out of step – it is the
rest of the world that is.
Production techniques
7. In the bar, Nash sees Charles and then shifts his gaze to Hansen (the camera PANS with his look).
What is being indicated by this?
That Nash sees real people and his delusional characters in the same plane of reality. He does not
differentiate.
8. Identify examples of the following production techniques.
a.
REVERSE
TRACKING SHOT
Nash and Helinger walking through the
cloisters
atmospheric – this is a hallowed
institution
b.
MONTAGE
Nash works on his thesis
passage of time
c.
inpoint
pool balls;
Nash's paper (13)
quick establishing of scene
d.
signpost
Hey Nash. Who's winning – you or you?
pen ceremony
ironic – underlines Nash's isolation, but
also alludes to his double reality
- he will get this recognition
e.
TWO SHOT
Nash and Prof Helinger
conventional shot – contrasts
f.
V.O.
Nash muttering while he works
31
reinforces the hard work
g.
SFX
light on the blonde; guys bursting in
puffs of smoke; changing seasons as
Nash works
light = symbol for inspiration; SFX
removes story from pure biography;
passage of time
h.
BCU
Nash's hand, the maths
so it can be seen + he is working on
paper, not on the window
i.
DISSOLVES
blonde into blonde
Nash is not seeing her as real here –
problem solving cf. Pentagon scene
later.
j.
product placement?
Cordon Rouge champagne
They do seem to be holding the bottles
so the labels can be seen.
Task Sheet 4: Scenes 15 - 30; DVD 6 - 10
1. How is the change of setting indicated?
FADE out to mist and in to an aerial shot.
Screen text locates it – as if the Pentagon needs a label.
2. What changes are there in the mood and look of the film?
The warm golden nostalgic look is replaced by a harder, sharper, colder look.
3. Some scenes - 19, 22, 23, 27 - provide a contrast with this look. In what ways are they different?
The scenes with Alicia up to the wedding are softer, more romantic in their look and feel. The light is less
harsh, slightly pinker.
4. How do we know that the first visit to the Pentagon is real?
Sol and Bender both know he has been there. The place looks convincing. The aerial establishing shot locates
it; the lab Parcher takes him to later is in an abandoned warehouse – and they really are abandoned.
5. Scene 19. Nash drops the maths textbook into the rubbish bin. What does this indicate?
His disdain for conventional teaching methods, for books, for 'authorities.' Problem is, he had the intellect to
ignore other mathematicians; most of his students probably did not.
6. What first impressions do you get of Alicia?
Beautiful, confident, uses her brains, not afraid of Nash, prepared to challenge.
7. Why does Nash need to conjure up Parcher?
To validate his sense of importance, that he should matter, should be part of the Cold War
8. What signifiers suggest Nash is drifting into his illness?
He is unshaven, forgets to go to class; he is unkempt, untidy.
9. Scene 23: what is the significance of the two men who watch Nash?
He feels insecure with Alicia – she is so beautiful and smart and girls don't like him – and this manifests itself
in feelings of paranoia. If they are real, they are almost certainly just appreciating her; if they are not. . .
10. Scene 26 includes many features typical of noir thrillers. Identify them.
Wind in trees, running figure, barking dog, mysterious car, sudden noises, shadowy figure at window, strong
chiaroscuro; extreme camera angles.
11. Nash says to Alicia (sc. 27), "I find that polishing my interactions in order to make them sociable
requires a tremendous effort. I have a tendency to expedite information flow by being direct. I often
don't get a pleasant result." What does this mean?
I have to work hard if I want to say anything sociable or tactful. I am usually too blunt, just saying what I
think. People don't respond well to this.
12. How is Marcee introduced? Why does Nash need her?
Nash is working in the park; Marcee comes and talks to him. He hears her voice and looks at her – because he
is sitting on the ground, it is a TILT UP shot, like the one when he sees Alicia's dress and looks up it to her
face. Marcee is with Charles – who seems to have been missing since Princeton, i.e. the intervening years have
been relatively successful and stress–free.
