"If I let you change me, will that do it?" HITCHCOCK MARATHON

Vertigo-1958-Alfred Hitchcock

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lfred Hitchcock’s films are at once entertaining and puzzling. He was able to draw things out of the cinematic language that so many directors forget, especially modern directors. All that needs to be done is a comparative look at Hitchcock’s Rear Window and DJ Caruso’s Disturbia to find out an idea can be portrayed differently through the language of cinema. Hitchcock uses subtlety and what the audience doesn’t see to create suspense and fear in the mind of the viewer.

For an example of Hitchcock and enigmatic I offer you Vertigo. A film that didn’t catch on in its own time, but is now required viewing for anyone interested in film.

If you don’t already know, Vertigo is the story of Detective John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson, played by Jimmy Stewart. He suffers an accident while on duty as a detective and is imbued with a case of vertigo. He retires from the force, but is asked by a friend (Gavin Elster) to follow his wife Madeleine, played by Kim Novak, to see where she goes all the time. He says she’ll be gone for hours and return and say she didn’t remember where she went. We find out she supposedly is being possessed by the her great grandma, Carlotta Valdes. After some convincing, Scottie, still hesitant agrees to help his old friend out. When it turns out that Madeleine’s real name is Judy and it was all a scam, Scottie tries to change Judy into Madeleine(his dream) and in the end realizes that life may really be “nothing but a dream”. What follows leaves the viewer asking what his vertigo has to do with the film, until the two key scenes where characters die.

The first thing to notice again is Hitchcock’s use of subtlety. When we open and see Scottie hanging from the side of the building and his partner falls to the ground and dies, we don’t get a shot of him getting back up, we only see him hanging and then are brought directly into the next scene, which seemingly has little to do with the incident we just witnessed.

When Scottie is chasing Madeleine up the tower and suffers vertigo and cannot reach the top, we see a body fall, but we aren’t told how it fell until later. Did she kill herself? Did she slip? Was she pushed? These linger in the mind of the viewer. It is thought that she jumped on her own volition but it is never thoroughly examined until later on in the film. Here Hitchcock only shows us Scottie’s reaction to Madeleine falling(or so we think) and then he runs to his car and leaves. We aren’t told where he goes or what he does afterwards, next we see him he is in court.

Having examined the tiniest bit of Hitchcock’s filmmaking technique, not even bringing up the pan/zoom shot he created specifically for this film that has been used by every subsequent director in the history of filmmaking, I cannot help but wonder what this film is trying to say.

The Woman:

The first step to examining Vertigo lies in the woman of the film.

They are all blonde and they all play different roles in John’s life.

The first woman we meet in Vertigo is Marjorie ‘Midge’ Wood.

Midge-

Midge is Scotties only seemingly real friend in the film. Gavin uses Scottie for his own personal gain, but Midge just enjoys talking to Scottie and trying to help him out.

What Midge ultimately represents is a mother figure for Scottie.

Scottie: I'm a man of independent means as the saying goes. Fairly independent.

Midge: Hmm, mmm. Well, why don't you go away for a while?

Scottie: You mean to forget? Oh now, Midge, don't be so motherly. I'm not gonna crack up.

She seems to be trying to help him mature as well. The scene in which they discuss the bra she is working on she discuss’ how he’s a big boy he needs to know these things.

What happens next in the arc of Midge is a little unexpected, but needed. We eventually find out, from little shots of her, that she is in love with Scottie. Which reminds me of another Hitchcock film, Psycho, where the mother and son have a very oddly close relationship. This only further becomes a problem when Scottie falls in love with Madeleine. We see her jealousy in a discussion between Scottie and Midge when she first hears of what Scottie has been up to.

Midge: Is she pretty?

Scottie: Carlotta?

Midge: No, not Carlotta. Elster's wife.

Scottie: Yes, I guess you'd consider that she would...

Midge: I think I'll go and take a look at that portrait.

Furthermore she sees Madeleine exiting Scottie’s house after he rescued her from San Francisco Bay, and the jealousy escalates.

Midge: Well now, Johnny-O. Was it a ghost? Was it fun?

We can feel in her turn that she isn’t to happy with what has transpired and in a subsequent scene get further evidence of her longing for Scottie.

