Editing Analysis

Movie: Leave Her to Heaven (1945)

Scene: 

Analysis: The scene begins with a two shot of Gene Tierney’s Ellen and Darryl Hickman’s Danny sitting on a boat. As the conversation between the two continues, the shots switch between the two shot and medium close-ups of both characters depending on whomever is speaking. At one point, Danny turns to talk to Ellen face to face, and the shot shifts from the medium close-up of him to the two shot of both of them to indicate he’s speaking to her directly. Danny dives into the water, and as he continues to talk to Ellen, the medium close-ups of the two resume, with Ellen looking down and Danny up, matching their eyelines. Danny swims ahead, with a wide shot of him from behind, juxtaposed beside a wide shot of Ellen sitting in the boat, watching him swim - and then a wide shot of the both of them, to indicate the full extent of the actions taking place within the scene, both Danny swimming and Ellen rowing the boat forward. As Danny begins to drown, the scene varies between the wide shot, a medium close-up of Danny fledgling in the water, and a medium close-up of Ellen’s face, indicating that she is watching him drown, before finishing with a wide shot of Ellen seated in the boat on the lake and Danny completely drowned underwater, no longer visible.