Bigger than Life is a film that was directed by Nicholas Ray in 1956. It is a critique of social constructs in American society masked as a film about the dangers of drug addiction. Through Ray’s brilliant usage of mise-en-scène and drastic, low-key lighting, he manages to break down the idea of the existence of a perfect, American nuclear family and brings to light the nonexistence of class equality. The film revolves around a father and a schoolteacher, Ed Avery, who is diagnosed with a terminal illness. His only hope, according to his doctors, is to take a new, experimental medication: cortisone. However, it has adverse side-effects. He eventually begins to misuse his prescription, leading to severe mood swings, spouts of depression, and
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The high contrast and deep shadows add to the uncomfortable and cramped feeling of Ed’s house, perhaps hinting at the inner discontentment the family has in relation to its class and social standing. The lighting adds interesting shadows to the film, which create the perfect, uncomfortable ambiance for it and also allow us to extrapolate the director’s underlying messages. In the scene when Ed pressures his son, forcing him to skip dinner until he answers a math problem correctly, there is a moment when Lou walks in worriedly. The room is barely lit. Ed and her stand behind the couch where their son is sitting. Their shadows are cast on the door behind them. Here, Ed’s shadow is largely distorted and is so inexplicably immense in size that it towers over his wife’s which is insignificant in comparison. This portrays the failures of a nuclear family and pressures of the society in relation to gender constructs and power dynamics. Ed holds all the power over his wife and child. The distortion of the shadow highlights the tyrannical force that Ed has been shown to become, or has always subtly been. There is a clear motif of shadows throughout the film. When Ed is shown to feel a pang of pain at the cab company early on in the film, he is shown to have a double shadow, reminiscent of the double life he hides from society in order to maintain the image of belonging to a higher
The high contrast and deep shadows add to the uncomfortable and cramped feeling of Ed’s house, perhaps hinting at the inner discontentment the family has in relation to its class and social standing. The lighting adds interesting shadows to the film, which create the perfect, uncomfortable ambiance for it and also allow us to extrapolate the director’s underlying messages. In the scene when Ed pressures his son, forcing him to skip dinner until he answers a math problem correctly, there is a moment when Lou walks in worriedly. The room is barely lit. Ed and her stand behind the couch where their son is sitting. Their shadows are cast on the door behind them. Here, Ed’s shadow is largely distorted and is so inexplicably immense in size that it towers over his wife’s which is insignificant in comparison. This portrays the failures of a nuclear family and pressures of the society in relation to gender constructs and power dynamics. Ed holds all the power over his wife and child. The distortion of the shadow highlights the tyrannical force that Ed has been shown to become, or has always subtly been. There is a clear motif of shadows throughout the film. When Ed is shown to feel a pang of pain at the cab company early on in the film, he is shown to have a double shadow, reminiscent of the double life he hides from society in order to maintain the image of belonging to a higher