Mise en scene with James and Sally in Jefferson in Paris

By Emre Turan

“Who are all these brat niggers runnin’ around my house? That don’t look good. You go sell ‘em someplace else.”

[1] These are words of James that most grab the audience in the emotional scene with Sally near the end of Jefferson in Paris. They are so well portrayed that they tell the audience clearly how disappointing Sally’s future may be with Jefferson’s child. Now, imagine reading those words from a book. They would be plain and ordinary. Staging, facial expressions, lighting, costumes, make up, and sound are what makes that sentence attention-grabbing and emotionally effective. The technical term for the combination of all of those elements of filming is mise en scene. In this scene, scenario, staging, lighting, make up, sound, and camera movements are the most important features making the scene one of the most important scenes of the movie.

[2] The scenario is the most important element of filming. Without a strong scenario, the movie would be monotonous and boring no matter how good it is shot. The scenario of this scene is very powerful. Two ordinary slaves, James and Sally, talk about their future. They discuss what’s waiting them in the future and what they should do in order to live a better life. Sally announces her baby from Thomas Jefferson. James for the first time in his life thinks about freedom and wants to stay in Paris. We see how childish Sally is from her view of world. She looks at the world like Pollyanna. On the other hand, James is aware of the harsh realities. That’s why he comes up with an idea of freedom. Realities about slavery are put before the audience without censorship. The scene is shot from the slaves’ point of view, which makes it even more distinct. However, what truly makes the scene shocking and powerful are the other filming elements that are used throughout the scene in various ways.

[3] The staging of the scene in this movie Jefferson in Paris is designed intentionally to represent Sally as a young innocent girl and James as an aware, cunning man. Sally is generally in the background and does not have a great significance in the scene. However, James is staged right in front of the camera throughout whole scene. Sally is portrayed as a girl who does not know anything about the real world. The staging supports this idea. In the shot in which James is trying to tell Sally what is going to happen if her child is born, both of them can be seen on the screen. However, James is slightly closer to the camera, and he takes up more space than Sally on the screen, which represents superiority over Sally. He is shown as stronger and more knowledgeable than Sally, not just with what he says and his staging but also with his movements. When we look at their movements on stage, we see that James is moving around the room whereas Sally is standing in the same spot for the whole scene. Since James is proposing to stay in Paris, he is more aware of the realities of the world and of the situation. Therefore, he is moving all around the room. This gives the impression of power and domination over Sally. Other than staging, lighting is another more powerful element that transfers the feeling to the audience.

[4] Even though lighting is not the most significant in this scene, it is used to help the audience to feel the situation, not just see it. James‘s mood is changing all throughout the scene. At first, while they are just talking about getting money from their master, James is in a relaxed mood. The lighting on him does not differ from the lighting on Sally. However, as the tension rises while they are talking about Sally’s probable future if she brings Jefferson’s child into the world, the lighting changes. The light on James starts to get darker and darker during the conversation, and Sally becomes whiter (or more lit). This alteration in the lighting is in accordance with the mood and done in order that the audience can feel how worried James is about Sally’s future if she returns to Monticello and gives a birth to her “half nigger” children. Sally is represented as a very innocent girl. The lighting shows her as a white and pale girl. This makes the audience feel closer to Sally and feel sorry for her. On the other side, James is very angry during this conversation. Therefore, his face is generally in the dark, and we cannot see his face fully. This adds to the mystery of James’s plans and the innocence of Sally. After that fierce conversation, we are left with only James in front of the window, where his face is fully lit, predicting a change in the mood. They are equalized in the dialog after that shot. James then proposes that very frankly Sally stay in Paris. That’s why they are both under high-key lighting. The whole scene is full of different lighting methods, which intensifies a fluctuation in the mood.

[5] Sound plays a big role in transferring the emotions of the actors and actresses to the audience. Make up and facial expressions enhance this effect even more. The effect of make up on Sally’s face is very strong, she is made even whiter, representing her purity and childish innocence. When focusing on the facial expressions, we see how angry and annoyed James is. When James has learned about the pregnancy, his facial expressions get even sharper. In every shot, his facial expressions give the feeling of anger and desperateness. On the other hand, Sally’s eyes are glittering because she is expecting her master’s baby. Her face is very round with happiness because of her child, and she is always smiling, representing her childishness. Sound is the most important element in the list of make up, costume, and expressions. While your eyes focus on a lot of things, your ear focuses on only one thing: sound. Sound is as important as all the other elements together. When Sally reveals the shocking reality, the importance of the news is understood clearly through an increase in voice level. We can also distinguish this during the transition from the previous scene to this one. Patsy and Jefferson talk to each other very quietly in a peaceful way, while Sally and James talk to each other very loudly, fighting, always trying to convince each other of something.

[6] Lastly, camera movements are what make the movie itself. If all the scenes were shot with an identical camera angle and without any movement, watching a film would be boring, and the audience would not be able to feel part of the movie. The only place in which the camera movements are very important in understanding the point made in the scene is at the end of the scene. At the end, when James is trying to tell Sally that they are also humans and have to have freedom, the camera shows the two one by one. This actually adds to the sincerity of the dialog. All the shots are close-ups to make the audience feel the moment. Also, the camera goes back and forth between Sally and James in order to emphasize the importance of being free in their lives. This change of the camera location from far shot to close-up changes the mood dramatically: we feel very intimate and sorry for both James and Sally.

[7] Movies are a combination of many elements, each of which covers another missing part. When they are all used efficiently, movies are perfect for giving an exact feeling to the audience. Just take a look at freeze frame 2:07:19 in Jefferson in Paris. Focus on the look of Sally, James’s hand, the lighting, the camera angle, the focus of the camera itself, and the make-up. Imagine how many words it would take to tell this moment to the reader in a book. Therefore, this scene is very successful in using mise en scene to transfer the feeling to the audience. We feel like Sally and James. We are not ourselves anymore but them, and this is the success of the scene.