Geometric Framing in SAINT OMER
Using Image to Compare Characters and Demonstrate Their Interiority
Saint Omer (2022) is a complex film asking many questions, and answering (almost) none. Rama (Kayije Kagame) is a professor who observes the central court case; by looking at two scenes at the very start and end of the film, and how they echo or break from the shots within the court, we can see exactly her mindset going in and coming out, and thus how she is changed through the case, even though for the majority of the film she says very little about the case itself, and doesn’t interact with the judge, defendant, lawyers, etc.
Beginning (Classroom)
Rama’s first big scene involves her giving a lecture; the film is shown in a black-and-white square within a yellow square (often the colour of memory and nostalgia, and Saint Omer uses yellows and browns heavily throughout the courtroom scene).
The way students are framed as a group in the wide is often echoed in the shots of the projected film.
When students are shown watching, they are framed similarly to each other.
Middle (Courtroom)
This type of shot — medium sized, subject centered, subject looking up while camera is square-on — will heavily feature in the courtroom for Rama as an observer, as well as various witnesses.
The shots of Rama when lecturing, however, are similar to the judge, both sitting on an elevated platform with students and jury / lawyers as audience.
The angles are square or slightly offset, both Rama and the judge look straight-on or slightly downwards, both are given much headspace.The wide and medium-close are both similarly framed within the room, with geometric shapes around them.
The thin line behind Rama is precisely placed to lead attention to her eyes.
End (‘Real’ World)
After the trial there’s a distinct shift in the way Saint Omer frames Rama.
Geometry is still key, with two big differences: how small Rama is within the space; and the straight lines all slanting instead of squared-off / at 90° angles to each other.
Rama herself cuts a diagonal line across shot, and then down a slanted ramp.
Takeaway
With these photos we can boil down Rama’s character arc, and sum up how her mindset shifts.
Rama starts the film in control, with a specific goal and thesis in mind (to write about Coly within the framework of Medea, who murdered her children), and she enters the courtroom to sit in judgement.
But after hearing all the facts and stories, Rama realises she is actually less in control and unsure how to judge what Coly has done. The complex realities of human nature have thrown Rama’s worldview off kilter; she can no longer judge (or indeed, know herself) as surely as she did at the start.