13. What is the effect of Parcher's appearance at the wedding?
Inserts a touch of unease into what should be a happy day.
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14. Identify examples of the following production techniques.
a.
EST shot
Wheeler Lab – great shot
sets scene + mood: 'Cold War" look
b.
screen text
EST time and place
reinforces idea that it is a true
story
c.
SFX
light: the numbers (16), the stars
the digital pigeons
help tell the story
d.
motif
handkerchief
symbolises Nash and Alicia's love
e.
ELS
Nash and Parcher outside the labs
EST shot – great noir shot
f.
contrast/ juxtaposition
scene 26 / 27:
noir / romance looks
g.
low angle
figure at the window of the old
house
the sky and stars
POV shots
romantic
h.
high angle shot
as Nash arrives at the Pentagon
insignificance in this environment
i.
Steadicam shot
360 as Nash takes in the Pentagon
code room; repeated in Parcher's
lab
suggests his mind working, taking in
his surroundings; circling camera =
motif
j.
aerial shot
Pentagon from the air – great shot
EST place
Research topics
1. Oppenheimer. Who was he, and what did he do? What was the "project" that Parcher refers to?
Manhattan Project – the atomic bomb.
2. Nash says to Alicia: "Table for one. Prometheus alone, chained to the rock with a bird circling
overhead, you know how it is." What is the allusion?
Prometheus was a Titan, one of the older generation of Greek Gods; he gave fire to humankind and was
punished by Zeus by being chained to a rock in the Ural Mountains, with a giant eagle eating his liver every
day; his liver was restored every night so he suffered torment for centuries.
3. What is the painting in the Governor's mansion? Why is this one appropriate for the film?
Marc Chagall's Self Portrait with Seven Fingers (the original is actually in Amsterdam). Chagall presents the
world in a semi-Cubist way, a geometricised world, one reduced to patterns, and overlays this with the
illogicality of dreams. In other words, a brilliant choice.
Task Sheet 5: Scenes 31 - 39; DVD 12 - 13
1. What indications are there that Nash's illness is getting worse?
He is frightened, more often unshaven, locks himself away – won't talk to Alicia; the car chase; he sees
threats everywhere. Wears pyjama top instead of a shirt.
2. Look closely at the chase scene. Comment on the colour, light, camera angles, shots.
See analysis p. 40-2
3. When Nash wants to quit, Parcher won't let him. What does he threaten Nash with?
The Russians. Parcher says he is the only thing between Nash and the Russians, and if Nash gives up, he will
remove his protection.
4. How does the film tell us that Alicia is going to phone someone for help or advice?
She looks at the phone, PAN from her face to the phone; she puts on the light.
5. Dr Rosen is filmed in Nash's POV to seem sinister. Analyse how this effect is achieved.
Low angle shots; back lighting; canted angles; CU and ECU; roughly wielded hypodermic.
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6. What does Nash think when he sees Charles in Rosen's office? How does he explain it later?
He thinks Charles is a Russian spy also, that he has reappeared as part of this plot. Charles looks guilty.
Later, he tells Parcher that Charles must have been leaned on to make him betray Nash like that.
7. Identify examples of the following production techniques:
a.
inpoint
blue numbers
quick EST + juxtaposed with
wedding
b.
contrast/juxtaposition
sc. 31 / 32 - terror of the chase // comfort
and safety of home
to show how Nash doesn't feel
safe even here; to show the
deterioration
c.
high angle shot
his paranoia – they are ordinary
people
d.
POV shot
Nash's POV from the lecture theatre
through the window to the car park
as in c.
e.
FAST PAN
across the hallway from guard to guard
paranoia
f.
OS dialogue
Parcher talks (sc. 34), the camera is on
Nash's face
to show his responses = more
important.
g.
