by Audrey
The short film, Life Lessons, directed by Martin Scorsese, includes beautiful visual aspects and complex character development. Lionel Dobie is the main character and antagonistic force of the film, an artist who is struggling to come up with work for his next show. There’s a lot of stylistic elements that go with this piece, including coloring, cinematography, editing, etc. A stylistic element I find interesting is the iris effect that is used quite consistently. It helps to bring the film together as a whole, in different ways. This can be seen through focus on certain subjects, transitions, storytelling, and matching the overall aesthetic.
There are many instances when Martin Scorsese decides to use this iris effect detail to draw more attention to certain objects and subjects. An example of this includes when the iris effect is used on Paulette in the Airport Terminal scene, focusing on her to show that she’s Lionel Dobie’s assistant, his most recent preoccupation, and an essential character to the story. There are multiple instances of this effect being used on Paulette, without it, it may be difficult to show what is the most important aspect in a scene.
With edits, the iris effect was more powerful. The iris effect itself is editing, but when Scorsese used it, he faded it slowly in and out of the frame, letting it have a more dramatic impact, rather than having the effect be abrupt and cut short. This made the film feel more calm rather than action-packed, since this is not an action film. The effect itself adds to this slow-paced shorter film. The Iris effect also matched the aesthetic of the film quite nicely. The cuts were slower rather than cut off which helped with the transitions as I stated earlier. It makes the film feel like more of its own film, original from others in its period but still matching Scorsese’s style and influence.
Consistency and story is another factor that the iris effect ties into. Just like the song “Whiter Shade of Pale,” this is also used in the beginning and end of the film. In the beginning, the effect is used with the painting and the song. In the end, it meets up the “Whiter Shade of Pale” song once again, when Dobie finds his next muse as it closes on her face. This once again shows the viewer what the important aspects of the film are. It’s important because it shows how his cycle of using people doesn’t ever really end. In the film, he tortures Paulette verbally and emotionally, trying to get her to be with him romantically even though she refuses. In the end, he finds a new woman to continue the same cycle with.
The final element is the effect’s focus on Dobie’s character. Whenever Lionel saw something or there was something important to his story and personality, the iris effect would appear. This includes the paintings from the beginning, Paulette and Paulette’s foot, and his new muse at the end. Overall, the iris effect used in Life Lessons brought the film together in a significant way. It showed significance through focus on certain subjects, transitions, storytelling, and matching it’s aesthetic.
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