John Malkovich’s film The Death of a Salesman is an adaptation of the 1949 play by Arthur Miller, which was also staged many times in the US, London, Berlin, and Bombay. The plot revolves around the main character, Willie, who feels despair, pity, and fear, being on the verge of retirement and looking back in a reflective impulse over the years. Willie always dreamed of becoming a Big Man, but his achievements can be called below average, and his refusal to accept this fact leads him to suicide (“Death of a Salesman”). This paper aims to discuss The Death of a Salesman by John Malkovich, an American film classic.
The film’s plot presents Willie’s life with his family and his inner experiences, which create the background for the tragedy that will happen in the finale. Remarkably, Arthur Miller deliberately chose the genre of tragedy, appealing to themes of pity and fear, as many people experience these emotions every day. By honestly portraying these emotions and the problems that cause them, the film resonates with the audience, and the story appears sincere and objective.
The cinematic elements like lighting, music, and camera angles are used extensively in the film. The director’s masterful use of these elements allowed him to convey the main idea of the film that the whole life of the Willie family, in his opinion, should depend on his moods. Willie’s moods and experiences also reveal to the viewer the drama of human life, where no one gets what they want. The origins of the desire to become a Big Man are probably to be found in Willie’s relationship with his older brother Ben, who very early became a businessman in Africa selling diamonds mined in diamond mines and became incredibly rich.
However, Ben never showed interest in Willie or his family, which makes Willie look for the problem in himself, and not in his brother’s coldness. Willie probably all his life believed that for some reason he was not worthy of his brother’s love and approval, and began to believe that the reason was his inability to become as rich overnight. At the same time, Willie, according to the traditions of Greek tragedies, passes on his trauma to his sons, raising them in the spirit of pursuing the goals of the Big Man, and not their own goals.
Interestingly, the lighting in the film changes following Willie’s mood, emphasizing how sunny and joyful he imagines the events of days gone, and how gray and unpleasant reality looks to him. This mood is especially noticeable during scene transitions, for example, when a scene of memories or imaginary dialogues with the children of Willie and his brother, who suddenly returned from Africa, ends, and a scene of a real dialogue with the children begins.
The deliberately cheerful music also emphasizes the value of positive emotions that Willie keeps in his memories. At the same time, in the scenes depicting his real life, the musical accompaniment is dark and disturbing. Significantly, when Willie prepares to meet his sons at a restaurant, the music reflects the mix of his feelings, both gloomy and anxious and full of rather hysterical hope for the best. The children show compassion and concern for their father after Willie’s wife tells them he has probably attempted suicide several times. Biff offers to stay in town and support his parents financially to distract Willie from destructive thoughts. However, Biff is dissatisfied with his decision to stay in the city and devote his life to his parents and speaks harsh words about Willie that hurt him for a living. This episode is vividly emphasized by the change in lighting and musical accompaniment.
Camera angles are also used to convey the instability of Willie’s psyche and how he feels in various situations, both imaginary and real. In the episode where Willie recollects about communicating with his sons when they were still children, the camera slides smoothly, and Willie sees himself as if on top, rejoicing in the delight that he causes in his children. At the same time, in a conversation with the family in the present time, the camera seems to hang over Willie, presenting him as a hostage of the situation. The transitions from frame to frame are very sharp and emphasize the imbalance and instability of the psyche of Willie and the other main characters in the space of his emotional influence. It is noteworthy that when Willie commits suicide, the director uses all the techniques at once – music, lighting, and camera angles to convey the horror of this tragedy and how it affected the Willie family.
Thus, The Death of a Salesman by John Malkovich was discussed, including plot, lighting, music, and cinematography. This film tells the story of the experiences of the main character, Willie, who experiences financial difficulties and sharp pricks of self-pity and fear of the future after actually losing the ability to earn enough money to survive and maintain a home. The protagonist’s experiences are familiar to all spectators, which ensured the success of the production both on the stage and in the cinema. The director turned to the genre of tragedy, presenting vividly and colorfully the daily life of a person in his 60s, with its insoluble dilemmas and drama, accompanying the psychological crisis of retirement. The film reveals not only the story of his character and the reasons for his problems but also sends the viewer to the analysis of more global problems of society in the past and the present.
Work Cited
“Death of a Salesman.” YouTube, uploaded by Abeer Fuad, 2021.