Analysis of the mise-en-scene in Pathology

Name of film: Pathology
Genre: Crime/Thriller/Horror
Director: Marc Schoelermann
Date of film release: 11th April 2008
Country where made: USA






Here is a table taken from imdb.com (on 29th March) to show how audiences have rated this film. It is clear from this table that females under 18 rate this higher than any other group but only 83 of this group voted which means this may not be reliable.






The print screens below have enhanced brightness to see what is going on much more clearly.

Location

The image shows that the location seems very dark and dreary, cold and unpleasant. The characters are in a small room with hardly any light and cold tile flooring and all of these add up to give an unglamorous location and a claustrophobic atmosphere. This is deliberate to maintain the generic signifier of a thriller film and to make the audience see and sense the atmosphere with all senses. The location in the film is actually a place where bodies are cut up and investigated, which relates to the name of the film 'Pathology'. This increases the disgusting atmosphere that they are in and the audience can then relate using all senses such as the smell of a dead body or blood. The fact that dead bodies have been there and there are dead bodies in the scene at the time also could suggest a feeling of a haunted atmosphere.

Costume

It is difficult to see clearly what the characters are wearing in the mise-en-scene but it is everyday clothes to give the sense of realism. One of them has no t-shirt on which could raise questions as to why.

Props

No props are being used at this point to show the importance of the conversation between the two characters.

Lighting

The mise-en-scene is very dark at this moment and there are minimal lights available. The light that is shining is a mix between natural and electrical light. The fact there is hardly any natural lighting shows that they are hidden from the world and are in secret. As if they're criminals. The lighting of natural and unnatural could relate to the characters by having a natural, truthful character and having a fake, nasty character. As overall lighting is dark, the sense of night time is given and also dooming light. The lights and windows seem to be pointing towards the character with his back to the camera. It is as if spot lights are upon him and he has been uncovered to the world whereas the other character is in darkness as if he hasn't been uncovered yet.