Freeze Frame

The Great Gatsby Synopsis

Midwest native Nick Carraway arrives in 1922 New York, he is in search of the American dream. Nick moves next door to millionaire Gatsby and across the bay from his sweet cousin Daisy and her manipulative husband Tom. Therefore, Nick becomes drawn into the world of wealth and as he witnesses their illusions and deceit this film leads a tale of impossible love, dreams and great tragedy.

In the frozen photograph you can see both Gatsby and Daisy, Daisy of whom looks very lustful towards Gatsby as she is resting her fragile hands among her lips. Gatsby is positioned on the left in the frame, however he is not in focus. I believe the photographer has done this purposely because it shows that she is constantly on his mind, whether he likes that or not. Throughout the film the colour is very saturated this is usually done to show age to the film and they do this with camera effects and the colours that characters dress in. The distance between both Gatsby and Daisy shows they are now intimate and have been so before, Gatsby is longing over her as he is not focused. This is an over the shoulder shot which also shows he is watching her, gazing almost in this scene. I believe the shot is composed over the shoulder and with Jay Gatsby not focused because he has loved her all his life and all he wants is her back, throughout the film you can see all he does is try and win her over. If the shot were not composed from this angle I believe it would not be as capturing towards the audience. By the mise-en-scene of both characters in this freeze frame you can see both are wealthy, however both are not happy. The jewelry and elegant dress shows that she is a modest woman and is quite infatuated towards Gatsby. Lastly, the focus of the scene would be Daisy as she is in focus and so we can tell she is either about to start dialogue or there is meaning behind her smile.