Psycho Analysis

Psycho Analysis

I am going to analyse one of films’ most famous scenes; the shower scene from the film Psycho, directed by Gus Van Sant.

 

 

In the first shot I am going to analyse the main protagonist is showering after a stressful day, signifying that she wants to wash all her worries and problems away. As she is doing this, the audience can see a black shadow behind her through the shower curtain, this immediately puts the audience on high alert as she is blissfully unaware to the oncoming danger she could face. This is an over the shoulder shot, which defies convention as it’s taken over her shoulder as she faces us, opposite to the usual technique. This shot is used to show the woman showering, and facing away from the danger, and to also let the audience know that there’s someone in the background. The scene is well lit from above so the audience can clearly see the shadow in the background as well as the woman showering.

Straight after that shot the audience is shocked by seeing the attacker wielding a knife, this is a stark contrast to the previous shot as it was calm and normal with little danger and now there is profound peril which is signified by the loudening music which effectively builds tension. The light is very cleverly lit as it is shone straight in front of the attackers face so we do not know their identity which leaves the audience wondering who is doing this; creating mystery, this follows the conventions of a typical thriller. This is a close up shot which follows the rule of thirds to concentrate attention on the knife. This is quite a simplistic shot as there is just the attacker and a prop in a shot with nothing else to divert the audience’s attention.

 

In this next shot the audience can see the protagonist being attacked by the attacker wielding the knife into her. This is an overhead view shot used to show the sheer power of the attacker and the victim trying to fight her off, but this is in vain. In this shot we can see that the victim has red nail polish on, this could signify death as red is widely associated with warning and death. We are still prevented from knowing the identity of the attacker as this time a pole is in our way, this is a clever ploy from the director to add to the mystery and to build tension. At this point the music is also at its loudest with violins violently playing to make it uncomfortable for the audience.

In this next shot the audience can see the attacker calmly fleeing after committing the murder, this shows that she is a calm and calculated killer who has probably done this before. Once again there is something blocking the audience’s view of the killer, with the shower providing a distorted view of her, keeping the audience guessing as to who the culprit is. This is a medium shot as we can see the upper part of her body, but this ignores traditional conventions as we can see the back of her, not the front. As she is fleeing the music calms and the editing is less sudden with the shots no longer quickly flicking from one to another, this gives the audience a chance to reflect on the events which just unfolded.

 

In this final shot I am going to analyse, the audience can see the life draining out of her as the camera zooms out and rotates away from her to provide the audience with a scope and perspective of what has just happened. This also gives the audience some realism as they can now reflect and determine that she was a real woman with a life which was wrongly taken from her. The room, as always, is well lit with her and the room’s features easily recognisable. The music is also returning to normality, as it was at the start of the scene, with it becoming quieter and less chaotic.