The Notebook

The Notebook (2004)
Director:   Nick Cassavetes
Producer: New line Cinema
Writers: Jeremy Leven and Jan Sardi
Stars: Gena Rowlands, James Garner and Rachel McAdams

Immediately mise en scene helps to provoke feeling from the audience via the colors that are used. Strong vibrant colours are used at the beginning of the scene to compliment the calm and happy atmosphere that is created. As the storm arrives the colours drastically change to dull washes of grey. This helps the audience understand how the characters are feeling as the storm symbolizes that that have to go home and represents that their happiness is fantasy at this point of the clip. This pathetic fallacy exaggerates how the characters are feeling and helps the audience understand this more clearly. Mise en scene also creates meaning by the surroundings of the scene and the location of the characters.

As the boat enters the lake it is surrounded by pure white ducks and tall thin trees. These trees act as a source of protection for the pair and allow the audience to feel relaxed as they rekindle their old feelings from the past. The idealistic location of the scene makes it look magical and surreal which also helps provoke the feelings of love and romance from the audience.Due to the surrealism, the narrative is opened to all possibilities and the scene becomes unpredictable and more exciting.

However, the lake that the pair row in represents their “own little world” and allows them to feel safe and secure – a feeling that is passed on to the audience and contrasts well to the unpredictability of the rest of the scene. The sound used in this clip from “The Notebook” compliments how the mise en scene is used and therefore helps to exaggerate all the feelings and meaning that is created. The sound is mainly non-diegetic music and is added to help the audience feel on par with the characters and allows them to feel more involved with the scene.
At the beginning of the scene soft, calm music...