Scottie walks into Midge’s place and they plan on having dinner, while Midge tells him she took up painting, which was her first love(which hints back to her love of Scottie, because she painted the picture for him). When he looks at the picture it is her face on Carlotta Valdes’ body. Scottie leaves upset. This also represents her longing to be Madeleine because Scottie is in love with her. Midge is to Scottie what Scottie is to Madeleine

Lastly, Midge refers to herself as Scottie's mother in the Psychiatric ward scene.

Midge: Oh, Johnnie, Johnnie. Please try. Try, Johnnie. You're not lost. Mother's here...John
O, you don't even know I'm here, do you?

Madeleine-

What Madeleine ultimately represents is Scotties dream woman. We constantly see her in soft colors and seemingly surrounded by a glossy, fogginess. Scottie becomes obsessed with her from the get go, because she isn’t real. He falls in love with her, but does he even know her? He says things like “Once you’ve saved a persons life, your responsible for it forever.” But what exactly does he mean by these things? What has he saved her from? Yes he saved her from the Bay, but is he going to save her from Galvin, from her “illness”. Furthermore, she seems to fall in love with him just as easily, while knowing just as little about him. Are they each other’s dream?

When Madeleine comments about history repeating itself it is a comment on the film and how things will repeat themselves. The women in Scotties life, the longing for love where it cannot be found, the death of Madeleine and the death of Judy are all signs of repetition.

Even when Scottie and Madeleine kiss it is so obviously staged, it is as if God was making a play, with the waves crashing behind them with each kiss, it’s just so perfect.

When the end of Madeleine approaches and she is running for the tower, Scottie yells, “No one possesses you.” What we may be able to gleam from this is Scottie’s ignorance to what is actually going on, or that no one but him can possess her. This is his dream getting away from him, just like his job did. He loses them both because of his illness. Or might they represent the same thing.

Judy-

Judy is reality. She is a pretty, brunette girl, who is a little shy and not as easily taken as Madeleine. But Scottie pursues her because he reminds her so much of Madeleine, his dream. He so desperately wants to relive his dream that he will go to any lengths to change her to make her the way he wants her to be.
While she reluctantly agrees to go out with Scottie we discover that Judy was Madeleine while she stares in the mirror contemplating what had just happened. She only wants Scottie to love her for her, as she loves Scottie. But once Scottie arrives and they start dating, she becomes a possession to him. He first wants to find the dress that Madeleine wore, and then he wants her to dye her hair blonde as Madeleine's. Is Judy the portrait of the average woman, she feels like to please her man that she must be something she isn’t.

Judy is constantly seen in front of mirrors, whether it is when she is contemplating being with Scottie, or trying on what Scottie wants. It seems to always be when she isn’t being herself, but a mirrored image of herself.

When Judy finally makes the full transformation and she emerges for Scottie to see, we see her as we first saw Madeleine. The shot and her movement is precisely the same. Scottie is again enthralled with her, until he notices she is wearing the same necklace that Madeleine had. It was a one of a kind necklace that she received as a hand down from her family, he realizes this by looking at Judy in the mirror and seeing who she really is. Upon his realization, he decides to go back to the scene of the crime. Where his heart was broken and dreams shattered. When he tells Judy his reasoning, he is the one who is acting this time. The roles seem to have reversed. She is unwillingly going up the steps as he is making her, as it could be seen that Madeleine did to him in a sense.

When they reach the top of the tower and Scottie tells her he knew after he saw the necklace she is frightened, and although Scottie is hostile, nothing seems to be going wrong until a nun comes from the shadows. In the shadows the nun is shaped as the grim reaper, which because of Judy’s guilt, causes her to jump. Scottie again loses the girl. Could she have really been his dream girl if he let her? It lingers on.

……….

What most stands out in Vertigo to me is the way Scottie goes from innocence to obsession to possession. The way the character shifts happens so seamlessly that it is hardly noticed at first. Some have said the woman in this film represent the typical Hitchcock woman; Blonde, beautiful, and mysterious. Could Hitchcock have been facing his own obsessions with this film. I like to think that directors choose, or write their work out of personal identification with that work. The easiest way to draw the line to Hitchcock is through the woman, as he always had a strong, blonde female lead.

Interestingly enough Scottie is obviously cured of his vertigo in the end because he is able to look over the edge and doesn’t seem slightly fazed by it at all. Could this mean that through the death of Judy, he is now able to move on from the past and onto something new?

