Monday, January 14

The film rope starts what seems like in the middle of the story. The first scene of the film and the audience is already presented with a murder. Audience stays in one room throughout the film following the conversations of the characters that remain in the room as the story progresses.

Miller discusses how the film is usually critiqued for its attempt do the film in a single shot manner. He uses the word attempts because like he explains one range from 3-9 minutes, not the full 10 minutes like the film is usually critiqued for doing. 

As an armature film critic, the way the camera panned from conversation to conversation and then sometimes cutting seemed intentional. I thought its intentions was to build up suspense and curiosity. The camera following the conversations that made it as a first time viewer feel like a detective not to solve who had done the murder because that had obviously already been shown, but instead how the pieces of the murder would be solved especially because it had already been foreshadowed that Rupert would be the one doing the solving. It created the perfect crime story that almost felt as if it was being narrated by Brandon’s inner desire to be praised for his genius plan.

Miller highlights that this discussion of the camera technique overshadows the sexuality of the two main characters. Prior to reading this their sexuality only crossed my mind when it was briefly mentioned in class that they were. But after the first couple of minutes of attempting to read between the lines of I came to the conclusion that i had mistaken the film for another one and their sexualities had nothing to do with the film. The only parallels I could draw between the characters sexuality and the film was the fear of being discovered. I only thought up of this idea after Miller brings up when Rupert say “I know what you are”. Miller even mentions that the saying chocking the chicken was slang used for masturbation which the film changed to fit the theme of murder. Philips reaction also alerts us to his fear of being seen as someone who would engage in these kinds of activities; in the film murder and in the implied theory of his sexuality, homosexual acts which even then feels like a reach because masturbation is something that all individuals participate in regardless of sexuality.

One loose end that was never tied (no pun intended) was the reason for Brandon trying to rekindle Janet and Kenneth romance. I assume that it was just used as a way to make the whole party more uncomfortable and to give the audience a little more insight was Brandon’s character but I never saw it explained.