Psychology technique · used in 4 films
Letting a character's past damage change what they see or feel in the present. Symptoms and visions act as metaphors for what happened.
Examples
Peter Jackson · 1996
Frank's crash and his wife's death are what let him see the dead. His gift marks him as odd, and others suspect him of murder. You never see it as a prize, because it grew out of his loss.
Where to see it: Frank's accident: After a drunken car crash, his wife Debra is found dead, and Frank soon finds he can see and speak with ghosts.
Woody Allen · 2002
Val goes blind right before production starts, when the pressure of the job is highest. When he wins back Ellie and reconnects with his son, he regains his sight. You can read the blindness as his fear of failing made physical.
Where to see it: Just before shooting. Val is struck blind as the big film is about to begin, with no medical reason.
M. Night Shyamalan · 2017
Casey's past abuse is shown in flashbacks that cut into the kidnapping. It explains why she stays calm, and it changes the meaning of the ending when the Beast spares her.
Where to see it: Scars: The Beast sees Casey's self-harm scars, calls her pure because she has suffered, and lets her live.
Lee Isaac Chung · 2024
Years later, Kate still sees storms through that day. When she sets up a scanner, she freezes in a panic attack and drives away. The film uses her flinch to show how fear changes what she sees in a sky.
Where to see it: The first scanner setup in Oklahoma. Kate has a panic attack and leaves.
Questions