No Country For Old Men vs Captain Fantastic: Visuals and Sound

Both No Country For Old Men and Captain Fantastic uses elements of sound and visuals to engage the viewer with the characters, narrative and themes of both films.

First of all, No Country For Old Men uses mise-en-scene, editing and camera angles to visually tell a story. This is evident in the final scene of the movie where we see Bell's retirement. It starts by slowly fading from the previous scene: Chigurh walking away from the crash and transitioning into Bell in his home looking into the distance. The editing makes it look like Bell is looking at him walking away and he doesn't do anything about. This is a recurring theme throughout No Country, that Bell is ineffective and can not stop this new wave of crime that Chigurh represents. Also the shot frames Bell at the center, aligning us with him and the transition preceding the scene seconds before could symbolise this is what Bell's thinking: that Chigurh escaping the crash represents him escaping justice and it is unsettling him and makes Bell feel like he failed. Furthermore in the last shot of the film where Bell is talking about his dream, he is framed in the center but we can see to the side of him a window and wilting tree with the leaves falling off. Both of Bell and tree and framed in the center, meaning the tree could symbolic of how Bell is now. How he is old and failing and not as strong as he used to be. This emphasises how Bell is feeling to the audience and, by proxy, makes us sympathise with him.

Another element of mise en scene used to visually tell a story is the setting and costume. For example, this is the only scene in the film we see Bell's personal life: we see his house and also his wife. In one shot we are revealed this all as it slowly zooming to Bell. The house has a lot of wooden furniture framed in the foreground of the shot (chairs, a table, shelves), which are all surrounding Bell in the center. The colour of the furniture is brown and abundance of it in the shot could represent the grounded feeling Bell feels now that he has retired and main conflict of the film has ended: he feels safe, which is furthermore enforced because he is in his house, a place that typically makes people feel safe. This once again highlights Bell's character trait of fear and makes the audience empathise with him and his struggles. Another thing to add is his clothing. Throughout the film he always wore his police uniform with his hat and his badge on his shoulder, so seeing him without them looks odd to the audience. This gave him a facade of authority and power, however because the audience had been aligned with Bell, we see that facade slowly disappear. This scene symbolises the facade fully go because he is no longer wearing the hat nor the badge. It is visual metaphor of how the power and authority he once had been stripped away from him by Chigurh or the new wave of crime or maybe even society.

Captain Fantastic also uses mise en scene and camera angles but also sound design to convey a tone and tell a story to the audience. The opening scene perfectly normalises the chaotic and tribe-like lives of the characters. For example, the scene starts off with a showcase of the wilderness: the abundance of the colour of green within the setting of the forest highlights the tranquil and peaceful tone of the scene, encouraging the audience to feel that way as well. This only to be transgressed by the son hidden within the shot of the deer. This puts attention on the son, displaying how he is in control of the situation and the animal and perhaps symbolises his importance to the plot as he, out of all of the children is the most developed (he has romantic interest, is trying to go to college,e.t.c.). Furthermore, the focus on the son is punctuated when he attacks the deer. The quick editing of the attack quickly changes the tone of the scene to feel intense and dangerous. 

This is emphasised by the lack of non-diegetic sound in the scene, as their is a focus on the cries of the deer, the slicing of knife and the heavy breathing of the boy, creating a tense and disturbing atmosphere. The colours of the forest is furthermore explored when their is a close up on the knife that is used to kill the deer; the red blood could symbolise the sacrifice of the deer, demonstrating the family's tribe-like lifestyle or the courage of the boy, explaining spiritual acceptance into a man. Furthermore, the green trees and bushes are showcased as the rest of the family is revealed. Their close and familiar proximity to each other symbolises their closeness domestically, only to be subverted when the father stands isolated from the other, potentially symbolising his disconnect from reality explored within the rest of the narrative, whilst the children (especially) the two sons long to be apart of it. The end of scene showing the family playing with each other in the water is a noticeable contrast to the rest of the scene, as it humanises them and establishes their closeness. Also the sudden use of music creates a whimsical and peaceful tone for the scene, going against the tone earlier in the scene.