Citizen Kane: Low Angles

Tova Byrne

Citizen Kane - Low Angles

There is so, so much to discuss in regards to Citizen Kane. It is a very technical film, and each technique used is done so with thought and purpose. Basically, the sheer volume of notes I took about technical things is embarrassing. However, I found that one of the most prominent techniques in this film was Welles’ use of high and low angles to aggrandize Kane and portray status between characters. At the beginning of the film, low angles are slightly less frequent, as Kane is closer to the same level as his peers. However, when it is decided that Kane is to be taken with Thatcher, Thatcher is shot from a low angle looming over Kane as a child, and Kane is shot from a high angle of Thatcher over him. Their statuses changes quickly as the film progresses, and soon all of those high angle shots of Kane over Thatcher’s shoulder and low angles of Thatcher sitting in a colossal chair over his desk sink to eye level; they then lower as Kane begins to tower over him as he develops into the hugely famous and powerful man that the viewer knows he becomes. Kane proceeds to be shot from a low angle many times throughout the rest of the film to heighten the sense of his power and arrogance. There are countless instances: Leland and Kane standing on either side of Mr. Carter, the wildly stuttering original editor of the Inquirer, Kane standing and talking over Leland and Bernstein as they sit, almost below him, the crazy low angle of Leland and Kane as they pace the empty shell of the Inquirer headquarters. But perhaps one of the other most important uses of this technique is showed during his relationship with his second wife, Susan. It is a relationship built on false pretenses and one that marks the turning point of Kane’s rise and fall, and Susan represents Kane’s lost innocence and fall from grace. After the Inquirer’s scathing review of her debut, Susan sits on the floor as Kane stands over her and his shadow falls over her. Later, Susan again sits on the ground almost at Kane’s feet as he sits in his chair, begging her to keep her voice down. When she leaves, however, the placement of the shot and the level of the characters is much more eye to eye. From the final low angle, he throws a tantrum in a wild fit of rage and arrogance, and the room–along with his life–comes crashing down around him.