Psychology technique · used in 2 films
Making a place built for protection become the thing that confines the hero. The refuge shrinks into a cage, and safety and imprisonment start to feel the same.
Examples
Todd Haynes · 1995
Her house, then the retreat, then an insulated dome each begin as protection. Each one becomes smaller than the last. At the end, her treatment is to look into a mirror and say "I love you" to herself.
Where to see it: The dome. Carol moves into an insulated dome apart from the community and speaks to her reflection in the mirror.
David Fincher · 2002
The panic room keeps Meg and Sarah alive, but it also holds them in, and the bonds are locked in a safe inside it. The intruders want the room as much as the people. You feel the refuge shrinking into a cage.
Where to see it: The lockdown. Meg and Sarah shut themselves in the panic room while the burglars search the house for the bonds.
Questions