Analysis of sound and body codes in 'The Green Mile' 1999

Analysis of sound and body codes from a scene in ‘The Green Mile’ (1999)
I have chosen to analyse scene 30 in ‘The Green Mile’ directed by Frank Darabont in which a character named Eduard Delacroix is executed in the electric chair after being on death row. This is a very famous scene from this film, which isn’t surprising, considering the remarkable use of sound, and the way the director has worked on body codes such as appearance, facial expressions, eye contact etc, not just in this scene, but throughout the entirety of the movie.
The scene begins with incidental music; this music is sort of fast paced with a dramatic effect. This music is played to set the scene for the spectator, as well as it complimenting the build up to the drama that follows. It is only us as spectators that can hear this incidental music, for the characters, it would be a silent room, therefore, this incidental music will be non-diegetic sound. This music is repeated quite often throughout the scene, with the tempo increasing as the scene becomes more dramatic and intensified; for example, when Eduard Delacroix is crying with pain during the electrocution later on in the scene. I have also noticed that the director has used some aspects of ambient sound; these are everyday sounds that both the characters and spectators can hear. The sound of thunder is a prime example of ambient sound in this scene. Not only can it portray a dull, dark and grim atmosphere, but it may also connotate that whenever a ‘bad’ thing happens within this scene, the sound is played; this could have been purposely edited like this or a complete coincidence. The director may also have added a lot of this particular sound to the scene to make a play on the phrase ‘calm before the storm’. This implies to the viewer that there is trouble brewing somewhere, so the excitement and intensity of the scene is built up even more. Darabont also uses ambient sound when the clock is ticking, literally seconds before Delacroix’s death, a sort of countdown if you like, this is a connotation that ‘time is running out’ for Delacroix. Even though the spectator knows what is about to come, anxiety is still present within them which is maintained due to the perfectly normal noise coming from the clock. Non-diegetic sound is played when the electricity is switched on and begins running through Delacroix’s body and continues to play until the moment he dies. The scene constantly switches from the execution room, to the prison cells, backwards and forwards. During the small parts where the cells are featured, the frequency of the sound becomes very loud; prisoners can hear the commotion as well as creating noise themselves. We hear screaming, crying and shouting from the prisoners, as well as more ambient sound such as the thunder, lights smashing and the prison bars rattling from side to side. Most of the incidental music throughout this scene, the characters cannot hear, and it is for the purpose of the spectators only; one of the few sounds that the characters can actually hear is the dialogue throughout the scene. Darabont used all of the above sounds with the aim to help spectators feel part of the movie; they cannot help but be dragged into the story one way or another, however, sounds are not the only main focus for this film. As Darabont shows superbly in this particular scene, body codes also have a huge impact on the spectators and the way they respond to certain characters and the overall movie.
Body codes are aspects of mise en scene; they involve paralinguistic codes, facial expressions, eye contact, body posture etc and play an important part in any movie. If you notice at the start of the scene, all of the characters have a very distant proxemic, with them being scattered around the front of the room. There is a very obvious divide between certain characters and the roles that they play; this makes it a lot easier for the spectators to grasp who has more authority etc, and be able to distinguish who is who, for example, the appearance of the prison guards is very different to that of the prisoners. The prison guards were smartly dressed in suits, with appropriate equipment for a stereotypical prison guard from the 1930’s (the era that this film is set in), whereas the prisoners looked somewhat shabby, dirty with torn clothes. It is also easy for the viewers to distinguish a difference between the two from the body postures used. Prison guards would tend to maintain professionalism by standing upright, head held high, like an authoritative figure would, and the prisoners would tend to be slouched with their head facing the floor. Upon entering the room, Delacroix has his head looking towards the floor; this could be perceived as either him being very scared and upset or him feeling very guilty and ashamed. Either way, the spectators cannot help but feel the slightest bit sorry for him. Percy Wetmore is the ‘bad guy’ that is found in most movies, he happens to be the man who is in charge of Eduard Delacroix’s execution. When he begins speaking in the execution room, all music stops and the main focus is on him and his cruel and smug attitude. He very nastily tells Delacroix that a place called ‘Mouseville’ does not exist; this riles the spectators somewhat, as they have already grown to hate Percy in previous scenes. A smug look comes across Percy’s face (figure 2), and the audience gathers a hint of unprofessionalism from the facial expressions from other prison guards – a look disappointment and shock. As if the spectator cannot be dragged into the story anymore, the facial expression from Delacroix (figure 1), sat sobbing in the ‘death chair’ leaves audiences feeling heartbroken, with pure hatred for Percy.
Darabont has used some aspects of kinesics within this scene. Kinesics is non-verbal communication by means in gestures of the body. An example of this from this scene is just before Delacroix has the black cloth put over his head. Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) looks at the guard stood behind Delacroix, and simply nods his head, this also shows Paul’s authority in the prison. This has told both the viewers and the guard to continue with the procedure, with absolutely no dialogue. Body codes like this, are simple, yet very effective. It seems to the audience that Percy could not disgust them anymore, then he gets the sponge, still completely dry, and places it upon Delacroix’s head. Us as viewers are informed of this through the camera work but other characters are unaware, however, though we know, we can’t help but feel part of Paul’s revelation when he realises that the sponge is in fact dry. This then puts him in a terrible position, with only seconds left until Delacroix’s execution, there is nothing really that he can do. Spectators then feel that they understand and identify with Paul and his situation with not knowing what the best thing to do is. This is where the proxemics between characters in this scene becomes very close. Paul discreetly informs a fellow guard about this situation; as to not cause a fuss, he goes about this by moving extremely close to the other guard who advises him to keep the electricity running – it would be for the best (figure 3). The audience suddenly seems to empathise with both Paul and Delacroix who has just caught fire in the chair. Percy is unable to look at the blazing man, so turns his back to him, possibly a guilty conscience has just kicked in, but Paul is having none of it. At this point the tempo of the music is increasing and it seems that the characters are moving faster too. Paul grabs Percy, again with very close proxemics and makes him watch Delacroix burning to death (figure 4)
This is overall a very moving scene from ‘The Green Mile’, the combination of sound, body codes and other aspects of film is phenomenal. Spectators tend to feel part of the movie, and feel certain emotions towards different characters, almost like they are involved with what is going on – it has a sense of realism about it. I can imagine the viewer getting more from this movie if they watched it at the cinemas rather than on a very small television or over the internet. Dolby sound may also permit the audience to feel even more involved with the sound being all around them. ‘The Green Mile’ is a mixture of different genres; crime, drama, fantasy, mystery etc and has aspects from each at some point throughout the movie. Body codes and sound stuck out the most for me within this scene, however, the film does have great cinematography, camera work and other aspects of mise en scene that are all very good. Darabont used these in his favour and went on to create a masterpiece that is still watched by many people ten years after it was released. I would say that the way he manages to get the audience involved in the story, and makes them part of it, just shows it’s an incredible film.