The movie starts off with a few shots of Hillary and Jackie, the two sisters after whom the film has been named, playing on the beach as young girls, which demonstrates the closeness that was felt between the two sisters. This is also a myth that is demonstrated throughout the film; that siblings are extremely loving and caring towards each other. Obviously, this is ideal, but it is rarely ever true, especially to the extent that Hillary and Jackie are.
The negative affects of stardom are hinted at early in the film when the girls first enter into competitions, and Jackie, the younger sister, is shown driving herself constantly to be as good as her older sister so that she can compete with her. Later in the film, Hillary puts her musical talents on the proverbial `back burner,' and settles down with a husband, planning on a family life. Jackie, on the other hand, continues playing her cello for larger and larger audiences, becoming a more and more successful musician. Unfortunately, before too long she is confined to a wheelchair which, if I remember correctly, is the result of a stroke. I think that this misfortune was meant to be seen as a possible and maybe even probable consequence of a relatively typical young girl who drove herself too hard. This is an example of the theme that, unfortunately, genius is often associated with madness.
There was a lot of emphasis on the sky and the water in the first few scenes. The audience's attention is called to the beautiful sunset, as well as the calm ocean, conveying a sense of peacefulness and freedom. Later in the film, after Jackie has begun her descent into madness, there was a lot of rain and overcast skies. This kind of weather usually gets a rather gloomy, depressing reaction.
Another element of cinematics that I noticed in this film was the way that Jackie's descent into madness was presented. The film's audience would see her playing beautiful music on her cello for a large on-screen audience, and then there would be a close-up of her head, and almost all of the sound would be cut out, except for a few deep, under-water sounding hums and gurgles. This showed that Jackie, although playing her cello outstandingly, was drifting in and out of reality. It was a method of foreshadowing that something was about to go very wrong with Jackie, and the moment that this is known for sure is when she finishes a concert and is unable to stand up on her own, needing to be carried out. This cinematic technique is very similar to that used in the movie `Shine,' with Geoffrey Rush, one of my personal favorites.
Hilary and Jackie is an excellent character study that is presented as part of an engaging drama filled with beautiful scenery as stunningly convincing performances. It is a very realist film, and it's effects are very well achieved through the quality direction, story, and cinematography. Don't miss this one.
The negative affects of stardom are hinted at early in the film when the girls first enter into competitions, and Jackie, the younger sister, is shown driving herself constantly to be as good as her older sister so that she can compete with her. Later in the film, Hillary puts her musical talents on the proverbial `back burner,' and settles down with a husband, planning on a family life. Jackie, on the other hand, continues playing her cello for larger and larger audiences, becoming a more and more successful musician. Unfortunately, before too long she is confined to a wheelchair which, if I remember correctly, is the result of a stroke. I think that this misfortune was meant to be seen as a possible and maybe even probable consequence of a relatively typical young girl who drove herself too hard. This is an example of the theme that, unfortunately, genius is often associated with madness.
There was a lot of emphasis on the sky and the water in the first few scenes. The audience's attention is called to the beautiful sunset, as well as the calm ocean, conveying a sense of peacefulness and freedom. Later in the film, after Jackie has begun her descent into madness, there was a lot of rain and overcast skies. This kind of weather usually gets a rather gloomy, depressing reaction.
Another element of cinematics that I noticed in this film was the way that Jackie's descent into madness was presented. The film's audience would see her playing beautiful music on her cello for a large on-screen audience, and then there would be a close-up of her head, and almost all of the sound would be cut out, except for a few deep, under-water sounding hums and gurgles. This showed that Jackie, although playing her cello outstandingly, was drifting in and out of reality. It was a method of foreshadowing that something was about to go very wrong with Jackie, and the moment that this is known for sure is when she finishes a concert and is unable to stand up on her own, needing to be carried out. This cinematic technique is very similar to that used in the movie `Shine,' with Geoffrey Rush, one of my personal favorites.
Hilary and Jackie is an excellent character study that is presented as part of an engaging drama filled with beautiful scenery as stunningly convincing performances. It is a very realist film, and it's effects are very well achieved through the quality direction, story, and cinematography. Don't miss this one.