Non Genre Specific - Mad Max Analysis

Analysis of: “Mad Max: Fury Road”

Introduction (History) 

Mise-en-scène is a french expression which originated in the early days of theatre and refers to the way in how all aesthetic elements within a scene or in front of a camera create a binary meaning for the audiences watching to decode. Aesthetic elements include composition,framing, acting and performance style, location, props, editing etc. all these elements help to contribute to the audience's understanding of the narrative as well as any themes or ideologies that the creators of the film are intentionally trying to convey and highlight.

Secondary Resources

Many writers and theorists who are experts on the topic of Mise-en-scène all agree on the purpose and the significance of Mise-en-scène however not all theorists share the same opinion on the subject. Some believe that it is an idea used to classify aesthetic elements within a production. Whereas others believe that it is the individual elements and their conveyed meaning that should have more significance than all of the elements as a whole.

In the book The Language Of Film written by Robert Edgar, John Marland and Steven Rawie (2010) it discusses the aesthetic elements individually and how they contribute to the cinematic image.As well as the significance it has on the viewers and their understanding of what they are seeing on screen

Whereas the book Film A Critical Introduction written by Marria Pramaggorie and Tom Wallis (2011) discusses the background of Mise-en-scène and the importance of how all of the elements that are involved within Mise-en-scène contribute to the overall vision of the film.

The Film

The film I have selected to analyse within this analysis is Mad Max:Fury Road directed and created by George Miller. The story takes place in a post apocalyptic Wasteland that has been devastated by nuclear warfare and follows ex-cop and lone warrior Max Rockatansky as he helps an ex-general transport important cargo stolen from her ex-leader across the Wasteland.The reason I had selected Mad Max:Fury Road is because the film draws upon the use of aesthetic elements to help with the narrative of the film as well as the themes(survival, ecological collapse, moral decadence, solidarity, redemption.).

Acting And Performance Style

Protagonist Mad Max or Max Rockatansky is an Ex police officer who has lost his family due to the Moral decadence and violence of this new post apocalyptic world that has suffered from nuclear warfare and in result the character is molded into another person,one that is designed to survive in this new world.The character Max is played by Hollywood star “Tom Hardy” and also resembles the typical cold lone ranger type character that you would get in the old western films. The character is portrayed as being very stern and cold, as the character has suffered a great ordeal in his life.However within the film the character shows a strong trait of selflessness which in this mad new world is rare. This is shown when Max meets the character of Imperator Furiosa and the five wives, as they are being pursued by the antagonist Immortan Joe's.Instead of fleeing given many opportunities Max helps them escape and get to safety, which helps bring another dimension of the character to life and makes the audience like him even more as selflessness is a value admired for.

The War boys are an army of savage and primal young soldiers dedicated to serving the antagonist Immortan Joe and are a product of this culturally impoverished post-apocalyptic world. The portrayal of the characters within the film are portrayed very stylistically meaning that they don't act and move like normal soldiers but in fact they move and act like primordial men, which again highlights the idea of a world where humanity has reverted to it's basic survival instinct.

The character Imperator Furiosa played by critically acclaimed actress “Charlize Theron” is another central protagonist in the film and is introduced in the film as she is trying to smuggle the wives of Immortan Joe out of the Citadel. The character is one of Immortan Joe's top followers and generals however she betrays him in act of humanity to get his wives away from him and his cruel ways with the help of Max. The character is strong,independent and is very aware about the true intentions of the people in this new apocalyptic world, which makes her an interesting characters for audiences and also helps create a new female fan base for the film.

Cult leader and Warlord Immortan Joe is the antagonist of the film and is played by actor “Hugh Keays-Byrne” who also appeared in the original Mad Max film as the main antagonist. The character is leader of the Warboys and is lord of The Citadel. The look of the character is very stylistic as he is covered in different bits of machinery. The character also represents the idea of dictatorship in the future and this shown by the way that that he treats his people and his five wives.

The 5 wives of Immortan Joe played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton, Zoe Kravitz represent what purity is left in the world. The characters also represent the many facades of a woman.

Costumes

In Mad Max:Fury Road the costumes within the film are essential in highlighting the themes of survival, ecological collapse, moral decadence, solidarity, vengence, redemption. Also the costumes help with narrative of the film as the costumes help give audiences some backstory or an idea to the story of each character in the film,for example the character Imperator Furiosa is missing an arm which suggests that her character may have experienced an event in her life that had led to the amputation of her arm and in result possibly created the strong character that we see on screen.The costumes also help illustrate to the audiences watching this film that it is a post-apocalyptic world that has suffered from an ecological collapse. The design of the costumes resembles the look of the original Mad Max films which was an almost post-apocalyptic fetish punk look.

