15 March 2024 Friday
Movie Recommendation: Bigger Than Life
The movie Bigger Than Life, released in Turkey under the name "Tehlikeli Arzular", is a 1956 American psychological drama directed by Nicholas Ray. The film is about Ed Avery, a family man and teacher who is hospitalized after his suffering, becomes addicted to cortisone, which he starts using under the orders of doctors, and gradually loses his mental health. After his illness, Ed first turns into someone who is extremely happy and doesn't care about anything, but then he starts to get angry frequently. Afterwards, his anger increases and reaches the point where he can even harm his family. The climax point of the film appears as the moment when Ed imitates Abraham's slaughter of his son and wants to sacrifice his own son.
One of the most striking aspects of the film is the perfect angle and camera use, scene compositions and use of space, which we also see in all other Ray films. In the scene where Ed's character begins to change after he is released from the hospital and he begins to see himself larger than he is, his height is shown at an angle as if it is equal to the height of the building. "How is an image created in cinema?" It is an answer to the question. And being able to do this only with the camera angle is one of the details that show Ray's masterful direction.
The colors are quite eye-catching and harmonious, as we can see in other Ray films. The red jacket and trousers worn by the family's son, Richie, remind us of James Dean's clothes in the movie Rebel Without a Cause. Even "I wonder if this is Jim Stark's childhood?" It even brings the question to mind. Such a narrative connection is not included in the movie. It is felt that it is rather a greeting and tribute to James Dean, who died at an early age.
Although the script of the movie went very well until the end, we see that the final scene, which includes the happy family pose, is a scene that does not fit the spirit of the movie. The unraveling in the scenario happens very quickly and Ed returns to his old self quickly. This is an ending that does not surprise us at all, since the general trend in Hollywood movies is "happy ending". Apart from the finale of the film, there does not seem to be any other major problem in the script. It is a production with a very appropriate dose of tension, curiosity, tempo, created actions and characters.
