Psychology technique · used in 2 films
Having a character talk to their own reflection, often rehearsing a fight with an imaginary enemy. The scene puts their inner conflict or identity crisis out where you can see it.
Examples
Martin Scorsese · 1976
In 'You talkin' to me?', Travis is acting out the gunfighter he plans to become, playing both the threat and the hero. The mirror cannot answer, and that is the point. Travis is building a self that nobody else confirms. All he has is the reflection, which shows him whatever he demands.
Where to see it: Travis in front of the mirror in his apartment. He draws the gun and points it at his own reflection.
Alejandro González Iñárritu · 2014
Riggan talks with his Birdman voice, which you hear and the other characters don't. These conversations work like scenes of a man confronting himself in a mirror. The superhero persona is the crowd-pleasing self he is trying to escape.
Where to see it: Riggan in his dressing room. Birdman's voice pushes him toward spectacle and away from the literary ambition that threatens to expose him.
Questions
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