What's becoming of the children?

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="005dba33.gif"> <div> <A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us/"><U><IMG SRC="13891330.jpg" border=0 width="145" height="51" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>     | <A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us"><U>home</U></A> |   back to  <A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us/nonlotr/id107.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us/nonlotr/id107"><U><B>"Save the life of my child"</B></U></A><B> </B></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="On the ledge"><U>On the ledge</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id110.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Twould be a miracle indeed"><U>'Twould be a miracle indeed</U></A>   |   <B>What's becoming of the children?</B>   |   <A HREF="id112.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="When darkness fell"><U>When darkness fell</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id108.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="He flew away"><U>He flew away</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="b804b873.jpg"> <bR> <bR> <div> "Oh, what's becoming of the children?"</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> I'm starting this page with Aaron back on the exercise machine (which he's gotten pretty good at using) because I think it's where we first see him beyond his ability to cope. He's no longer able to reflect on things as he does in earlier scenes. It's another example to add to the list of Elijah's moments of acting "nothingness" - each of which is unique (how does he <I>do </I>that?). We haven't quite seen the last of Aaron as Aaron, but he's not in this picture or in the next few scenes. </div> <bR> <div> This is where I see the previous clichéd  scene with the machine paying off dramatically. Somewhere between his first failed attempt to use it and this skilled nothingness, he's started to turn into a different person. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="b7f20c20.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Our third view of Aaron in his mirror. After he lights this cigarette, he acts as his own drill sergeant. What he says to himself out loud isn't completely unlike something a voice might say inside a schizophrenic's mind. I'm not going to diagnose him that specifically, but it's pretty clear we've moved into psychotic territory. He's broken away from reality, which he'll be in and out of for the rest of the movie.</div> <bR> <div> In the "language" of this film, a close-up that shows only part of a character's face is a sign of trouble. Some great use of the asymmetrical eyes here, visually emphasizing that Aaron's lost his balance. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="b8220c00.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="448" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> I did the tweaking on this frame after I was pretty far along in the process, and it shows the "native" coloring of the movie...</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="b8420bc0.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="444" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> ...OTOH, this next frame was one of the first I did from the movie, when I was still "fixing" the hue. The original had the same coloring as the one just above, and the difference between the two here shows how strong the green color cast is. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="ba11ebe0.jpg" border=0 width="798" height="446" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Decision made - to change himself into someone who can cope with this. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="b881ebd0.jpg" border=0 width="798" height="445" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> It's almost spooky to see this totally recognizable smile in this context - but unlike the "real thing," it's tightly controlled. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="b9820bd0.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="445" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Aaron has his physical identity changed at another location that tinges everything green, although more brightly. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="c0c20c20.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Same smile as above, but his eyes add to our awareness that he's stepping over the edge. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="c0e20c10.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="449" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> And we've seen this little head down/eyes up thing before, haven't we?</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="b8a20be0.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="446" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> If he's going to be this new person, the old one has to go. Attempting to write doesn't work - Aaron the author has to be gone if Aaron the soldier is going to survive. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="c0a20c10.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="449" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="c1020c00.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="448" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="c1220c20.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="c1420c20.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="c1620c20.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> On the other hand, he seems totally at ease in his new persona here. If you saw him walking down the street, you wouldn't think he'd just made such a drastic change. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="ba21ebf0.jpg" border=0 width="798" height="447" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="b9f6c0a0.gif" border=0 width="620" height="10" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 66 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id111_m.htm" TITLE="Whats becoming of the children?"><U><IMG SRC="1647d3c0.jpg" border=0 width="125" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 71 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id112.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="When darkness fell"><U><IMG SRC="1657d3c0.jpg" border=0 width="125" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 66 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id110.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Twould be a miracle indeed"><U><IMG SRC="3e17d3c0.jpg" border=0 width="125" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> The background on this page is made from the wall in Aaron's bathroom, including the frame around the mirror. </div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>