These are the major themes and character types in Melodrama:

1. The ‘intruder-redeemer’ figure
2. The search for the ideal husband/father figure/lover by anxious children
3. The ambiguous function of marriage as both sexually liberating and also socially restricting
4. The household as the centre of social interaction, the household is often a middle class household

Other elements that are present in Melodramas include:

• Victimised heors
• Conflict between the generations, it is not always the young who rebel
• Superficial plots
• Hidden social criticism

A key part of your answer should be how the micro features used in a film can express the films wider messages and values. A key micro element in Melodrama is the mise-en-scene which is often loaded with significance. As mentioned above the centre of action in a Melodrama is often a middle class home which is filled with objects and decor that rather than liberate the characters it traps them. This is the case in both All That Heaven Allows and Far From Heaven where the central protagonist is trapped in a home that superficially seems to have the trappings of an aspirational society. This use of mise-en-scene contrasts with the characters state of mind which we discover through the use of mirrors and other framing devices which suggest both confinement and isolation in lonely worlds, this is the case when we see Cary’s face reflected in the TV bought by her son to keep her company as opposed to the company of the man she loves, Ron.

The use of colour is also central to All That Heaven Allows and Far From Heaven, in the former Cary wears a red dress which is considered by other women at the Country Club to be sexually aggressive. It is also used to help define both Ron and Raymond as men who are comfortable with nature as they are dressed in earthy colours that contrast to the grey colours of the suits worn by other men in the film.

Posted in FM2 US Film