Author Topic: Ennis & Alma's wedding scene  (Read 12169 times)

Offline Brown Eyes

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,377
Ennis & Alma's wedding scene
« on: November 30, 2008, 09:10:12 pm »
The wedding scene between Ennis and Alma is certainly complex and loaded with meaning.  Yet, I don't recall many threads that focus on analyzing this scene in great depth.

So this thread can be a place to discuss everything from the interesting Jolly Minister voice-over transition from Ennis crying in the alley to the wedding scene to details of costumes and extras in the scene.  Who are all these people in the church?  Who's the old guy to the far left on Ennis's side of the church?  Etc.

In another thread here in Open Forum it was observed that Ennis and his best man (presumably K.E... maybe) seem to be sharing one suit.  Ennis wearing the jacket and the best man wearing the pants.

<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/5970366-6f7.jpg" border="0" />


This level of detail in the scene suggests, that like everything else in BBM, this scene was very carefully crafted.

One thing that I'd like to observe is that there is a man with dark hair seated in the audience behind Ennis's head and in between Ennis and Jack in this photo above... his dark hair is very reminiscent of Jack's hair.  On close inspection the man doesn't look that much like Jack except for the hair.  So, I wonder if this is a variation on the theme of men with black hats haunting Ennis throughout the film.  This man with the dark hair reminds me of this guy...

<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/5970365-ceb.jpg" border="0" />

from just the previous scene.  The guy who encounters Ennis in the alley, I think, makes almost all first time BBM watchers think of Jack for a split second before they realize that this is a stranger and not Jack coming back to find Ennis.



Maybe this extra in the pew with dark hair is like a little visual cue to the viewer of the movie that Jack (as always) is weighing heavy on Ennis here at this critical moment.

the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline serious crayons

  • Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,712
Re: Ennis & Alma's wedding scene
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2008, 09:24:58 pm »
Alma's maid/matron of honor is oddly dressed, isn't she? Was it really cold in the church?

The best man looks, in a really generic way, quite a bit like Ennis, and the m. of honor looks generically quite a bit like Alma. That makes me think the characters represent the couple's siblings. But it also made me wonder if they were played by the people who served as stand-ins for Heath and Michelle.


 

Offline LauraGigs

  • Moderator
  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,447
    • My Design Portfolio
Re: Ennis & Alma's wedding scene
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2008, 09:49:09 pm »
I'll bet you're right about the stand-in thing, Katherine.  IMDB probably would have all the credits...

Anyway, yeah - it's interesting that the dark-haired guy is right between Ennis + Alma in the shot!


Offline Artiste

  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • ********
  • Posts: 15,998
Re: Ennis & Alma's wedding scene
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2008, 11:30:07 pm »
Why so many persons as an audience at their wedding ?

Offline Katie77

  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *******
  • Posts: 7,998
  • Love is a force of Nature
Re: Ennis & Alma's wedding scene
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2008, 12:03:02 am »
I would think that most of the relatives at the wedding are Alma's. The matron of honour is probably her sister and the best man is more than likely her husband. The old couple could be her grandparents. The man standing directly behind the matron of honour has a flower in his lapel which means which means he is probably Alma's father.

We know that Alma's sister lives in the town, from when Alma tells Ennis in the store, that she will get her sister to look after the girls, so its more than likely that this is Alma's home town, and all of her family live there. The crowd there seem typical of what would be a small wedding with relatives and a few close friends.
Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect.

It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfection

Offline Brown Eyes

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,377
Re: Ennis & Alma's wedding scene
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2008, 12:18:42 am »
Alma's maid/matron of honor is oddly dressed, isn't she? Was it really cold in the church?



She does appear to be dressed for the outside with a hat and coat.  I notice a number of women in the crowd wearing hats... Isn't there an old rule of etiquette about women covering their heads in church?  I don't really know, not having been raised as a church-going person.  But, I'd think that a maid of honor would have a more formal looking outfit on.  The coat seems particularly odd.

I think you're right that there's quite a physical similarity between Ennis and the best man and Alma and the maid of honor.  I do think the similar appearance is a good clue that both are meant to be respective siblings of the pair.

I would think that most of the relatives at the wedding are Alma's. The matron of honour is probably her sister and the best man is more than likely her husband.

The only reason I'd disagree with the interpretation that the best man is Alma's sister's husband is that Ennis seems to be sharing a suit with the best man.  Ennis is wearing the jacket and the best man is wearing the pants.  I can't imagine Ennis doing that with anyone other than his brother.


Anyway, yeah - it's interesting that the dark-haired guy is right between Ennis + Alma in the shot!


I love things like this in BBM.  Just so beautifully and subtly crafted.

Here's another shot of the dark-haired guy situated in between Ennis and Alma.  I love the difference in facial expression here between Ennis and Alma.  Ennis couldn't look anymore tense.

<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/5970367-ca4.jpg" border="0" />

The guy in the church between Ennis and Alma reminds me of the later phenomenon of the dark-hat-wearing guy between Ennis and Cassie during their initial meeting.

<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/4167392-418.jpg" border="0" />


Why so many persons as an audience at their wedding ?

I wonder if the large number of people (relative to what we know of Ennis's social life and family situation) might in some ways represent Society with a capital "S".  The crowd maybe represents the societal pressure Ennis always feels. 



the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline chowhound

  • Brokeback Mountain Resident
  • ****
  • Posts: 172
Re: Ennis & Alma's wedding scene
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2008, 04:55:05 pm »

She does appear to be dressed for the outside with a hat and coat.  I notice a number of women in the crowd wearing hats... Isn't there an old rule of etiquette about women covering their heads in church?  I don't really know, not having been raised as a church-going person.

Up until quite recently, most women would feel it obligatory to wear a hat to a church wedding. Some would also wear gloves. As this wedding is taking place in the sixties, I'm not surprised that most of the women are wearing hats. What surprises me is that Ennis's best man - I agree with those who think it is supposed to be Ennis's brother - is so casually dressed. Why is that, I wonder? A sign of how little money the del Mar family has?





Offline SFEnnisSF

  • BBM Radio Program Director
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,548
Re: Ennis & Alma's wedding scene
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2008, 10:35:20 pm »
You know, I never even really noticed the best man at the wedding, or even thought to care about who he is I guess.  I'm bettin' it's K.E.  I wonder who the old man is behind K.E. though...

Offline LauraGigs

  • Moderator
  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,447
    • My Design Portfolio
Re: Ennis & Alma's wedding scene
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2008, 11:26:55 pm »
Probably the closest elder male relative (maybe an uncle) since he has a flower in his lapel.

Offline serious crayons

  • Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,712
Re: Ennis & Alma's wedding scene
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2008, 11:29:23 pm »
OK, now who wants to explain the weird Jolly Minister?   ???