A faded Southern belle arrives at her sister's cramped New Orleans apartment. There, the brutal truth of her situation (financial ruin, a history of desperate behavior and the hostility of her brother-in-law) destroys the illusions she lives inside, one after another. I feel like it is the greatest American film about self-deception.
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1951 drama film directed by Elia Kazan. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (1 narrative, 2 cinematography and 1 psychology), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, The Father uses several of the same techniques.
Telling the story through a character you can't trust, because they are lying, mentally unwell or fooling themselves. At some point, you have to rethink what you were told.
How this film uses it
Blanche DuBois tells her own story in the film, and she is also its least reliable witness. She presents herself as a refined Southern lady fallen on hard times. She has built that version of herself and lives in it so completely that you have to work to separate what she says from what really happened. Kazan and Vivien Leigh give you a woman whose self-deception is her tragedy and also the only way she survives.
Where to see it
Blanche's account of Belle Reve's loss. You can tell her story is unreliable from the gap between what she says and what Stanley has already found out.
Shrinking the space the characters have as the film goes on, from open places down to cramped hiding spots. The smaller their world gets, the more pressure you feel.
How this film uses it
Harry Stradling shot the film in black and white, and the Kowalski apartment set was designed to look gradually smaller as the story went on. As Blanche's situation gets worse, the space feels more oppressive, with the walls seeming to close in. Through the way it is built and shot, the space itself turns into the trap Blanche can't escape.
Where to see it
The late-night confrontation sequences. The apartment's walls press in and the framing tightens. Blanche's mental space and physical space shrink together.
Pairing the main character with a second character who mirrors them. The double shows what the hero wants, fears or secretly is.
How this film uses it
Blanche and Stanley are opponents who mirror each other. She acts refined to deny reality. He acts brutal to enforce it. Each is threatened by the other just existing. Blanche's gentility exposes Stanley's crudeness, and Stanley's reality exposes Blanche's lies. Their conflict is about existence itself, 2 versions of how to live that can't both stand.
Where to see it
The poker night confrontation. The 2 worldviews openly collide for the first time. The violence of the clash shows you how they double each other.
Holding a close-up on an actor's face long enough to catch tiny changes in expression. You read what the character is thinking from details a wider shot would miss.
How this film uses it
Vivien Leigh pitches her performance for how close the camera gets. You see the slight tremor in her hands, the eyes that act calm and show terror at the same time, the smile that costs her more than it gets her. Kazan uses close-ups at the moments of greatest psychological stress. He trusts Leigh's face to do what dialogue and staging can't.
Where to see it
Blanche's final breakdown. The close-ups catch the collapse of the act she has been keeping up. Her face shows what the character can't admit.
Questions
A Streetcar Named Desire: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does A Streetcar Named Desire use?
CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951): Unreliable Narrator, Spatial Contraction, Psychological Doubling and Deliberate Close-Up Performance.
Who directed A Streetcar Named Desire?
Elia Kazan directed A Streetcar Named Desire, released in 1951. CineCode also covers On the Waterfront (1954), East of Eden (1955), Splendor in the Grass (1961).
What films are similar to A Streetcar Named Desire?
Films that share techniques with A Streetcar Named Desire include The Father (2020), Amadeus (1984), Rebecca (1940), Gone Girl (2014).