L.S
Lovely shot of John, Charles, Marcee framed
by the arch (36)
h.
shallow focus
Nash's briefcase on the desk – inpoint and
outpoint, sc. 37
Neat way to start and end a
pivotal scene; abandoning it is
symbolic of the end of his
academic life.
Scenes 40 - 50; DVD 14 - 15
1. How does Dr Rosen try to convince Alicia that Charles is delusional?
Asks her if she has ever met him, talked to him on the phone, had him to dinner. Did he come to the wedding?
to dinner?
2. Even after Dr Rosen has told Alicia that Nash is sick, the screenplay continues to be ambiguous for
several scenes. Explain how.
Everything Dr Rosen says can be taken to be the words of a concerned psychiatrist or of a spy – and noir
thrillers are full of sinister doctors. Alicia questions Rosen's interest in Nash's work. Sol and Bender
confirm that it is just possible that Nash is doing secret code breaking. Since we have experienced
everything through Nash's POV, we are inclined to be suspicious of Rosen also. That Nash is restrained, a
prisoner, seems to confirm his view of the situation. But everything also could be just as Rosen says it is.
3. Alicia asks Sol and Bender why they said nothing about Nash's erratic behaviour; what is their reply?
That Nash could be code breaking, that he could have clearances they did not have, that it was possible he
was doing the work he thought he was doing, though unlikely.
4. How does Alicia know about the old house and the "drop"?
She tells Nash in the next scene that Sol had followed him.
5. Director Ron Howard says that some audiences were so keen for Nash not to be delusional that they
still were not convinced by the unopened letters. How would they explain the derelict house?
Parcher told Nash that the drop was compromised. It is a staple of thrillers that governments have the
power to stage-manage situations like this – to cover up. Parcher could have done a quick cover job on the
house, to make it look as if it hadn't been lived in for years.
6. Why is Nash covered in blood? (sc. 45)
He has been digging with his fingernails into his arm to find the embedded code – which was never there, of
course. Emphasises how real these delusions are.
7. What is the treatment prescribed for schizophrenic delusions? What happens to the patient?
Insulin shock/coma therapy. Insulin is injected, the body slips into a coma – and sometimes convulses, like an
epileptic fit.
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8. How much time has passed by the time we next see Alicia (scene 47)? How do we know?
A year. Screen text, plus the baby is now several months old.
9. Alicia meets Sol; he asks her how she is holding up. What is significant about her answer?
She starts to talk about how Nash is doing, rather than answering the question, which is about herself. She
has no life other than looking after Nash and the baby.
10. What does she say helps her to cope?
That she manages to see the man she married in the wreck of her husband, and she can summon up enough
love to cope.
11. List the signifiers of the great physical changes in Nash? (sc. 48)
He sags in his chair, his face is soft and almost stupid; his hair is longer, softer; he now smokes; he wears
pyjamas much of the time. He just sits.
12. Scene 48: Nash articulates what is the greatest tragedy for him. What does he say?
When Sol suggests there are other things in life besides work, he simply replies, "What are they?" The
saddest line in the film.
13. There is a major turning point in this section of the film. Identify it.
Alicia's realisation that the brilliant man she married is really ill. Her moment is at the letterbox drop –
though the audience doesn't share this till the next scene. Nash is sufficiently convinced to agree to the
therapy, though his real turning point is not until he is able to recognise for himself that these figures are
delusions.
14. There is a shift in Point of View during this segment of the film. Identify it.
When Alicia looks at Nash in his hospital room, it is the first outside POV of the film. Up till here, the whole
of the story has been told through Nash's POV.
15. There is also a change of look again, to clear unambiguous reality. When does this look start?
Scene 44: from here, there is no more ambiguity, apart from a brief return to the noir look when Nash has his
relapse.
16. Identify examples of the following production techniques.
a.
shallow focus
Alicia (47)
separates her from her
environment  heroic + isolating
nature of her life.
b.
allusion
Harvey
to a popular film of the 50s – joke
about an imaginary character.
c.
motif
handkerchief;
Venetian blinds
recurring symbol of love;
cf. prison bars
d.