I think a major underlying message of Vertigo is that fear is the cause of most death. Scottie’s fear of heights was hindering him, and led him into the situations he was in with Madeleine, Judy, Galvin. These things would not have happened had Scottie not been afraid of heights. The same goes for Judy, her fear of being without Scottie led her to her own death. But mainly her guilt and fear of what might happen caused her death when she thought she was seeing the grim reaper. Her fear led her to jump and lose her life, and it was foolish. Because of this maybe Scottie was able to get over his vertigo by realizing that being afraid of life only leads to death.

"Report back to me when it makes sense."

The Coen Bro's are known for their quirky characters, off the wall plot twists and over the top style, So that might be the very reason that they seem to be almost phoning it in with their latest effort Burn After Reading. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty to like about this film; mainly some hilarious dialogue and situations these idiotic characters throw themselves into.

Upon seeing the trailer for Burn After Reading, it's easy to think this is going to be a goofy comedy, but what struck me was the way the actors were playing their parts. With the exception of Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand it seems all the actors are playing this thing totally straight. Sure what they say or do might be totally off the wall, but they don't seem to realize it. This to me, is a strength of the film. Too often are we given comedic actors playing for laughs.

Burn After Reading's plot follows Osborne Cox(played with bitterness by John Malkovich) as he is demoted, and subsequently quits his job in the CIA. He begins writing a memoir about his working days, but when his wife, Katie(Tilda Swinton), is looking to file for divorce, she must gather his things and bring them to the divorce attorney to make sure she gets her share. Due to a secretaries mishap the disc with Osbourne's notes for the memoir ends up at Hardbodies Fitness Center, where Linda Litzke and Chad Feldheimer(Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt) work as fitness trainers. They find the CD and decide to bribe Osbourne to get some money so Linda can get some plastic surgery done. Somewhere in there Harry Pfarrer is sleeping with both Kaite and Linda(not at the same time).

The Film Doctor had an interesting theory on The Coen's ideology behind this film, and I think he is very much right. They seem to be satirizing American middle aged folk. They are body obsessed, money obsessed, self obsessed people who are easily amused and boring. Could they be satirizing themselves, their own films? It's hard to say. But just the thought of Linda and Chad taking the disc to the Russians is hilarious. The Coen's are either focusing on the fears of the new Russia and a new cold war, or on the stupidity of the characters to think that Russia is as big of a threat as they used to be.

In turn, Burn After Reading is very off balance. At once a character will be shot and killed, and it'll be cold blooded and messy, and then just minutes later we are expected to be laughing again. This can work, in fact it does in other Coen works like Fargo and No Country For Old Men, but here, where we are being sold a comedy with some drama, it feels they forgot how to mix the two as perfectly as they have in the past. It is a disappointment to say the least, but still a Superior film to a lot of what Hollywood has to offer.

I'm Going Back In Time...

Bring on Huey Lewis cause I'm going back to 1968 with Raymond Benson. I was invited to be a part of a series that Benson is doing over at Britannica where he is doing analysis' of his top ten films from forty years ago. I will be commenting on each of his posts with my own two cents. If you care to follow my comments or join along with the series just follow the link.

Hitchcock is coming up soon, along with Burn After Reading.

"Always make the audience suffer as much as possible."

I know you all have been anxiously awaiting this moment, but my Hitchcock marathon has finally arrived. I have a few comments about my study first though.

I have placed on the side the scheduled dates for each film's analysis. If they do not happen to appear on that date expect them a day later, and if that happens I will try and post two that day if another is due that exact day.

I was unable to get my hands on Notorious or Rebecca which makes me upset since those were the two I was most looking forward to seeing.

Notorious will be analyzed by a guest writer, TS from Screen Savour has agreed to do so, and it'll be in correlation with his own Hitchcock marathon he is doing in October. I'm glad I beat him to the punch. =)

I really recommend checking out his blog, he does great write ups of many classic films, and puts me to shame.

As for Rebecca if someone wants to send me an essay on that film, I will gladly post it, otherwise there will be no write up on it.

So starting this Sunday(the 21st) with Vertigo and going through to October 8th with my look at how I feel all of these films reflect parts of Hitchcock and why he is considered such a legend.

A review of Burn After Reading should be expected soon, as well as the marathon.

" And I Guess That's Your Accomplice in The Wood Chipper."

So a friend of mine was explaining to me how he is so disappointed, because every movie he was looking forward to seeing this year has now passed. I laughed, and said, "you have got to be kidding me? All the movies I wanted to see are just now about to start playing." He asked me which ones I wanted to see and my head grew blank. What did I want to see? Was I wrong and just thinking because its Oscar season that good films would be on the horizon.

