AnAnalysisofHowMeaningIsCreatedin'3Women'

byBenSyme
Miseensceneisanessentialelementincreatingmeaningforevery
film'saudience,asitestablishestheoveralltoneandmessagesofthe
scenesthroughtheuseofcostuming,lighting,theactors'
performancesandmovements,props,andsettings.Inthisessay,I'llbe
analysingRobertAltman'shaunting1977film'3Women'.Withparticular
emphasisonthemiseenscene,I'manalysingasceneinthethirdact
ofthefilminwhichWillie(JaniceRule)isinlabouratherfarmhouse,
andMillie(ShelleyDuvall)hastotrytodeliverthebabywhilePinky
(SissySpacek)isseeminglyinadreamlikehaze.Withinthenarrative,
thescenetakesplaceafterPinkyhasabaddreamandcrawlsinto
bedwithMillie,andjustbeforetheendinginwhichthetitularwomen
haveformedastrangefamilyunitandarelivingtogetheratthe
DodgeCityranch.
Throughoutthescene,Willieisseeminglyinherpyjamas,with
white/graybedsheetswrappedaroundherupperbody.Thefairlydull
colourofthepyjamasandsheetscontrastsstronglytothenoticeable
redbloodandplacenta,drawingattentiontotheblood.Thishighlights
thehighamountofpainWillie'sin,asshe'svisiblylosingalotofblood.
Theexcessofbloodalsoconnotesdeath,whichmayleavethe
audiencefeelinguneasywhencontemplatingtheeventualfateof
Willie'sbaby.HavingWilliedrapedinbloodysheetsandclothingcould
alsoevokediscomfortamongviewersifthey'resqueamish,causing
somemembersoftheaudiencetomentallymirrorthecharacter's
physicalpain.
Duringthisscene,theaudiencemayfeelpathosforWillie;the
actress'performanceemulatesintensetrauma,makingthecharacter
comeacrossasveryvulnerable.Thisauraofvulnerabilityisfurther
emphasisedbyWilliebeingwrappedinbedsheets,akintoasmall
child.Furthermore,thewhitebedsheetsbeingstainedredwithblood
implythecorruptionofthecharacter'spurity,possiblyimplyingtheact
ofgivingbirthtoastillbornbabyhashadadetrimentaleffecton
Willie'smorals.Thesheetswerewhite,whichoftenconnotespurity,
beforebeingstainedwiththebloodresultingfromthestillbirth.This
makestheeventseemallthemorelifechangingandtraumatic
Willie'scharacterhasundergoneasignificantchangeinthather
innocenceisnowlost,metaphoricallystainedlikethesheets.Sucha
traumaticeventcombinedwiththepossiblemoraldecaytofollow
buildsuponthepathosfeltbytheaudience;sympatheticfeelings
beingevokedbythecorruptionofacharacterthroughaphysically

