I was thinking, after I did the last post about ants as a theme, that I hadn’t seen anyone do a theme in a film for a long time. Themes are little motifs that you spot in a film that add another layer of meaning to the images. They can be simplistic or complicated, expressionistic or more abstract or even cryptic. Hitchcock was the old pro with complex visual themes, and even simplistic ones.
But when was the last time you saw one in a film? I honestly don’t remember seeing one since they late 90′s. I’m sure I’m missing some films, but even if I am, have filmmakers just abandoned this simple technique? Has it gone out of style? Ridley Scott used to use themes – think of eyes in Blade Runner, or (not as successfully) the water theme in Thelma and Louise – but I don’t think he uses them as much as he did. I guess Batman had its bats, but Batman without bats would be missing something.
Themes can be awfully simplistic and expressionistic. I still remember in WOLF, a horrible wolfman film, Mike Nichols kept Jack Nickolson all caged up, literally.
Themes might not always be what you want to use, but you want to think about these things, deeply. The ants in Maid’s Room aren’t the most complex idea, but they are only part of a larger scheme of images I’m planning, which have to do with a natural world order outside a house, and the civilized, artificial world inside a house and the tension between the two. There’s ants, but there’s also air conditioning and landscaping and a lot of windows and gates. This isn’t just a filmic gimmick. It’s how I’m creating a world and atmosphere for the film, and filling it with what I’m trying to say about what’s going on in the story.
So why are themes so uncommon these days? Is it just the handheld, verity style that’s become so common? Is it the simplistic visual style of films? Or is it just a trend? It’s curious.
