The Confined and Adventure Seeking Life of Walter Mitty

Grant Davis

Within the realm of film, there is a secret language embedded deep within the frames that speak a magnitude about the work as a whole. This is a secret language of visuals, a language that is easy to miss to the untrained eye, but, just like with any language, one can be learned - and perfected. This unique type of language is known as mise en scene, a French cinematographic term meaning “within the frame.” Everything from the depth of the shot to the objects placed inside the frame all contribute to the artful language of mise en scene. Inside Ben Stiller’s wildly exciting adventure as Walter Mitty in the film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the elements of mise en scene can be traced throughout the entire film to exhibit Mitty’s life-changing experience from a dull, boring man to one that opens up to the world, one who embraces new things, and one who takes actions toward his goals instead of just dreaming about them.

Right in the beginning of the film, the language of mise en scene can be heard to show the confinement and repression of Walter Mitty’s boring and plain life. In one the first few opening shots, Walter Mitty is sitting at his desk while writing in his checkbook with his laptop opened besides him. The colors of the walls in Mitty’s apartment are a faint grey-blue and the laptop and kitchen appliances are grey and silver. These plain and listless colors all help show Mitty’s colorless and plain life. Everything is neatly organized in Mitty’s house; nothing is placed out of order. All of the geometry in this first shot shows his perfectionism, from the perfectly horizontal lines on the book shelf to the perfectly vertical brass bars. Everything in Walter’s life is organized. The wide depth of field allows the audience to clearly see the shadow of the opened shades behind Mitty’s head. This shadow gives the audience the subconscious impression that he is behind the bars of a jail cell; confined in a tight space with nowhere to go.  Mitty is the dominant within the first few opening shots. While in the basement of LIFE magazine (Ironic since it appears Walter Mitty doesn't have a life), Mitty is always hard at work, the audience is given the impression that there is an extreme work load for Mitty as the background fills the frame with boxes overloading with used photographs and folders. The language of mise en scene at both Walter Mitty’s apartment and workplace help give the audience the feeling he is surrounded by confined spaces, except for his imagination.

Walter’s life begins to open up at the sight of Cheryl Melhoff (Kristin Wiig), the new girl at the office. It is Cheryl that changes Walter from a plain and lifeless man to an adventure endeavoring, thrill seeking man, by giving him something to prove himself for. In all of the loosely framed shots which show Walter and Cheryl together, the shallow depth of field creates bokeh (intentional blur), giving the frame an almost dream-like feeling. Cheryl’s presence near Mitty always rids him of the stress he’s dealing with at work and gives him a wide smile on his face, showing how much he enjoys being around her. Right as Walter Mitty reaches Greenland, everything changes to be more open, from the shots to the landscape. Walter opens the airplane window to see that he is about to arrive at his destination, and the land just seems to keep going and going. Limitless. Nothing is confined anymore. Everything is free to roam whatever it pleases. 

(Not the exact shot, but it still shows the vast landmass below)

When Walter Mitty reaches Greenland in hopes of finding Sean O’ Connell, he searches a local tavern for his possible whereabouts. Before befriending a drunken helicopter pilot who takes him deep into the Atlantic, Walter Mitty dreams of Cheryl singing him “Space Oddity” by David Bowie. This scene is in slow motion to show Walter’s last minute decision to get on the helicopter and him taking action, since he needs to break out of his comfort zone to possibly find Sean. Once leaping inside the already flying helicopter, the scene stops being slow motion. As Mitty is flying away, there is a wide-shot of Cheryl singing while standing on the dark blue helicopter pad. She is the only object in the frame and gets smaller and smaller in size as the helicopter flies farther and farther away. After Walter arrives in Iceland, he is met with the challenge of getting from one small town to another to escape an erupting volcano. He cuts up his tie and wraps two rocks under the palms of his hand to cushion them against the rough asphalt of the road. Walter grabs his longboard and begins his crazy long boarding ride along a windy, beautiful scenic route showcasing Iceland’s beautiful mountains and lanscape. This scene best shows Walter’s transformation - and ultimately freedom - by the wide and deep shots, as well as his open arms to show his new embracing personality. Walter’s transformation from a plain and lifeless man is done so by the gorgeous new girl in the office, Cheryl Melhoff. Walter’s desire to prove himself for Cheryl is ultimately in charge of giving him a new life as an adventurous man, determined to find the lost picture by Sean O’ Connell, so the last TIME magazine can be issued.

                                

The secret language of film known as mise en scene is very important for giving the audience clues to the deeper meaning of the film. A designated position for this special skill in film making is known as a cinematographer, or one who “records movements” inside the film frame. Mise en scene in this film consistently support Walter Mitty’s transformation from a man who was confined to his apartment and his workplace to a volcano evading, mountain climbing, thrill seeking man who now lives life to the fullest and with no regret, because a certain woman entered his life and gave him something to prove himself for.