Use of Lighting

Watching the movie yesterday, besides noticing that mirror shot again, and the characterizations of both men, I thought Lee's use of lighting was quite remarkable. In the tender, intimate, scenes (Jack and Ennis the 2nd time, Ennis and Alma) Lee uses dim, yet soft lighting, which is accentuated by the pinkish decor of the bedroom (Alma) and the glow of the fire. By contrast, in the scenes where two characters are wild, passionate, and almost primal (Ennis and Jack the 1st time, and Lureen and Jack in the backseat), Lee barely uses any lighting, preferring darkness illuminated by the light of the moon (At least for Lureen and Jack). Again, I'm not sure if this means anything, but one idea might be that the "quickie" yet rough scenes are just that, while the more intimate ones suggest an actual warmth the characters have for each other.

Lastly, the way Jack and Ennis denied "I'm no queer. Me neither" was quite different from what I had pictured. I originally thought that they were angrily denying their affair in the story, trying to regain their manliness of sorts. But in the movie, the tone is sad, as if they realize that they might be gay, yet societal norms force them to say these words. But I welcomed the change from my imagination.