The Iris Effect

by Rose Lehrman

Martin Scorsese’s short film Life Lessons is a story about an artist who lives in a very cyclic world. His life consists of being with younger women, essentially feeding off their youth and the tension he generates with them, to create, and then slowly destroying the relationship until the woman leaves; and then the cycle repeats. This film has many contrasting themes, such as obsession and circularity, and in order to highlight certain moments that are integral to the story, there are a number of cinematic elements that are used. One of the most noticeable of these is the iris effect, an unusual circular framing of a subject. This technique is used to show the audience what is important to the main character, Lionel Dobie, at that moment in time and also illustrates the circularity of his world.

A great example of how this effect is used to show circularity, are the opening and closing shots. The opening scene is a montage of shots of objects such as alcohol, paint and paintbrushes, all things important to Dobie. The effect is very intense once you realize that it is the view through Dobie’s eyes. The last time this effect is used Lionel Dobie is at his art show when he meets another young, attractive, aspiring artist and he offers her a position as his assistant; as the camera pulls out on them, the iris closes around them and holds as all the other people fade away. This last shot completes the circle literally, by ending with the opening effect and figuratively, storywise by showing the new assistant completely in Lionel Dobie’s thrall.

Throughout the film, this effect is used to show the view through Dobie’s eyes. A little bit later in the film, Dobie has arrived at the airport to pick up his assistant Paulette, and when she is revealed, walking toward us, the field of vision shrinks to only her.

In that moment in time, Dobie cares about nothing except Paulette because without her, he cannot create; he needs the sexual tension with her to make art. One of the most intense moments involving this effect is when Paulette is lying in bed after telling Lionel quite firmly that she will not have sex with him anymore and Dobie barges into her room and looks at her foot which is then spotlighted by the iris effect, as the frame closes in on her foot. The scene abruptly shifts to a very sensual half fantasy half memory involving Paulette and himself. This illustrates that at that moment, Paulette’s foot is so important to Dobie that just looking at it triggers a flashback or fantasy that Dobie would very much like to be a reality.

Overall it is not the most complex of effects but its impact is huge and helps pull the story together. I personally have never seen the iris effect used in a professional capacity before so it was very interesting to me. Its placement is not arbitrary and helps the viewer to see more of Dobie’s interiority. Through this effect we are able to see what Lionel sees as important to him at that moment and we are able to access him in a way we otherwise might not have been able to.This effect is not realistic in the sense that we would not see it in real life, but it does show the fact that as humans we can focus on one thing to the point of excluding everything else.