Mildred Pierce (1945, Dir. Michael Curtiz, Comp. Max Steiner)

The following is an example of a manipulated theme that i have initially written as a paragraph for my dissertation. I feel this to be of relevance to my project as it details not just a change in theme to change mood or emotion but to change the state of mind from the characters perspective and for us to understand the characters mental state at that time.

Mildred Pierce (1945) tells the story of a long suffering mother and the relationship she shares with her ungrateful daughter. The film is an example of how musical themes may manipulate and vary over the course of a film. When Mildred is stunned by a cruel argument with her daughter, the reaction shot of her is accompanied by a loud and tragic rendition of the first three notes of her theme, becoming a statement not just for the condition of the character ‘Mildred’ but also the condition of a woman as a mother. Upon the ending of the film, as Mildred is reunited with her husband and seen walking away from the police station into the sunrise, the theme is fully reinstated as a complete comparison to its original entrance in the major key by a full orchestra dominated by the brass section. This recollection of the theme is not just used to represent Mildred’s joy and emotional overwhelm but also to act as her resolved state of mind, where in her eyes, all ambiguity has been resolved allowing the light of a new day to shine through.