Wes Anderson Presentation Handout
Auteur Style:
• Consistent use of colours: muted browns, yellows, and
reds.
• Symmetry in composition and framing: consistent style
throughout all films
• Exaggerated costumes allow clear establishments of
characters
• Font on title cards in film is usually Futura and Helvetica
- simple, stark and direct, reflecting his in-your-face
style
• Using same actors for multiple films
• Signature camera movements/transitions
• Mise En Scene
Properties
• Anderson uses properties to signify characters'
relationships, traumas, and shortcomings. The prop
that signifies her is the perfume Boltaire #6.
Flat Lays
• Flat lays are when the camera is directly square with
the set, giving it a theatrical appearance or in terms of
Anderson: it gives it that storybook or dollhouse style.
By using this technique Anderson in reminding you that
you are watching a film.
• The Dream train sequence is the epitome of this motif.
But what this technique highlights are when Anderson
does want to elicit viewer emotion, he will employ realist
techniques. This is found when the brothers are trying
to save three Indian boys from drowning in a rushing
river. Anderson uses a handheld camera in haphazard
movements to portray the chaos and realism. In doing
this we are drawn back into the real and feel the full
weight of one of the Indian boys’ deaths.
Cinematography
Symmetry
• Scene where each character’s face in in the centre of
each close up, creating symmetry with the characters
faces
• Also, in the other scenes on the train, such as the old
man meditating, and Jacks ex-girlfriend
Camera Movement
• Wes uses moving shots to help reveal more characters
in a scene
• First part of the scene with the 360º pan shot: moving
camera spins to reveal each character
• This technique of revealing characters through camera
movement is also used in the tracking shot throughout
the dream train
• The camera moves along the train to reveal a lot of
characters, each in their own world
Lighting and colour
• Wes uses a lot of warm yellow lighting in the scene,
such as the part with Jack’s ex-girlfriend, and the man
sitting on the train seats
• Another use of lighting Wes uses is darker realistic
lighting, this is used to help brighten the highly
saturated colours he uses through props and costuming
• This natural lighting brings forward bright colours such
as blues and greens
• This use of yellow and orange lighting, with the bright
blues and greens helps create a specific colour palette
that is similar to all of Wes Andersons films
Characterisation:
Peter Whitman (played by Adrian Brody)
• Short tempered and secretive
• Often framed in moments of reflection, introspection,
and sadness.
• Retains his father’s prescription glasses, razor, and
car keys, a physical reminder of his mental inability
to process and move on from his death.
Francis Whitman (played by Owen Wilson)
• Controlling and mysterious
• Physically and emotionally damaged from a recent
motorcycle accident attempted suicide
• Ultimately the most comfortable of the three brothers
in expressing his vulnerability, anxiety, and sadness
Jack Whitman (played by Jason Schwartzman)
• Remains monotone and fixed in his expression and
emotion. Most reluctant to take part in the trip
more preoccupied with the thought of getting back
together with his ex-girlfriend
Patricia Whitman (played by Angelica Huston)
• Acts as a moral guide and centre for the boys
holding them accountable for their lives and
spiritual journey
Characterisation in Relation to the Scene
• Nathan Lee: “Darjeeling is a movie about people
trapped in themselves and what it takes to get free”,
• All of the characters act as a wider metaphor, stuck
on the train called ‘life’, endlessly moving forward
when they’re not sure what exactly is going on in their
own cars, let alone having the time to figure out
what’s rushing by them outside their closed
perspectives
Editing
• Omission of cuts in scene - audience feels as though
they are walking through the sequence rather than
merely just watching
• As a result, audience feels they are peering into each
compartment and gazing upon the different
characters
• Utilises Kuleshov Effect
o Coined by Alfred Hitchcock
o Viewers derive meaning from relationship
between 2 or more shots more than if they were
alone
• In scene: montage connects the characters more
than just their individual shots of alternate points in
life – creates unity between each character
Sound
Properties
• Scene: “Play with Fire” by Rolling Stones
• Drives forward the scene through rhythm but also in
narrative tone – “if you play with fire you are going to
get burned”
• Feelings of nostalgia – key within Anderson’s use of
music, particularly vital in this scene with 1980s song
• Relies heavily on non-diegetic audio, diegetic audio
is rather kept to a minimum to evoke ambiance to
drive the scene
• Diegetic sounds that are heard: train rolling on tracks,
hissing snakes, voices of e.g., Indian boys all
provoke sense of realism
•