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Differences in the family have a long history of causing issues such as breakups in the previously happily married families, causing constant problems to the victims. Most of the families that have been found to be in the disputes are the newly wedded young families that are trying to establish themselves with the pressure from their parents as well as the rising need to be independent. Most of the families go wrong and end up in divorce due to wrong choices that are made by the couples, making it hard for both to continue staying in unison despite their dedicated love to one another. Some forces try to part the families, and the consequences are not always good as the results of the breakups are realized later in life, at a stage where the mess cannot be rectified.

‘Night Mother, a documentary by Marsha Norman is not an exemption as it entails the same content. The film is a drama that takes place in the home with the main characters being a mother and a divorced daughter. The film opens up in the kitchen with Jessie and her mother Thelma conversing with one another, and it is during this that Jessie reveals her awful intentions of committing suicide. Jessie’s intention to commit suicide have been triggered by the lack of love as well as her careless with her family that oversaw her divorce her husband. Jessie is an addict to smoking, and it is due to this that she and her husband got divorced. At some point, her husband asked her to choose what she wanted most smoking or him, but due to her addicted nature in smoking, she chose to divorce her husband.

Jessie is in regrets of having divorced her husband as she loved him, but she could not stay as she had no choice. Back at home, Jessie feels like her mother does not love her and that she stays with her to kill the loneliness that she experiences. In contrast, her mother pleads with her and tries to convince her that she should be happy, but Jessie has a strong stance that she must kill herself. Afterward, they both realize that they love one another but it is too late to express the love that otherwise had not flourished, and therefore this does not bar the young woman from committing suicide. At the end of the drama, Jessie leaves her mother, locking herself in a room and shooting herself and this leaves her mother crying in pain.

The filmmaker intended to portray the problems that most of the families are passing through and how difficult it is to keep firm the decisions made without succumbing to the forces. Love is the most expensive thing in a family, and without love, a whole family can be reduced to nothing. The other intention by the filmmaker is that drugs are not only harmful to a person body through addiction but as well harmful in the relationship matters as, it is through Jessie’s smoking nature that led her to divorce her husband, relocating to stay with her mother and to whom she felt no signs of love. Jessie only thought that her mother invited her to stay because she was lonely and could not find her love. Love needs to be flourishing at every time as it is needed to bring back torn pieces together. If it wasn’t that Jessie had made up her mind to commit suicide, her mother’s affection at the last minute could have changed her mind.

The overall quality of the film is high in that the video quality has been taken in a clear manner. The lighting of the film is great, and a person is able to see clearly everything that happens in the scene. Besides, the audio is clear and therefore distinguishing the different characters when speaking is easier. The coordination of the audio and visual elements in the film are in line, and the actions and words seem to be well coordinated. The setting of the film is at home and the various things that are found in a home are present such as the furniture. Jessie’s intention to commit suicide through a gun has been reinforced by not only her words but also her actions; she holds a gun that she uses to blow herself out. Therefore, the overall quality of the film is great.

The combination of the various elements in the film produces various responses to the audience. For example, the non-verbal communication that is the use of gestures by Jessie along with her wording indicates sorrow and thus triggers the emotions of fear to the audience in that she is just about to do something terrible. Thelma, her mother on the other side, seems to be lost in her world not to know what to do as she sits in the couch contemplating making the audience feel her sorrow of losing a daughter. The gunshot, on the other hand, triggers the minds of the audience that it is probable that their biggest fears have just been confirmed and this may have resulted to astonishing and sad voices from the audience. Therefore, the overall mis-en-scene of the film has been coordinated well with the intention of the filmmaker of family troubles being openly revealed. Drugs should not be part of a family, and on the contrary, love should take over the whole family to avert any incidences such suicide.

Reference

Marsha Norman. ‘Night Mother. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/HjRx3335Hos?t=699