Still Frame Analysis

This picture vividly shows Jim’s broken family. Jim is placed directly in the middle of his two parents. This signifies how Jim is torn between his parents emotionally. Jim wants to side with his dad since his dad is constantly nice towards him and tries to be his friend but, on the other hand he doesn’t show him how to be a man and always gives Jim very vague answers towards his questions. Jim’s mother is looking towards Jim to try and have him side with her during this argument. Jim doesn’t want to side with his mom since she is nothing but mean towards his dad the whole time. This creates an emotional struggle within Jim he wants to side with his dad more since his dad is more of a friend to him but his dad never stands up for him or teaches him how to be a man. He doesn’t want to side with his mom but slightly does because she is a powerful figure in his life and does what he dad couldn’t. The director mirrors the power dynamic in Jim’s family by how he places the characters on set. The mom is shot at a low angle, in film this is used to give a character power. The mom being filmed at a low angle mimics her power in the family. The dad is sitting down, in film when you shoot at a high angle it makes a character seem small and weak. This mimics the dads weakness in the family’s power. The way the characters are positioned mirrors the family’s power dynamic.