FADE
treatment scene
suggests Nash's loss of
consciousness
e.
PULL FOCUS
Nash on bed to Rosen and Alicia
links object with watchers
f.
high angle LS
as Alicia gets out of car at the
"drop"
recreates atmosphere of Nash's
experiences
Task Sheet 6: Scenes 51 - 66; DVD 16 – 19: Climax, resolution and dénouement
1. What are the indicators that Nash's illness has returned?
Glowing letters; running figure; sudden sounds; Parcher returns.
2. Why does Parcher call him Mohammed (scene 52)?
Well-known saying: "If the mountain won't go to Mohammed, Mohammed will have to go to the mountain."
Parcher has brought a lab to Nash since Nash can no longer go to the other one.
3. Why does Nash believe Parcher is real after all, when he must know he is not?
Because he is so desperate to work again, to get back his position at Wheeler Lab, to matter.
4. How does he explain that Alicia cannot see Charles?
Charles has been injected with a "cloaking serum"; Nash can see him because he absorbed the ability to do so
when the implant dissolved. Mathematical brilliance is not a protection against such childish delusions.
35
5. What situation forces Nash to face the truth?
Trying to protect Alicia from Parcher, he knocks her down. He cannot face the thought of the hospital again.
6. What is the clinching fact that helps him to accept it?
Marcee doesn't change, doesn't grow up, doesn’t get old.
7. How does he want to treat his illness?
He wants to use his formidable intelligence to control it.
It's a problem. That's all it is. It's a problem with no solution. And that's what I do, I solve
problems. That's what I do best.
What is Rosen's response to this?
R: You can't reason your way out of this. . . Because your mind is where the problem is in
the first place. The problem is in your mind.
8. Why does Nash want to "hang around" Princeton University?
He and Alicia think he might do better in a familiar environment.
9. Parcher initially offered him status and worth; then he blackmailed him. What is his threat now?
He calls him a "useless madman? "Is this what you are? The local ghoul?"
10. There are a couple of examples of dramatic licence in this section. Can you identify them?
That Hansen would be Head of Faculty so young. Highly unlikely, even for a mathematician.
The approach re the Nobel Prize. It makes for a good scene, but Nobel winners are never approached until
they have been awarded the prize; Nash was investigated but privately.
11. How does Nash cope with the delusional characters?
He refuses to acknowledge that they are there, chooses to ignore them.
12. Nash pays a great tribute to Alicia in his Nobel speech. What does he say?
That in spite of all the achievements of his life, the greatest thing he has learned is the value of the human
heart.
13. A great deal of time passes. How much? What signifiers indicate the passage of time?
1956 – 1978 – he wanders around; 1978 – 1994 – he teaches
Changes in costume, makeup, hairstyle – greying hair, use of spectacles, etc. The aging makeup on Crowe is
particularly good. He is totally convincing.
14. Comment on the look, the genre style, of these last scenes.
The reality style continues, but it is softer than the earlier scenes when the baby was small. They are just
getting on with real life.
15. Identify examples of the following production techniques.
a.
FAST PAN
Hansen's POV of Nash to Charles
b.
motif
handkerchief
c.
aural bridge
applause – scenes 64 – 65
Links two scenes of recognition and
reward.
d.
POV shot
Hansen out the window as Nash tries to evade
Parcher.
as in a.
e.
irony
Nash comes cap in hand to his great rival Hansen;
Hansen says they have always been friends,
- yet Nash had felt he needed to
invent a friend.
f.
high angle shot
as in d.
g.
MONTAGE
jumble of images crowding Nash (sc. 53)
replicates the chaos in his mind
h.
FADE
ends the montage;
ends the scene with Alicia (55)
both scenes seem to end in
hopelessness
36
emphasises the outsider's POV