W;t vs. Wit

Being a theater person, it's a well-known fact that reading the script of a play is VASTLY different from seeing it performed, be it on film or stage. That being said, here are some observations of form I found in the Emma Thompson performance of Wit.

1. Setting: With the original script, the directions don't require much in way of setting; Edson calls for a minimalist setting, with a bed and possibly a few machines to give the feeling of a hospital. With a film production, however, that cannot really be done to its full effect, so in the film version, they film it in such a way as to make the set as much like an actual hospital as possible.

2. Dialogue: Some of the inner thoughts Vivian says to the audience while Kelekian and other doctors are talking in the stage play would seem out of place in a film production, so they were mostly taken out. However, the final lines, where Vivian recites "Death be not proud" can be very profound in the film setting, because we can hear Vivian's voice talking about death and still get the feeling that she is no longer alive.

3. Props: There is one painting that shows up in Kelekian's office, Vivian's room, as well as in several rooms during the flashbacks. It looks to be possibly a picture of Christ or one of the saints, possibly foreshadowing Vivian's own death.

4. Music: There is very little background music whenever Vivian is with other people, but when she is alone, slow music starts to play softly in the background. The only other instance of music is the very jarring violin noises playing at the very beginning of the film.

5. Mood: Along with where the music is present, the key and tone of the music changes to reflect the mood of Vivian herself. As the play progresses, it shifts slowly into a minor key, sounding more and more like a funeral song.

6. Flashbacks: What's interesting to note is how the flashbacks and present time flow and meld together. Some of the time during the flashback, it shows Vivian as she was then, but at other points, it shows Vivian as she is in the hospital: bald, in a hospital gown, etc.

7. Sound effects: No matter where she is in the hospital, there are always the whirs, beeps, and drones of different machines and apparatus. The omnipresent nature of these noises do, however, fluctuate in how loud they are depending on the mood of the scene in question.

8. Character shots: With the doctors, the camera almost never shows both Vivian and them in the same shot; it's always a close-up of one of their faces. With Susie, however, they're often shown together, as if Susie is closer to Vivian than any of the doctors could possibly be.

9. Metaphor: In the final scenes, Professor Ashford reads Vivian The Runaway Bunny, and even comments on its allegorical plotline. This book can be seen as a metaphor for the play itself; Vivian tries to stay away from sentiment, emotion, and connection with others, but through the course of the play, she realizes that that's all she wants now, is to receive kindness from others.

10. Make-up/ Facial features: In the movie, Vivian's face gradually becomes more gaunt and sickly, which is something the stage-play could never show, because the audience cannot see close-ups of Vivian's face as she goes through these changes.


I think the observation that I could write about the most would probably be the 9th one, because it was so interesting to see Professor Ashford comment on the "Allegory of the soul" and realize that that could very well be what W;t as a play and as a film could be. It could be a very profound theme of love and death working side by side within a single work. The symbolism inherent in the painting and in Vivian's camera interactions with the doctors and with Susie could also be used to explore the concept of her experience in the hospital as an allegory of the soul. There could also be a theme of time having no meaning to Vivian now, as her flashbacks are sometimes invaded by the hospital itself, such as Susie walking in while Vivian is flashing back to a lecture she gave to her students a few years ago. The main theme to be explored would still probably be the theme of Professor Ashford's comment on The Runaway Bunny, as well as exploring how the children's story seems more profound in Vivian's final moments than Donne's poetry, which she rejects in the scene itself.


Working Thesis Statements:
Evaluation: The more one analyzes and ponders the many themes of Wit, what is realized is that Vivian's life parallel's Donne's ruminations on life and death.

Causal: Professor Ashford's comment on The Runaway Bunny being an allegory of the soul allows the reader to view Vivian's life and the play as a whole as just that: an allegory for Vivian's own soul.

Comparison: The use of camera angles and focus allow the film version of Wit to explore themes in ways that the stage play cannot.