Uncanny expression in cinema

Y. Discussion of Lanthimos' film "The Killing of a Sacred Deer"

Directors D. Lynch and Y. Lanthimos make surreal, uncanny films, steeped in the strange and often horrifying everyday. Lanthimos' film The Killing of a Sacred Deer is a perfect example. Every scene in this film mimics the audience's expectations, shaped by stereotypes and everyday life, which are soon subverted. The film tells the story of Steven Murphy, an experienced cardiovascular surgeon, and his strange friendship with a teenage boy, Martin. Their relationship is immediately disturbing. With every minute of the film, more and more questions begin to arise in the mind - why are they sitting, are they just friends, is there a predatory aspect to this relationship? Why is a high-ranking doctor in contact with this child? On the surface, the surgeon is living a perfect, socially acceptable, middle-class life - in a beautiful home with two children and a wife. As the minutes tick by and the general, anxious atmosphere of the film rises, when there still seems to be nothing to cling to directly, the doctor's children suddenly start to fall ill, one after the other. This juxtaposition, while seemingly uncanyy, the idyll of the real world created on screen, prevents us from thinking of scenarios that would be fantastical, until finally Martin gives Murphy a grim ultimatum; "Kill one of your children or your wife, or all three of you will die". As the film progresses, Martin's presence becomes more and more threatening. The uncertainty from the beginning about where to place the character begins to be filled with worst-case scenarios. It is these twists and turns of the plot, which is real but also unrecognisable and unpredictable, or in other words, the uncanny aesthetics, that make the film tense. Not knowing, but realising that something is not quite normal here, makes one uneasy.

Looking at the film even more consistently, it can be seen that the individual social constructs turned into uncanny do indeed make the viewer experience negative emotions - anxiety, tension, uncertainty.

Fig. 58 Martin and Murphy scene from The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Power balance

Despite Murphy's much older age, Martin puts pressure on Murphy and controls the conversations. In one scene in the film, Martin demands that Murphy show his naked chest (Figure 58). This scene, in the first half of the film, seems to raise many questions as to why the boy is behaving this way. On the other hand, Murphy's reaction also makes him feel uncomfortable. Finally, as we watch the film, we see that Martin's control over Murphy seems a little unusual.

Dialogue

Martin and Murphy's conversations, including the above-mentioned scene in Murphy's office (Fig. 58), are strange mixtures between everyday, recognisable real-life dialogue and otherworldly dialogue that does not fit into the societal framework. Lanthimos' characters often speak as unlikely human replicas. The director himself claims that there is something inhuman about modern human existence.

Hairy chests

It is unusual to discuss hairy breasts in general, but even more unusual is the fact that in this discussion there is always a sense that something hidden exists outside the conversation, although it is difficult to understand what. Taken out of context and placed in a doctor's surgery between unrelated individuals, a man and a teenager, in an attempt to recreate the familiar paternal bond, the conversation seems artificial. It is this moment of realism and otherness that is surreal. A frightening, unfulfilled sexuality seems to bubble on the screen. Although the scene is not erotic, it seems to be leaning towards sexual contact as Murphy begins to undress.

Of course, we cannot exclude the possibility that the hairy breast has no clear parallel and is a symbol that does not mean anything in particular. Lanthimos subverts the audience's expectation of understanding - we obsessively think about ideas and images, desperately and futilely searching for meaning, as we have been taught to do, but here - there is none of the logical explanation we so desperately crave (127).

D. Discussion of Lynch's film Eraserhead

In order to understand the aesthetics and emotion of the uncanny in cinema, it is worth examining another film by the aforementioned director David Lynch, Eraserhead.

This was the first Lynch film to show the public a new way of seeing - a unique expression of surrealism that revolutionised the film industry. The director himself has even been called "the first popular surrealist" by film critic Pauline Kael. And while this could be argued against, given that Magritte, Dali and other great surrealists were already in the forefront of Lynch's mind before he was born, The Eraserhead, like all of Lynch's best works, is indeed etched in the subconscious of the audience. Like Dali, David Lynch has abandoned the conventional narrative and embraced fantasy-filled, bizarre scenarios. Perhaps the most Lynchian symbol that appears in the film excerpt at 4.27 minutes (128) is the flashing light bulb (fig. 59). Electricity pulses beneath the surface. A light is burning, which suddenly goes out. Mr Lynch illuminates a previously unseen image. Something hidden appears.

