Citizen Kane Breakfast Scene Analysis Film Studies Essay

Through what is alleged to be one of the best films, a series of anecdotes reveal the story behind Charles Foster Kane. The story, along with the revolutionary cinematography, made it a movie years ahead of it’s time where Orson Welles, Charlie Kane, takes several controversial steps on his road to greatness. However, Citizen Kane makes it very clear that wealth cannot necessarily buy happiness. This is demonstrated in Charles and Emily’s breakfast scene through masterful use of symbolism, perspective, costuming, the soundtrack, and even through dialogue.

In the beginning of the scene, Emily and Charles come in from a long night of partying and having a great time together. They sit very close to one another showing their initial infatuation for one another as they converse about what the servants would think of their behavior. Right off the bat, Emily fires off her opposition about Charlie’s dedication to his place of work, the Inquirer. The next scene fades in soon after, and the two are now far enough apart that cuts are required to show both Emily and Charles. Flowers sit in the middle of the table and remain in the lower corners of the screen, representing a “friendly” obstacle in between the couple, while tensions are apparent, but still low. As the scenes progress, the mood changes, and the centerpieces gradually become colder and more lifeless, much like their relationship. As time progresses they distance themselves from one another at breakfast, the only time they apparently get to spend together, to the point where they silently sit at opposite ends of a very large dinner table.

The second tool Orson Welles used to his advantage was that of perspective. From the very beginning of the movie, the audience has seen events unfold from a third person view, where Welles rarely made scene cuts, unless he intended to. In the breakfast scene, Welles changed the game up by using what was considered the “norm” of his time, scene cutting from person to person. He used this type of filming, at the time, to show what he wanted his audience to see and nothing else. He wanted the audience to see what Charlie’s job was doing to both him and Emily, be it physically or emotionally. The lighting on the set also gave light to Welle’s use of Chiaroscuro, or the use of shadows, as he made sure the shadows on their faces showed how the marriage had slowly but surely worn at their bodies and emotions. Welles clearly understood that panning the shot out to include both Emily and Kane in the same shot would not have given justice to the emotions shown on their faces, but on their bodies as well.

Initially, Emily is wearing a rather revealing dress that represents her and Charles’ youthful night of partying, as well as their infatuation for one another. However, as the scenes progress and as the moods of the couple changes, so do the wardrobes. Charles changes between comfortable, playboy like clothes to a much more professional getup to signify his constant plans of getting ready for work. Emily, on the other hand, maintains her queen-like apparel, only she covers herself little by little as her mood becomes more and more harsh. Both Emily and Charles wear clothes that give a type of royalty to their personas, where in reality, behind the overpriced garments, there is just another troubled relationship, that sacrifices love for money.

All of the aforementioned tools used not only in this particular scene, but throughout the entire movie are very conscious dependant. Rarely does it go unnoticed when the main character goes from one wardrobe to another, but it is rarely considered how the soundtrack plays on the audience’s emotions as well. Welles did not demand that the soundtrack be some sappy,

overpowering, force-feeding garbage that most movies of his time were, but instead thought highly enough of his audience to let the music subtly inform it’s listeners as to how they should feel. Anyone can tune in to a SOAP-like television show and immediately tell what is going on simply by listening to the music for a few seconds. Here in this scene, a cheerful and rather upbeat score plays lightly in the background to signify that all is well and good, that is until the spin around fast-forward through time moment takes place. Now, as the mood slips slowly into darkness the music accompanies it, as if guiding the audience subconsciously into the same realm of feeling and sadness.

Most importantly is Welle’s use of dialogue throughout this scene. At first, it appeared that Emily and Charles were living out their newly conjoined lives in happiness, with not a care in the world. They converse with nothing but love and affection in their voice as they jokingly talk about the time of day, and what the servants will think of their frivolous behavior. Soon thereafter, Emily makes a remark about her disdain for Charlie’s demanding work schedule, where Charlie simply brushes it off and replies with the witty remark of “You never should have married a newspaperman. They’re worse than sailors.” This makes a rather awkward moment between the two, but Charlie comes in with the save by saying “I absolutely adore you.” She simply must have her way, and Charles complies by delaying his appointments until noon. Magical-twirling-fast-forward-moment and some short time later, Kane now sports a moustache and Emily continues to once again complain about Charlie’s obsessive work schedule. Charlie has the nerve to reply that her “only correspondent is the Inquirer.” As the scenes progress, more and more hostility is shown towards one another, due to differing ideas, where Kane is obviously not used to such harsh criticism, especially so close to home. The last scene shows the couple, now several years into the marriage, sitting silently in a formal dining room at opposite ends of a very large table, with Emily in total defiance by her actions of reading the competitive Chronicle.

In conclusion, Citizen Kane makes it very clear that wealth cannot necessarily buy happiness. This is demonstrated in Charles and Emily’s breakfast scene through masterful use of symbolism, perspective, costuming, the soundtrack, and even through dialogue. Orson Welles was not only an amazing actor, but he was also a brilliant man to have come up with so many revolutionary filming techniques. Who would ever think to dig a hole in the middle of a studio to get a few seconds of film during the 1940s. His innovation has made him an idol to anyone who is serious about making a piece of film, and has made his movie, Citizen Kane, a must see to any one who has respect for great film.