I am glad to say that I have checked the facts and I was right, there are plenty of movies I am foaming at the mouth to see.
Burn After Reading/Coen Bros

I have been a Coen Brothers fan for quite some time now, but haven't enjoyed many of their films in the theatre. I was in awe when I saw No Country For Old Men in the theatre, and although this one looks more in the vain of Raising Arizona(which I love) I am extremely excited for it. Just look at Brad Pitt's hair. I would pay 10 bucks to see that hair. The trailer looks hilarious, and the Coen's always offer some nice surprises in their scripts.

Miracle At St. Anna/Spike Lee

I actually have seen very little of Spike Lee's films. This isn't to say I don't want to, just haven't gotten around to watching them. Do The Right Thing though, is one of the most emotional pieces of cinema I have watched and I am just a pudgy suburban pasty white dude. Anyways, I think this films plot seems really well integrated into the things Lee usually explores (race, culture) and real human based drama. The cast looks great as well, gotta love Joseph Gordon Levitt, Derek Luke, John Turturro, the list goes on...

Eagle Eye/DJ Caruso

I thought Disturbia was decent at best, but showed some glimpses of really good film making. The trailer for Eagle Eye shows more glimpses than the entirety of Disturbia. Caruso seems to want to follow Hitchcock's films pretty closely though, because I am sensing a lot of North By Northwest here, which isn't a bad thing as long as he does it right.
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist/Peter Sollett

This doesn't really look outstandingly good or oscar worthy at all, but it does look like a fun movie. I would see it for the sheer presence of Michael Cera, especially to catch a glimpse of him out of Apatow/Arrested Development camps. The trailer has a feel of a sweet romantic comedy, and good music.Religulous/Larry Charles

So Larry Charles directed Borat, which was good, but not scathing and biting as it was purported. He is now here with Bill Maher and they are sending up religion. As a Christian I really disagree with a lot of what is actually being said here, but I too am skeptical of religion and I found the trailer to be humorous, while also trying a little to hard. Just as in Borat it looks like Charles is out to shock rather than show truth and honesty. There were glimpses of truth and honest in Borat, and from the reviews so far it seems this one is much more honest and thought provoking.

W./Oliver Stone

So I am gonna drop another film cred bomb. I haven't watched many Oliver Stone films either. They always seem a little too political, but I have recently grown an interest in them, and while this one doesnt seem to be setting itself up for the classic status that many of his previous films have it does look like an interesting, and humorous leap into the enigma that is George W.
Synecdoche, New York/Charlie Kaufman

How could anyone not want to see Kaufman's directorial debut. It has anything you could ask for in a film; a Kaufman penned script, his directing, PS Hoffman, a friggin crazy plot and ALOT of imagination. This may be my MOST anticipated. Note the caps. =)

Zach and Miri Make A Porno/Kevin Smith

As a few of you may know, I am a pretty big Kevin Smith fan. I am no apologist though, I understand he isn't the most innovative or creative director in the biz. I have an affinity for his films because to me they resonate deeply. I can relate to every Kevin Smith film better than most any other film I have seen. I know that he isn't the most popular choice for a favorite director, and I wouldn't exactly call him mine, but I do love him quite a bit.

On a note related to the movie, the trailer didn't make me laugh as much as I would have thought, and I am hoping Smith does more character and relational humor than gross out humor. I am glad Elizabeth Banks is a part of this for she is a talented and underrated(until recently) actress that I admire, and of course mr. Rogen's involvement peaks interest since Smith rarely works with "outsiders" to the Viewaskewniverse. Yeah, I am a nerd.

The Soloist/Joe Wright

Do I really need to explain why I have a cinematic boner for this?

The Road/John Hillcoat

Cormac McCarthy is of course, now famous for No Country For Old Men, but his most popular book(even Oprah recommends it, which normally isn't a good sign.) The Road is now being adapted and from the plot synopsis, pictures and cast it looks/sounds like the saddest movie this side of Schindlers List, but I don't mind crying like a baby, which I probably will. Don't judge me. =)
Milk/Gus Van Sant

Go ahead and watch the trailer and then try and tell me you aren't interested. I get goosebumps from the trailer alone. Sean Penn looks amazing, as does James Franco, Josh Brolin and Emile Hirsch. Mr. Van Sant, where do I cash the check?The Brothers Bloom/Rian Johnson

If someone were to ask me who I thought this film and Rian Johnson's previous effort Brick were made by, I might think, at least for a second that those darn Coen's were at it again. Rian Johnson seems to be the brightest young director working today, and I couldn't be more excited to see this.The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button/David Fincher

Is it just me or is Fincher going home with some awards this year?

