Week 4 Blog: Rope

Lighting plays a significant role in Alfred Hitchcock’s motion picture “Rope.” The movie begins with the strangulation of David Kentley by the hands of his classmates Brandon Shaw and Phillip Morgan. The murder takes place in a dark room with blinds pulled over the windows (timestamp – 3:50). This is Hitchcock’s first symbolic use of lighting in the film. The darkness represents the guilt on one’s conscience that comes with performing the deed of murder. The character that reflects this guilt is Phillip, who seems uneasy in lit environments throughout the movie because the light serves as a representation of goodness which he lacks.
Phillip’s sensitivity to light is shown in another particular scene during which he plays the piano to entertain his guests. One of the guests, Rupert Cadell, turns on a lamp that stands above the piano and Phillip quickly tells him to shut it off (timestamp – 45:08). He remarks that he does not like light shining in his eyes (timestamp – 45:15). The lighting in this scene further symbolizes the good that prevails within people until their dark sides take over, in this case, the thought of David’s murder on Phillip’s conscience. This explains why Phillip becomes anxious at the sight of light.
Toward the end of the movie Mrs. Wilson, Brandon and Phillip’s maid, begins to clean up the food and plates on the “table” from the party (timestamp – 50:39). The “table” is actually a coffin containing David’s body. The lights in the room turn on as Mrs. Wilson clears everything off the surface of the coffin (timestamp – 50:46). This light represents the truth about David’s disappearance from the party almost revealing itself as the Brandon and Phillip are almost caught for their crime.
Hitchcock effectively uses lighting in “Rope” to symbolize goodness/truth and uses darkness to represent evil, most notably the guilt on Phillip’s mind. The lighting provides supplements for the audience to grasp the contrast between good and evil.