Fig. 59 Freeze-frame from the film Eraserhead, 4.27 min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQu7s8yhkQc&feature=emb_logo

The reason why this film is used to examine uncanny is quite simple. In this film, we can find one of the most striking examples of uncanny in history. A scene that is hard to forget once seen: a miniature chicken releases a dirty brown liquid (Fig. 60). This image is far more powerful and memorable than much of what we see on screens today. The reason is that the image is mystically frightening and surreal. The everyday becomes horribly unrecognisable. The chicken is of normal size, but then it explodes and a thick brown liquid begins to flow. A normal family dinner is interrupted by the absurd. The mother's reaction, the sudden hysteria, is unbelievable. Mr Lynch, as always, leaves the interpretation to the viewer. However, one way to read it, in the light of the fluid spillage, is sexual anxiety. As mentioned earlier, Breton and the other Surrealists were fond of Freud. Their work tends to pulsate with sexual references. D. Lynch, especially in Eraserhead, follows their example.

Fig. 60 Still from Eraserhead, one of the most famous uncanny scenes of all time

Lynch's absurd scene follows a line that only confirms the assumption of the interpretation of the chicken spill as a symbol of sexual anxiety. In the film extract, at 4.44 minutes into the episode (129), the mother, interrogating the protagonist, asks "did you and Mary have sex?". Later, she begins to kiss and seduce the protagonist. This scene is undoubtedly ripe for a multi-layered satirical reading. The film was made in the late 1970s. So sexual attitudes, especially among older generations, were less liberal than today. Lynch emphasises the absurdity of society's sexual repression, as the mother reveals her sexuality and at the same time is unable to comply with the rules she dictates. It is therefore possible to think that the filmmaker is implying that restrictions on sexuality are harmful and repressive to everyone, including those who impose such restrictions on others.

D. Discussion of Lynch's film Malholland Road

In cinematography, creepy characters or scenarios can be an effective way of depicting the unconscious. Let us focus on David Lynch's dinner scene in Malholland Road (130). It is one of the most depressingly nightmarish scenes in contemporary cinema. Let us note the contrast between the everyday environment of a typical café and the uncanny undercurrents. Something horrible lurks behind the rubbish bins hidden in the car park. We don't seem to want to see this creature, but we inevitably come across it. It is as if the director is reminding us that we all dream similar nightmares. And although the scene is a vivid depiction of a nightmare, you can also feel that there is something more to it than just a bad dream. Lynch finds real darkness lurking beneath a world of cheap coffee and diner food. The viewer inevitably projects his anxiety onto this scene. We all have overwhelming fears that permeate our real lives (131). "In Mulholland Drive, Lynch suggests that the 'real' and 'fantasy' worlds are much closer together than we often want to believe. Our fantasies, fears and even nightmares merge with reality in unexpected ways, as if they were a single creature, and dictate how we live.

So, as these recent examples show, the memorable use of the uncanny in surrealist cinema is much more than a stylistic choice. It is a way of saying something meaningful and powerful about the human condition or society. It is the use of the uncanny in other art forms - for example, in the creation of design objects or atmospheres for them - that can be a key aspect of compelling surrealist design.

127How to Write a Surrealist Film: Learn The Core Principles of Surrealism. Industrial Scripts. [Žiūrėta 2021 m. spalio 17 d.]. Prieiga per internetą:https://industrialscripts.com/surrealist-film/ 121

128 Eraserhead, David Lynch, 1977 - Awkward Dinner Scene with Moving Turkey. David Lynch. [Žiūrėta 2021 m. spalio 17 d.] Prieiga per internetą: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQu7s8yhkQc&feature=emb_logo (scena 4.27 min)

129 Eraserhead, David Lynch, 1977 - Awkward Dinner Scene with Moving Turkey. David Lynch. [Žiūrėta 2021 m. spalio 17 d.] Prieiga per internetą: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQu7s8yhkQc&feature=emb_logo (scena 4.44 min)

130 Mulholland Drive - Diner Scene. David Lynch. [ Žiūrėta 2021.spalio 18 d.]. Prieiga per internetą: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UozhOo0Dt4o

131 How to Write a Surrealist Film: Learn The Core Principles of Surrealism. Industrial Scripts. [Žiūrėta 2021 m. spalio 17 d.]. Prieiga per internetą: https://industrialscripts.com/surrealist-film/