Other Notable films:
Frost/Nixon
Slumdog Millionare
City Of Ember
Role Models
Bolt
Body Of Lies
Changeling
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Revolutionary Road
Valkyrie
Righteous Kill
Appaloosa
Choke
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
Defiance
Doubt
Yes Man
The Spirit

I know a lot of those could go either way, but I am excited for them all in some way, shape or form.

Let me know what your list would be, and where I am wrong.

"Well, It's Comfortable to Just Drift Here."

The Graduate/Mike Nichols/1967

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The 1960’s were a time of change and growth for our nation. Not that I can speak first hand since I wouldn’t be alive for 20 more years but the youth made such an impact, they were the key to the 60’s being filled with change. With that being said all I can think is, are we really that different now? Or did the children of the 1960’s become exactly what they rebelled against?

In 1967 Mike Nichols made a film that would reflect that very frame of thought. The Graduate premiered and blew over audiences and critics alike and won Nichols a Best Director award at the Oscars that year. Why is this film so important? Why did this film strike such a chord, particularly with the youth? So much that it became part of the change of the 1960s? Could this film still be relevant to us today, or is it a time capsule stuck in the 60’s? Important films last. Important films stand on their own even when times change and new techniques are created to make films look better, they can still stand on their own.

The Graduate is a film that follows Benjamin Braddock (a young Dustin Hoffman in his feature film debut) just after he has graduated from college. He is confused about his future, but no one else seems to care. His family has thrown a huge graduation party for him, but he isn’t interested in attending. Ben has bigger things on his mind.

Mr. Braddock: What's the matter? The guests are all downstairs, Ben, waiting to see you

Ben: Look, Dad, could you explain to them that I have to be alone for a while?

Mr. Braddock: These are all our good friends, Ben. Most of them have known you since, well, practically since you were born. What is it, Ben?

Ben: I'm just...

Mr. Braddock: Worried?

Ben: Well…

Mr. Braddock: About what?

Ben: I guess about my future…

Mr. Braddock: What about it?

Ben: I don’t know…I want it to be…

Mr. Braddock: To be what?

Ben: (looks at his father)….Different.

Ben is drowning, searching for a sense of anything. He is an empty person. Many shots of him are through his fish tank or right in front of his fish tank, he is often in the pool “just drifting” as well. We can feel his sense of hopelessness and it is only further felt through the claustrophobic scenes at the party his parents are throwing him. We almost lose him in the shuffle of all the people at the party, as he is seemingly losing himself in his own life. He is then pulled aside for some advice.

Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word, just one word.

Ben: Yes sir

Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?

Ben: Yes, I am.

Mr. McGuire: Plastics

Here Ben is presented his options. He can go on and live life like his parents and their friends and be “plastic” or he can become a real human being and live his life however he wants to live it. Here I think Ben is obviously representing the youth. He is representing the lost, drowning, and hopelessness experienced by the youth of the 60’s and its becoming more evident that’s where we are headed today.
Just after receiving his advice Ben is seduced by Mrs. Robinson, which leads to an affair that goes on for months. This is what sparks Ben to move forward in any direction. While before he was being presented his options, now he is presented a solution, or at least he thinks.

When Mrs. Robinson comes into Ben’s room and their relationship begins she represents the “plastics” while he is slowly becoming one. He tries to find meaning in their relationship beyond the physical, beyond the fake, but when trying to talk Mrs. Robinson she becomes monosyllabic and anti-social. All he wants is a connection but the world of “plastic” life is devoid of any type of human connection. Through this he realizes he has become more lost and hopeless now.
Ben is losing track of time and space as everything just seems to blend together. Without a cut he can be seen swimming in a swimming pool at his house and walking through the kitchen where his mom is cooking, and going through a door and it becoming his hotel room with Mrs. Robinson. This use of the long take is often used just as a paragraph would be used; there is nothing to distinct these two worlds (his home with his parents and his hotel room with Mrs. Robinson) from one another. Whether he is at home or the hotel it doesn’t matter because neither of them are real, in the sense that humanity, feelings and depth are real. Neither of these two worlds hold any bearing with the reality that Ben so desperately wants.

