Theres no heavy symbolism, because the players are loaded enough with significance all by themselves...
I agree that the players and the occasion are quite significant. And there may not be heavy abstract symbolism (as in "the green, orange & white in the stained glass window each represents..."). But this is the largest ensemble scene in the film (2nd only to the July 4 scene) with very significant players – some of whom we see for the only time. And this is Ang Lee! 8) So I do think the blocking and the angle would be set up carefully, with a consistency and carry-through regarding the rest of the story.
(http://www.divshare.com/img/5970366-6f7.jpg%22%20border=%220)
There is something noticeably unique about the blocking! Normally, the best man and maid of honor act in parallel – either turned in the same direction or mirroring each other. Here, the maid of honor faces inward toward the wedding party, while the best man faces forward.
I think this is a visual shorthand for the roles they play. Alma's sister will be a personal, practical help for the couple, looking after their offspring. K.E. – who faces the priest and the altar, and faced Earl with Ennis – provides a male role model and reinforces convention. He + Ennis are separated in the frame by the priest – possibly illustrating how they come down on opposite sides of a major moral rule?
(http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/5970367-ca4.jpg%22%20border=%220)
Check out the angle here. Ennis, surrounded on all sides by the congregants, is next to a clear window. Alma has nothing between her and the door – the exit, the escape.
Who left the marriage? Who had a legitimate 'escape route'? Alma.
For Ennis, there is no escape from the expectations and conventions. He can only 'gaze out windows' (at what he feels to be impossible dreams, as Katie & Holden aptly pointed out). When Alma later asks why he hasn't married again, he gazes out the window. When Alma Jr. tells him of her impending marriage, he gazes out the window.
What's the last shot of the film? Out Ennis's window.
(http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/5970367-ca4.jpg%22%20border=%220)
Check out the angle here. Ennis, surrounded on all sides by the congregants, is next to a clear window. Alma has nothing between her and the door – the exit, the escape.
Who left the marriage? Who had a legitimate 'escape route'? Alma.
For Ennis, there is no escape from the expectations and conventions. He can only 'gaze out windows' (at what he feels to be impossible dreams, as Katie & Holden aptly pointed out). When Alma later asks why he hasn't married again, he gazes out the window. When Alma Jr. tells him of her impending marriage, he gazes out the window.
What's the last shot of the film? Out Ennis's window.
What a great post Laura. Love the windows theme. They sure are important in BBM. Some more window-themed observations come to my mind. How about making it a new thread: "Views and windows" ? Your post could be a good jump-off point.
Another thought on Ennis and the door: the only thing blocking Ennis from the door is Alma. Once she's out of the picture (and the marriage), the way to the door is seems open to Ennis. And that's exactly what Jack thinks when he drives up twelve hundred miles, post-divorce.
(http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/5970367-ca4.jpg%22%20border=%220)
I also love your post, friend. I noticed a couple of other things. Ennis' diagonally striped tie tells of his ambivalence, like his plaid shirts. Also, Alma appears to have two halos...the flowered one on her head, and then the half-moon window.