andemotionallydamagingexperience.
Thefarmhouseiscomparativelywelllitinside,whenconsidering
thesurroundingdarknessoutside;howeverthere'sarestillshadowsas
thelampsaren'tnoticeablystrong.Thisdrawsattentiontothe
differenceinconditionstherewouldbehadWilliegoneintolabourat
ahospital;thescenewouldhaveaclinicalfeelduetoeverything
beingwelllitandsterile.Bycomparison,thelightinginthefarmhouse's
interiorpresentsthesettingasquitedingy.Thisisn'tthesafestof
conditionstogivebirthtoababy,whichfurtherdevelopstheideathat
thefateofthebabyhangsinquestion.Theexteriorofthefarmhouseis
steepedindarkness,withPinkyandthedustyfootpathonlybeing
visibleduetothelightfrominsidethefarmhouse.Thiscouldbea
reflectiononPinky'scharacterwhileMillieishelpingWilliegivebirth,
Pinkyissurroundedbydarkness,possibleconnotingtheadarker
naturetoher.Alongwithbeingtakentomeanshehassomesortof
lackofmorals,Pinkyimmersedindarknesscouldsymboliseherlackof
identity.Withinthenarrativeoftherestofthefilm,Pinkyisquestioning
everysinglethingaboutheridentityatthisstage.Thereforeitmakes
senseifthedarknessrepresentsPinkynotknowingwhoshereallyis.
Theperformancesofthethreeleadsinthissequencevary
significantly.Millietakesapositionofcontrolinthescene,ordering
PinkytogocalladoctorbeforehelpingWilliedeliverherbaby.
However,herinexperienceismadeabundantlyclearthroughoutthe
scene,asMilliecanconstantlybeheardquestioningWillieonwhatshe
shoulddoandhowshehasherdoubtsthatshe'llbeabletodeliverthe
babysafely.Thiscreatesatenseatmosphereofconfusion,as
essentiallyaninnocentlifeisatstake.Pinkymanagestoelevatethe
confusionofthescene,byactingcomatoseratherthangoingtoget
helpforunclearreasons.Sheseemstohavebeenunaffectedbythe
stillbirthofWillie'sbaby,asshesimplystaresintospace.Itdoesseemas
ifshe'sdreaming,whichrelatestotheoverall'baddream'style
adoptedbythefilmitwas,afterall,basedonadreamRobertAltman
had.However,laterinthescene,sheseemstobeexperiencingsimilar
traumatothegrievingWillieandscarredMillie,asshejoinsthemin
crying.Thisgivesthestrangeimpressionthatthewomenhave
somehowbondedthroughthistragicevent,astheyallseemtobein
thesameemotionalstatetraumatised.Theyallseemstunnedby
what'shappened;MilliewasnoticeablyshakyandslappedPinky
aroundherfacewithabloodyhand.Willie,whowould've
experiencedthemostturmoilmentallyandphysically,simplyweeps
silentlyasifpartofherdiedwithherbaby.Theseperformancesaddto
thetensionanddiscomfortofthescene.

Thedeadbabyisvirtuallyunseen,emphasisingits'lackoflife.This
allowsfortheaudiencetorealisethegravityofthesituation,asbynot
seeingthebabyit'smadeveryclearwhat'sjusthappened.There'salso
thebrightyellowcarbelongingtoMillievisiblebehindPinky.This
highlightsthepointlessnessofthebaby'sdeath,asitcould'vebeen
avertedasPinkyobviouslyhadthemeanstogoandgetmedicalhelp.
Thismakesthesceneallthemoretragic.Theplacementofthecar
behindPinkycouldalsoconnoteherrelationshipwiththeothertwo
women,asitlooksasifshe'sphysicallyturnedherbackontheoutside
worldtoinsteadfocusonMillieandWillie.It'sasifshe'sobsessedwith
theothertwo,whichisquiteunhealthy.Again,thisfurtherbuildsupon
theuncomfortableatmosphereofthescene.Thiscouldalsosignify
howPinkylacksthewillingnesstohelpout,whichfurtherdevelopsthe
ideaestablishedbythedarklightingsurroundingherthatshehas
questionablemorals.
Returningtothecolourofthecar,thebrightyellowstrikesastark
contrastwithitssurroundingsandtheoccurrencestakingplace;
usuallybeingassociatedwithhappinessandoptimism.Thesceneand
thecolourofthecarseemquitemismatched,itjustdoesn'tseemquite
'right';drawingfocustothedreamlikeatmosphere.However,the
colouryellowisknowntohavedarkerconnotationsyellowsymbolises
cowardice,betrayal,egoism,andmadness,aswellasahandfulof
diseaseslikejaundice.Seeingasneonataljaundiceisverycommonin
newbornbabies,theyellowhueofthecarcouldbeinterpretedas
foreshadowingofWillie'sbaby'sfatethesicklyshadeoftheyellowcar
isareferencetoillnessassociatedwithnewbornstosubtlyindicatethe
baby'sdirefate.Furthermore,thecolourcouldbeametaphorfor
Pinky'scharacterarc.Asyellowcanbeusedtosymbolisemadness,
thecarcouldberepresentativeofhercharacter.Previouslyinthefilm,
PinkyquiteliterallylosthermindandassumedMillie'spersonality
instead.ThismetaphorisfurtheredinmanycloseupshotsofPinky's
face,inwhichtheyellowcarisvisibleinthebackgroundinlevelwith
herhead.