Overall, the movie was pretty good, I can’t say that it is my favorite or the best I’ve seen but it wasn’t bad. The colors in the movie were certainly a point that they went through great pains to stress. Three-color groupings that I focused on throughout the movie were the plain yellows, purple and natural autumn colors.
Maybe I’m wrong in thinking this, but whenever the (non- nature oriented) bright yellows were used in a scene, it seemed to be a symbol of that which is domestic. For example, the curtains, the tablecloth and the maids dress were all yellow. Honestly this could have meant nothing, but in the beginning of the movie there is a scene where Cathy is standing outside her house with a group of her friends and the most eye-catching part of the house at that point was the bright yellow curtains, which to me began to represent the house and home, especially when it was reinforced by the maid always wearing yellow.
The natural autumn colors; more than anything these colors and even nature itself seemed to represent the gardener Raymond. Whenever we saw him (even outside of work) he seemed to be surrounded and he always wearing these colors. The meaning of this use of color seemed to place an emphasis on the autumn season, and not just this particular season, but on the idea of how all seasons bring change. Raymond ended up representing a time of change in Cathy’s life. His arrival lined up with the beginning of Cathy’s problems even if they were not necessarily the cause of it all. So with this in mind its not a surprise that Raymond left in the end, because everything he was portrayed as in the movie was seasonal and like seasons end so did his part in her life. This is especially emphasized by the ending shot of the movie where Cathy is seen driving away from the train station and as she drives away the camera focuses on a blossoming flower, which shows the beginning of a new season, Spring. Spring, a time of rebirth, represents Cathy’s having to start her life anew.
Purple, final color that I focused on in the movie was the use of the color purple. Its use was rare in the movie, and the only time I noticed it being used was when it tied into the relationship between Raymond and Cathy. It symbolized the budding romance between Cathy and Raymond, which is why at the end when she grabs her scarf the viewer understands that she is going to see Raymond.
Yellow is a color that is sometimes used to represent domesticity; also innocence or youth. Yellow has many meanings based on what type of yellow is used and the context.
ReplyDeleteIn this film, purple functiosn both ad a signifier for homosexuality, and also as a frequent reference to the romance between Cathy and Raymond, as you point out. Haynes introduces us to this when Cathy's silk scarf sails into the trees and Raymond finds it and gives it back to her (He says "It was the color; it just seemed right." This may be Haynes' commentary to us, too, asking us to recognize this color as the color of this relationship.) As well, purple or lavender shows up in some contexts to refer to Frank's actions as he moves closer to deciding he wants to live as a gay man. It's interesting that Haynes uses the color for both; in a way it is Frank's behavior that allows Cathy to consider the possibility of loving another man.