so i was fucking around with photopea and i made this. mind you, i haven’t used photoshop in years. i also am not one to interact with others, but y’all i was inspired. by this amazing fic that has not left my mind. please go and read it. anyway...
The list of shots that I have from Gentleman Jack keeps growing (I have a similar one for Killing Eve). Below is one of those. Just thought that I’d share.
For this shot, I like focusing on the cinematography (framing, color) and certain elements of mise-en-scene (costuming, props, movement).
The brief shift to this two-shot from the over-the-shoulder, shot-reverse shot (that’s used throughout much of their conversation) has a couple of functions, I would argue. (We also see a nice echo to this two-shot at the end of the scene when the camera is on the other side of them and at a low angle. We also get a reflection of the windows that will serve as the backdrop for that low angle shot later.)
First, putting them in the two-shot foreshadows what is to come with their relationship (and let’s be real: what’s mostly “coming” is Ann Walker - haha). That is, of course, a frequent purpose of a two-shot: linking two characters in some way (in this case, romantically).
Second, through the costuming choices, props, set design, and color (another aspect of cinematography), we see both characters stand out against their surroundings and for different reasons. Anne is the outsider: her bold, black costume pops against the muted yellows and beige of the room. Ann’s costuming also allows her to stand out, perhaps not as boldly (yet the pale pink of her dress matches, in some way, the pale yellows in the room - traditionally feminine colors, at least to the contemporary audience), but the subtle contrast is significant. She does not belong here: “here” meaning Crow Next, the space connected with her “tribe” (and their expectations).
Next, with regards to props, the mirror between them can serve a symbolic purpose. For Ann, she might see qualities in Anne that she wants to see in herself (we’ll learn later that confidence is one). And, for each woman, they might see complementary qualities in the other. Also, recall the significance of the mirror in the season finale; the mirror between them here (in the shot above) will be echoed later when the mirror “between them” connects them. And, we can’t ignore the grandfather clock in the right corner. It doesn’t have a direct function in this scene except to gesture to the future; its lack of function is significant in that regard (it will have one, just not now). (Notably, it isn’t the grandfather clock that breaks up their conversation but a clock in the adjacent room.)
Final observation: Anne’s movement in this scene is revealing and helps develop her character. She is leaning towards Ann and some of her gestures move into Ann’s space. And, rather than such movement serving to intimidate as we see Anne do with others (especially men), it invites Ann in--to share her passion for the world, for those moments that are packed with potential. I think that Jones’ choices are wonderfully nuanced and consistent over the course of the season (I could write a whole essay about her performance), and in this scene, we see Anne in her full swagger, seductive mode. It just adds another piece to the puzzle that is Anne Lister, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch.
