On a visual level, the film takes the old "nature encroaching upon mankind" story to a whole new level. We see several shots of a beautiful St. Valentine's Day cake being devoured by ants. Later, there is a similar series of still images of Miranda, Irma, Marion and Edith napping amongst lizards, ants and flies. A red light nearly consumes Edith as she runs screaming down the mountain. Peter Weir hints that whatever happened to the girls was something far more sinister and mysterious than a kidnapping or even rape or murder ("I have examined her, and she is quite intact," the doctor quietly tells the college staff of both Edith and Irma).
All around are images of beauty: the ethereal Miranda washing her face in a basin filled with flowers, Mademoiselle des Poitiers reading about Boticelli's The Birth of Venus, and a swan swimming alone. The doctor describes Irma's injuries in great detail-- he speaks of torn and ragged fingernails and bad bruises on the head-- but we never see them. The scene of the ants eating the cake is almost shocking, as it follows tableaux of the beautiful, delicate young girls lounging. Obviously, these different sorts of images provide contrast between the beauty and the beast that swallowed it. Is there anything more? I'll have to think on it.
No comments:
Post a Comment