East of Eden Movie Analysis

Elia Kazan's movie the East of Eden (1955) is an exploration of the relationship between Adam and his son Cal. The film explores the concept of conflict between Adam and Cal. Even though Cal tries his best to win the love of his father, he still feels that his brother Aron is favoured. The conflict that arises between the two greatly affects the family and tears them apart this tears them further apart from each other. Angered by the loveless reaction from his father, Cal snatches Arons girlfriend. This is despite knowing that Abra was engaged to his younger brother. Even though Cal becomes successful in business, his father rejects an offer he gives to him casually. Instead, he gets happy when he hears that Aaron was engaged to Abra. This is an indication of the strong bond between Adam and Aaron which led to conflicts in the family. Agitated by his father's lack of love towards him, Cal drags Aaron to go and meet their mother.

The film represents the traditional Hollywood at that time. At the time, the movie was a representation of the pain of paternal rejection. Adams indicates that he has a bigger preference for his son Aaron over Cal. When he rejects a gift from Cal, it creates a lot of emotional grief in him. As a form of revenge, Cal persuades Aron into running away from home hence causing emotional pain to his father. The story alludes to the biblical story of Cain and Abel. The film is also a representation of good over evil. Cal is happy about his brother's departure since he believes his father can now love him back. However, when Aron leaves, Adam suffers from stress which leads to his paralysis.

The movie East of Eden is a representation of colourful cinematography. Kazan applies various visual methods in terms to ensure an intense and subdued perfect atmosphere in the film. To achieve perfect images, Kazan employed perfect camera motions and angles to bring out the drama. For instance, he portrays the confrontation between Cal and Adam from a twisted perspective hence making the drama more interesting. Apart from that, Kazan also utilises the aspect of cinematography through his arrangements of lighting. This he did by reflecting the emotions of each character. For instance, Cal is represented as being distant from his father through the various images captured on the camera. In this case, Kazan tilts the camera to show that Cal and his father are not in good terms. Kazan's application of cinematography is undoubtedly unquestionable. His use of swinging pans enabled him to sustain movement along the scenes. Kazan applies the technique of cinemascope throughout the film. The lighting is however not satisfactory. The darkness created a feeling of fear in the movie. However, the light reflects Cals emotional changes from frustrations to anger.

In conclusion, East of Eden is a perfect example of a classic movie. Kazan indicates his prowess in linking ideas to create unity in the film. This he has done by incorporating various features such as lighting and cinematography to show the roles of each character. Equally, Kazan's brilliance in using cinematography to capture the atmosphere in a film is unequalled. On the other hand, it is essential to maintain proper lighting when producing a film.