Night Of The Hunter Fight Scene Analysis

In The Night of the Hunter, the scene in which Harry murders Willa in her bed is symbolic through the formal elements of lighting, location, prop placement, and costuming in the mise-en-scène to represent a funeral and the battle between good and evil. In regards to the location, the bedroom is triangular, appearing to be in the shape of a church’s steeple. The three points of the triangle represent the Holy Trinity, as Willa is prepared to go to Heaven. This strengthens the notion of the scene representing Willa’s funeral since most funeral services take place in a church in a religious manner. Furthermore, Willa’s arms are crossed over her chest, similar to how the hands of the deceased are placed in their caskets, creating impact for the audience by being upset for Willa. During the scene, a medium shot of
Earlier in the film, the audience learns that Harry has tattoos on each hand. His right hand says ‘love’ while his left hand says ‘hate’. When referencing props, the knife is held in the hand that says ‘hate’ as he kills Willa, thus reinforcing the notion that Harry is actually evil as he kills her. This also aids in advancing the idea that Harry is monstrous only commits sinful acts with his ‘hate’ hand to almost justify or hide his actions in a way, as he is not using his holier ‘love’ hand. Thus, the formal elements of mise-en-scène are used as a means of ‘Design as Symbol’ to reveal the true nature of the characters and theme. The location and lighting evokes the theme of a funeral. The lighting, placement of the knife, and the colors of the costuming also creates a battle of good versus evil between Harry and Willa, revealing Harry’s true nature of being of a villainous man who fools the town as a preacher. Together, these elements allow the audience to see Harry’s actual intentions and cause them to be angry at him, while sympathizing for the other