Mise en Scene of 'The Piano' - Lighting

The lighting in the scene is very gloomy, the scene uses mostly grey and some blue tones. The filmmakers possibly have used a filter to make the lighting more monochrome. While other parts of the film have warm colours and lighter tones, this scene is particularly dark and grey. This emphasises the emotion of the misery of the scene. It further hammers home how bleak the scene is and what it represents in a wider sense. These dreary colours add to the tone of darkness, not only in this scene but in the film overall. They symbolise the sadness in the scene, the film, and the characters. This is very different from other romantic films, making the film seem even darker and more brutal. The dark tones are a representation of the dark and heavy themes in the film, such as spousal abuse, women’s rights, adultery, and gender roles. While it may be stylized, the lighting is naturalistic in the scene. This wasn’t chosen thematically as such, but instead to give a realistic look to the scene, as it is occurring outside. The naturalistic lighting is, however, used to create a dramatic effect. At 01:32:11 in the film Alisdair is running through the forest with an axe, the camera pans through the forest following him with trees cutting in front of the camera. The trees are silhouetted and the contrasting tones of the black trees shadows in the foreground and the light clouds in the background create a dramatic effect. This juxtaposition is very striking to the audience and could possibly make an audience member anticipate the climax that is about to occur.