Expressive movement unit 1

Metadata

Civilian everyday life is first staged as background noises (the factory bell, the sounds in the diner, the fast, brusque manner the waiters and waitresses have of talking). The start of the slow foxtrot music and Curt’s monologue form an acoustic frame around the closeness of the couple. This cut-out is repeated on the visual level: at first by the camera zooming in, then through a change of shot that cuts all the background movement out of the frame. Daily life, just introduced, is pushed back. The staging concentrates on the characters’ feelings through an interplay of music, prosody and close framing until it is interrupted acoustically (Larry’s voice) and then visually (a reverse shot). Finally, the vehemence of the restaurant worker’s talk and the camera pan that now follows the movement of this character mark the end of the melodramatic episode.