Film assignment (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane)!!

“All the Boys Love Mandy Lane”.

I will be analysing the scene from “All the Boys Love Mandy Lane” (genre: Horror) in which the main character is revealed to be evil. This is the scene when “Mandy” stabs and kills another character towards the end of the film showing that she is not as innocent as the audience once thought. The two micro-features I will be exploring are: Performance and Mise-en-scene. These micro-features will show how the film mocks the audience as the audience are expecting to see exactly what the beginning of the film gives them when in fact the ending is something completely different.

Performance:

At the beginning of this scene we see one of the characters “Chloe” running away from a car that is chasing her, towards the main character “Mandy”. Amber Heard’s (Mandy) performance in this scene is very important as this is the scene where the audience is shown her true intentions. As “Chloe” is running toward “Mandy”, “Mandy” sounds frightened and concerned for “Chloe”. She is shouting at “Chloe” to run and to come to her. This makes the main character “Mandy” appear to be trying to help her friend. At this point the audience still thinks that “Mandy” is innocent and protective. Then a bit further on in the scene “Chloe” is shown to be dying on the floor with a knife in her stomach. This reveals to the audience that “Mandy” has stabbed her friend. After this, Amber Heard’s performance changes as she is now portrayed as the villain of the film as she leaves “Chloe” on the floor and walks off like nothing has happened. This shows the audience a more cruel side to her as she almost acts as if it is what “Chloe” deserved. She doesn't seem fazed by the event. At this point the audience can tell that she as dropped her innocent act and her true personality has surfaced. She continues talking to her partner in crime, laughing at how much blood there is. This shows to the audience that she is not who they thought she was. Her personality changes between caring and protective to sadistic and heartless. By “Mandy” laughing and joking about the event suggests to the audience that she takes pleasure out of people getting hurt. This also suggests that “Mandy” has worn a mask throughout the beginning of the film, but once she has completed her task she has taken off her mask and her true identity is revealed. By showing a quick transition between the caring “Mandy” the audience thought they knew to an evil “Mandy” shows how “Mandy” has managed to deceive everyone. This scene is important as it indicates that she has used her friends trust as a way of getting what she wants. Due to “Chloe” running towards “Mandy” shows the audience that she has no reason to doubt “Mandy” and that she trusts her. In the film it is shown that all the boys want to be with “Mandy” and all the girls want to be “Mandy”. This shows that no one would expect “Mandy” to betray her friends. It surprises and shocks the audience when her personality changes when she kills “Chloe” as no one see’s it coming.  The characters in the film try and protect her from the killer when in fact they should be protecting themselves. All the characters literally die for “Mandy Lane”. Due to Amber Heard’s change in performance, as one minute she is concerned for her friend and the next she has killed her and is laughing about it, indicates to the audience that everything they knew about “Mandy” was all a lie. This makes the audience feel as if the sympathy and trust has been misplaced toward the character “Mandy”. The performance in “All the Boys Love Mandy Lane” is one of the most important features as it used to deceive the audience and make them make their own assumptions of the character “Mandy”. The director forces the audience to follow the stereotype that the characters give “Mandy” in order for the reveal to be that more confusing and shocking.

Mise-en-scene:

The important prop within this scene from “All the Boys Love Mandy Lane” is the knife. At the beginning of the scene it shows “Mandy” from behind holding the knife. This signifies to the audience that there is going to be a fight scene further into the film.  It also shows that although “Mandy” is seen as the innocent one, she is still ready to fight, but this also goes against what the audience think of “Mandy”. Then as “Chloe” is running towards “Mandy” away from the car, the knife is still in “Mandy’s” hand but, the audiences focus is taken away from it as they are focused on “Chloe” trying to get safety. As “Chloe” runs to “Mandy” and gives her a hug the knife is not shown. As “Mandy” and “Chloe” hug, Mandy starts to wipe blood through her hair and “Chloe” facial expression shows confusion. At this point the audience realises that something is wrong as more blood starts to appear and the chase has stopped. Then the camera angle changes, to show that “Mandy’s” hand is placed around the knife which is has been stabbed into “Chloe”. This is where the audience’s expectations are exceeded as they expected the film to end in a different way. This is the point in which the audience comes to realise that there is more to the character “Mandy” and her true intentions.

Another important feature to the film is the location. The location ultimately allows “Mandy” to get away with murder as it is a quiet location where there is no one around for miles. It also allows “Mandy” to carry out her plan without any one to stop her or her accomplice. The location of the scene is a ranch in the countryside where the teens plan to have a party. A classic horror location. This also helps indicate to the audience that the genre of the film is horror as the teenagers get targeted at the ranch and there is no chance to escape and get help. The location also allows for the scene to have the desired effect on the audience as it is supposed to make them think about what they would do in that situation.

One other important part of mise-en-scene is the way the character “Mandy” looks to the audience. The characteristics of “Mandy Lane” are that she is innocent and beautiful. Throughout the whole film, the other characters treat her in how they think she should be treated rather than how she should be treated due to her appearance and behaviour. In the scene where we find out that “Mandy” is actually the villain in the movie, the audience are shocked as they have under-estimated “Mandy” throughout the film. Because “Mandy” is a blonde, young innocent girl both the characters in the film and the audience completely miss what she is actually capable of based on the way she looks. “Mandy” play up to her role in the film and pretends to be shy and caring, when in fact in the scene we see that her true colours are revealed. “Mandy” uses her appearance for her own benefit and uses the other characters perception of her to get what she wants. In the scene where she kills “Chloe” she has managed to persuade “Chloe” into thinking she was safe with her. Due to the character “Mandy” playing up to stereotypes given to her no one had any reason to question her intentions. The way that “Mandy” looks in the film is important as it makes it harder for the audience to work out what she is actually up to.

In “All the Boys Love Mandy Lane” the director uses both performance and mise-en-scene to create evil within the character “Mandy”. These two micro-features are important as the main character uses these to trick her friends into her plan. She is able to manipulate everyone into thinking that she is someone she is not. Also these two micro-features trick the audience as they watch the film expecting to see what they believe is going to happen but instead they put their trust into the wrong character. The scene shows how quickly “Mandy” can switch off her humanity. This creates an unexpected twist in the story line.