The design of Max’s costume in this film is styled after the original films with his primary and most memorable piece of clothing being his leather jacket. Also the shoulder pad on his right shoulder.

The character Immortan is covered in white powder because he has rotting skin and needs the powder to soothe and disguise him.The character also wears bulletproof Plexiglas armor which also helps to disguise his body as well as a mask with skull on the front that helps him to breathe. 

The Wives are all dressed in white clothing which highlights that they are out of place in this post apocalyptic world as well unprepared for a road trip.

Location

The setting of the world of Mad Max is one of complete desolation full of barren landscapes which is due to the nuclear holocaust, so throughout the film a variety of different locations were used to show the idea that the character was in a world completely torn apart by the nuclear disaster.

In this film Max must travel through Fury Road a dangerous and treacherous road that only Mad men would venture through. The location of Fury Road was filmed In Namibia (Africa) and is full of barren landscapes such as deserts,dangerous long roads and canyons so within the film the look of all these barren landscapes help contribute to the post-apocalyptic look of world of Mad Max.

The Citadel is another location in the film that is the stronghold of antagonist Immortan Joe and his army of War boys.The Citadel is a cluster of three rock towers that sit above a one of limited supply of fresh water in the Wastelands. The Green Place was a fertile area of the Wasteland and was the home of Furiosa . However within the film due to the contamination of the Green Place all vegetation stops growing and the land becomes uninhabitable, which again brings the theme of survival and home to the mind of the audience.

Composition And Framing

The way things are composed and framed within a film help with the audience's understanding of the narrative and any themes within the film as it is what is seen on screen that helps the audience understand the overall meaning and messages of the film. In Mad Max:Fury Road the way that director George Miller seemed to do things when it came to composing and framing each shot within the film was that he mainly seemed to focus on placing important characters, objects, places and vehicles in the center of of each shot so that the audiences would understand where the main focal point on screen was, which also helped during the explosive car chasing action sequences as there was no need to hunt for the point of interest within each new shot on screen. Also the use of centre framing each of the shots also meant the audiences didn’t need 3 to 4 frames to understand where they needed to look.

Also within the film the use of low angles shots were used quite a lot throughout and helped to create a sense of proportion and epicness to the world of the film.Low angle shots were used particularly to introduce new locations and vehicles into the story,an example of a low angle shot being used to introduce a location was during the scene that Imperator Furiosa’s truck heads towards the Bikers Canyon,during that scene we see the camera looking up from the desert ground as the truck drives over the camera the camera then pans to the direction that the truck is heading and we are introduced to Bikers Canyon an epic new location to the story.

Close ups were also used but it was more to help with the narrative of the film and was done by helping the audiences see in closer detail any objects or actions characters were doing that were significant to the story e.g. when one of the many mother is showing the plant to one of the wives the use of the close up helps the audience understand the story of the contamination of the green place as the plant represents what is left.

Editing

The editing within the film Mad Max:Fury Road was a major key to helping to convey themes and narrative to the audience. For example the use of flashbacks helped to highlight the character Max’s troubled past and also helped to give some context to his madness and possibly the reason into why Max has become a survivor in this post-apocalyptic world. Sped up action sequences also helped to emphasis the theme of survival and madness in the world of Mad Max,an example of this would be when Max is attempting to escape the citadel whilst being pursued by the War boys, in this scene Max is seen running and jumping through door ways and over cars as the War boys follow viciously close behind, In this scene the action is sped up and helps to emphasis the danger that Max is in. Fast paced editing and slow motion were key in helping to bring life to car action sequences as the use of both these editing techniques helped dramatise and emphasis the epicness of the sequences.

Conclusion

Overall applying Mise-en-scène to the analysis of films help with the understanding of how aesthetic elements are essential in the overall vision of the film and also in highlighting any major themes for audiences. Also the use of Mise-en-scène helps audiences understand the structure of the narrative of the film and allows them to interpret the story however they wish to.

References

Edgar-Hunt,R ,Marland J, Rawie,S (2010). The Language Of Film. London, New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. p1-144.

Pramaggiore,M, Wallis, T (2011). Film A Critical Introduction. 3rd ed. London: Laurence King Publishing. p91-122.

Rabiger, M (2008). Directing Film and Aesthetics. 4th ed. Oxford: Focal Press . p65-201.

Olson,R (1999). Art Direction for Film and Video. 2nd ed. Oxford: Focal Press. p29-105.

Mamer, B (2000). Film Production Technique Creating The Accomplished Image. 2nd ed. Belmont: Wadsworth. p4-52.