The Vow: Characters

In this scene we are primarily introduced to 2 characters, one male and the other female (man and wife).There is a variety of different shots introducing us to the female character. I chose to look at the close up, deep focus shot of the woman (shown on the right) because it gives the audience a better view of the character in the way of costume, make-up etc. In this shot we see that the woman is wearing a lot of makeup, showing she has a value on looking good. What's more her hair has been presented to look neat and composed, an element that helps to establish the value on looking good. The fact that she has been presented in this way shows that she already subscribes to the feminine archetype. The fact that the woman in the shot is wearing a red coat suggests she is cold, supported by the snow outside, deepening our reading that the film is based in winter. The colour of the coat itself is vivid and powerful, having connotations of danger and yet also seduction. Her outlook is clean and respectable establishing that she is from a respectable middle class background.

To the right is a close up shot in deep focus of the husband. It's interesting in noting that when the characters are interacting with one another (shot-reverse-shot) the face or each character is left out of focus as the other character speaks which provides the reading that this couple have a strong relationship  (deduced by the fact they are always in each others's shot). In relation to the appearance of the man in the shot, this man's costume constitutes of many layers including a hat, scarf and brown coat. Compared to his wife the man wears very dark colours which may be more associated with the fact that he is a man. This shows that there is some reliance on the male stereotype within the film. The man doesn't appear to be dirty but clean. What's more, he doesn't wear clothing that looks very expensive neither. This establishes that the man is fairly wealthy, most likely to belong to the middle class as with his wife.

In addition to these two characters we are introduced to several other people, some of which can be assumed to be friends because of the way in which they run up in worry towards the hospital unit. Like the two main characters already established, these characters also seem to come from the same background for the 'average' middle class. However these characters don't seem to rely on the stereotype as heavily as the couple. Along with this group of people we are introduced to the doctors and nurses. To the right is a long shot showing medical staff gathered around two patients which we understand to be the husband and wife. This instantly establishes that the scene now takes place in a hospital. Instantly we can distinguish the doctors/nurses in blue as well as the surgeons/doctors in white lab coats. This establishes that the accident was very serious, providing the reading that the injuries sustained in the accident will form the plot for the film.