Ben eventually discovers Mrs. Robinson attended art school. You wouldn’t have known it now from looking at her and how she lacks any kind of humanity or ability to think for herself that she could even enjoy something that can transcend the fake. Through her we see exactly what Ben will become if he doesn’t do something, anything at all.

On the other hand Elaine is a symbol of hope. She is the catalyst for Bens change, but he is afraid of hope at first, it is a scary thing, especially when you are beginning to be wrapped up in “plastics” as he was. He tries to scare her away, but when he sees compassion in her tears and sadness, he sees someone who can actually feel something. He sees someone who isn’t numb to the world and its surroundings. It’s not long before he falls in love with Elaine because he has finally found someone he can connect with, something he tried to do with Mrs. Robinson but just couldn’t. He finds through Elaine hope that he can grow in a better direction and not become a “plastic."

This could be where Ben’s story ends if he hadn’t already gotten wrapped up in “plastics.” When Mrs. Robinson threatens him, she will stop at nothing to keep her daughter from marrying Ben. Mrs. Robinson gets a hopeful feeling through Elaine as well and loves her daughter and doesn’t want her with Ben because she views him as weak willed. He has doubts about the kind of life he wants to live and the type of man he wants to be, therefore Elaine is too good for him. She will go to great lengths to keep her from being with Ben, even practically setting up a wedding with someone she barely knows just to keep Ben out of her life. This is the older generation fighting back. They see hope in someone’s eyes and they want to kill it. The world isn’t made for hope but for a let down. She wants her to marry Carl over Ben because Carl already is a “plastic.”

Throughout the film, all the adults are referred to as Mr. or Mrs. While the younger people are referred to by their first name only. This is also a representation of the huge gap felt between these two groups. Neither are willing to come together in anyway and the “plastics” aren’t going to be “disrespected.” This is a theory or perhaps Ben respects them all, and only refers to them as such for this very reason. Even though he doesn’t always treat them with respect there is always the sneaking feeling that he is bound to become just as they are.

Ben then boasts to his parents “I’m going to marry Elaine Robinson.” They show great excitement for this decision until finding out she doesn’t even know, and probably doesn’t even like him. Mr. Braddock tells Ben his idea is “half baked” but Ben assures him it is “fully baked.” Mr. Braddock has no faith in the situation. He has no hope that things could turn out good for Ben. What is the harm of him moving to Berkeley and trying to get her to marry him anyway? This is instinctively always their thought, if it is not for sure than it is not fully baked, but Ben believes in hope, following his heart and not taking no for an answer.

His confronting of Elaine is him confronting his dreams. He tells her they should get married, but why does he want this so quickly, why marriage? Maybe because he doesn’t want to lose her or maybe because he is ready to settle down with her and become a “plastic” himself.

When Ben finds out Elaine’s parents had set up for her to marry Carl Smith, he will stop at nothing to stop the wedding. He drives to Berkeley first to find out the wedding is in Santa Barbara, while getting there he runs into the church and goes to the 2^nd floor and looks down and sees the wedding. He begins banging on the glass he has always been stuck behind. As stated earlier when Ben is always seen through his fish tank or in the phone booth he can see the outer world but cannot become it because he is trapped behind the glass. All the while yelling “Elaine! Elaine! Elaine!” desperately hoping she will listen. When she runs to him he fights off everyone with a cross he grabbed from the wall and he and Elaine run out the door, locking the door behind them with the cross. Closing the “plastics” in and leaving tradition behind. The cross locking them in is showing their traditions are limiting them and holding them back, he isn’t so much banishing them as he is just leaving them to what they already know while he and Elaine have bucked tradition and are able to run freely.

In the final scene when Ben and Elaine sit in the back of the crowded bus, they are really alone, but together. They smile fervently excited for what they had done, only to grow into a blank stare later. The doubts begin flying through their heads, but they never look back, what’s done is done and even if it wasn’t the best way to do things, they finally did something with their lives and finally followed their hearts for wants rather than becoming “plastics” as their families and friends are.

Through this we get mixed feelings. Hopeful but still hopeless would be the best way to describe it. They fought for a change in their lives, as did the youth of the 60’s, but ultimately it seems that although they escaped lives as “plastics” in their youth, there is no fighting what’s coming to you.