Frozen River World
How does the world affect the tone of what we see?
The winter season and the living conditions of the characters reflect the difficulties that the characters are facing. For example, in the opening scene in the movie we see the frozen river, snow and Ray’s visible breath which shows how cold it is and later on in the story the desperation for Ray and Lila adds to how tough their situation is in that weather condition. The overall white, blue and greyish tone emphasises on the dullness and emptiness that the characters are living. Looking at Ray and Lila life respectively, Ray loses the money for her home which she has painstakingly saved up while Lila is being outcast by the Mohawks and her baby was taken away from her. The tone in the world affects how the characters feel which lead to the audience feeling the same emotion as them.
It is about internal logic: how does the world operate?
The world operates by the desperation need of money to live by and to get a better taste of living. The main character Ray, who is in desperate need of money to pay for the house and to have a nice Christmas for her family lead her to smuggle illegal immigrants across the border. In addition, Lila desperation to have that money from smuggling with Ray was to give a better life for her child. Also, TJ, desperation for getting a Christmas present for Ricky since he knew that Ray was not able to keep the promise lead him to be involved in the phishing scam. This is the main rule of how the world operates. Later in the story, as we look in the sub-world of Ray and Lila, Ray enters unknown territories such as the Mohawk land. She then learns new rules, for example, if she is white she would not be stopped by the cops. We also learn that if you are a Mohawk in a Mohawk land they have their own specific rules and other territories rules are not applied there. The rules continue to build up as the story goes on.
It is a vessel for theme and meaning: what stories can be told in this world?
I personally would like Lila and TJ story to be told in this world. I feel there is more to Lila back story though there were parts that hinted us about Lila’s past. Lila seems to be suffering for a long time which makes me curious how was her life before meeting Ray.
TJ story would be an interesting path to show that he gets himself involve with the wrong things and gangs just to earn some money for his family. He feels the sense of responsibility but ends up being caught by the cops which in turn Ray will start blaming herself for not taking good care of her family.
Does the world have its own voice, attitude or perspective?
In the script, I felt that the world was harsher and intense while in the movie I felt that overall cinematography was not what I imagined it to be. I expected the movie to emphasise on the living conditions so that we can pity and feel the struggles that the characters were facing. Overall, the script reflected a world where desperation leads to doing wrongful acts in order for one needs or to protect their family.
