Film Review: Black Narcissus

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Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's Black Narcissus (1947) shares a melodramatic tale in which a group of nuns travel to the Himalayan mountains to establish a school and hospital for its citizens, but being there changes them and begins to turn their own vow of celibacy strongly against them. Sister Ruth (Kathleen Bryon) finds that her self control and sanity are overpowered by seduction and the love that she intensely develops for Mr. Dean, (David Farrar) the government worker. Meanwhile, Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) who is meant to be leading the others on their aim in the Himalayas, slips into daydreams of the past, and reminisces about her own memories she had once experienced with love. 

Figure. 1. Black Narcissus Movie Poster 

The appearance of the film shows the viewer the alterations and ongoing transitions of the women's emotional states and sexual awakenings, as they inevitably develop and grow. This is done through the incredible and well thought out cinematography done by Jack Cardiff. The colours closer to the start of the film set more of a calm and innocent mood, with cool blues and greens, along with the pale whites of the outfits that are worn by the nuns. Later on in the film, fiery reds invade the palette to show the heat, passion and evil, a lot more lighting/shade is used to the advantage of making the film darker and less visible to see everything. In some scenes, the shadowy areas cause the white robes of the nuns to look dark grey, reflecting the unholiness that has met their guilty conscience. Furthermore, a glimpse of balanced remorse and darker urges are represented through the clashing of blues and heated reds and oranges. (See Fig. 2.) This combination of colours here is rather important, as it contributes to displaying a turning point in characters and desires, which creates a midpoint between their starting state and ending state. "Cinematographer Jack Cardiff, in the documentary Painting with Light, said Van Gogh's use of complementary colours inspired his choice to contrast the greenish fill lights with red sunlight effects. He liked the 'anger' in Van Gogh's palette, and truly the effect on screen is a deliciously ambiguous mix of violence and accord." (Bowen, 2004)

Figure. 2. Black Narcissus Movie Still

Once Sister Ruth finally meets her destructive breaking point, there is a scene in which her and Sister Clodagh sit opposite one another in a candle lit room. This is a rather twisted and shocking situation not only for Sister Clodagh to go through, but for the audience also. Ruth has her hair neatly done up, a saucy red dress on and a vanity mirror in her hand. Meanwhile, Clodagh sits with her open bible at hand, with Ruth proceeding to apply the sexualising, bright red lipstick. As the candles go out, and Ruth's sinful look in her eyes bring darkness and an evil aura to the room, discomfort invades the screen and makes you fear not Ruth herself but whatever devilish presence it is that has taken over this place. "The problem is, the nuns cannot defeat the outside world, because that blood-red sensuality -- the flowers, the lipstick, the errant wives and dying children -- have already invaded the palace." (Jesse M, 2010)

Figure. 3. Black Narcissus Movie Still

Throughout Black Narcissus the gradual transformation takes place, and it shows the audience the stages of this through the visuals. For example, the sickening redness that build up underneath their eyes slightly earlier on in the film, or the moody palette balancing reds with blues. Once Sister Ruth gives in and puts on the red dress and lipstick, although she is too far gone down that path to turn back now, the evil that has taken control of her is still destined to escalate dangerously higher. How would Powell and Pressburger create this gradual creeping tension if the nun's were to go from zero to a hundred instantly? They made it so that the demonic entity grows and evolves inside of them, sharing the worrying change with the viewers. It is as if Ruth is possessed by some form of evil, one that she can only fight for so long before it takes over her soul fully. After Sister Ruth finds Mr. Dean and confesses her love for him, he tells her he doesn't feel the same which frustrates her even further. She passes out, but moments before this rage builds up inside her, and the screen has a blood red filter as if you're looking through her eyes. This of course, is the same symbolic red that is seen multiple times in the film. Her jealously and hatred towards Sister Clodagh possesses her to find her and kill her, this is where Ruth is at her very worst. "Ruth's expressionistic and etiolating make-up, and the fact that her once-perfectly done up ginger hair and red dress have become greasy and coal black to match her eyes, ultimately render her as a pale, emaciated ghoul when the viewer finally sees her standing in full light before the attack on Sister Clodagh." (Bagatavicius, 2012) This violent attempt gets Ruth killed, without causing harm to the other nuns, who decide to leave the Himalayas after. What is amazingly executed, is Ruth's horrific transition and the tension that leads up to this point. Firstly seeing her swap the nun robes for the red dress, doing up her hair and applying lipstick sexualising herself extremely giving the fact she was an actual nun, is powerful enough. It would be natural to believe that her in that stage is her worst, and that this is the inevitable evil that has been brewing up inside her all this time, finally unleashed. But no, it is how she looks right before the attack at the end (See Fig. 3.) So to bring the audience to the edge of their seats feeling uneasy in the lipstick scene, to then making Ruth look completely innocent in that scene when comparing it to how her character and costume is in the final attack, is mind-blowing. The darkening tension and evil escalation does not stop at all. Powell and Pressburger make sure the evil possession is clearly and truly in control throughout the whole film, and that is why the viewers know that the story is only going to get more and more exciting. 

Illustration List
Figure. 1. IMDb, Black Narcissus Movie Poster. http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0039192/ 
(Accessed 18/11/17)
Figure. 2. Righetti J, Black Narcissus Movie Still. http://dailygrindhouse.com/thewire/black-narcissus-1947/
(Accessed 18/11/17)
Figure. 3. Bagatavicius A, Black Narcissus Movie Still. http://offscreen.com/view/holiness_in_black_narcissus
(Accessed 18/11/17)

Bibliography
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