Upon Close-Up Inspection..

In John Cassvetes 1959 film Shadows, race conflicts and love arise during the beats era in New York City. By using subtle hints in acting to portray larger emotions we are given a “realistic” glimpse into the world of the artist. However, this is not the traditional realism we expect. By utilizing close ups we are given an uncomfortable but self-damning look into the the world of these artist.

When the door bell rings at 44:37 the scene of Leleia kissing Tony is interrupted. We see a thumb pressing harshly on the button with no clear indicator of who is pressing it. Lelia moves to answer and has Tony fix himself up as the camera cuts back to Hugh, her brother, and his manager Rupert coming in. We then cut to a first-person shot as we move closer to Leleia as if we have taken Hugh's place and see what he has not; that his sister is in a relationship with a white man.

Tony already looks upset.

We soon begin to see Hugh and Leleia begin to reunite as the film cuts back between Tony and their happiness. Rather than seem happy himself he looks upset and put off. From here more close ups become apparent. As Tony seems more uncomfortable so does Lelia and Hugh as does the viewer. The constant cuts do not push us back from the film but bring us into the scene and align us as the fifth person in the room.

As the 45:00 minute mark nears we begin to focus more on Tony's face. He seems to appear blank but in the micro-movemets revealed to us we see more. He has come to the realization that the woman he has slept with is black and blurts that “he has an appointment.” We then cut to Lelia, her disappointment.

What becomes interesting is at 45:49. We get a medium shot of Hugh and Rupert but Tony cuts into it. He is leaving the space by cutting through the others. When he passes Rupert we see the understood disgust. His look is one, brought forth by a pseudo-close-up of “can you believe this guy.”

When a close-up is used we do not tend to think of it in terms of realism. To define realism from one point of view it is what we expect of an accurate representation of the reality we live, almost like a photograph. Here we do not see that. What we have a version of “true realism.”

The term true realism comes from Andre Bazin, a French film critic and theorist. For him realism could be a fictional film, such as Jean Renior's The Rules of the Game , 

The Rules of the Game. Oh Hi there Renior. I see you on the right.

or the “documentary” Nanook of the North. What he enjoyed was a “faith in the reality.”

To paraphrase from my lectures in “Foundation of film and new media” taught by Amy Rust, faith in reality can be described as a unity of time and space that gives revelation rather than addition. Though this scene does not do what a film like The Rules of the Game does with long takes or blocking in depth it does show some signs of this faith.

When we see Tony's face when he sees Hugh, though it is seen via a cut, we see the revelation. It is that he is uncomfortable and we are asked to confront it too. When the close up is used in this scene they are not only to reveal mindset without uttering a word but to ask us to feel the discomfort. Tony says very little until he says “I have an appointment.” It is then the tone shifts for the characters but as a spectator we have already been asked to indulge in this discomfort via the close up.

When we view this discomfort we are brought into and through the world. When this occurs we have encountered a new realism unfamiliar to us as the spectator and thus gain a new relationship to Shadows.