Free Essay About Secrets Hidden Behind The Smile

“The Act” is an American short film shot in 2004 by Susan Kraker and Pi Ware. The film lasting eight minutes represents a piece of life of Rosy Marconi, a stand-up comedian who makes the audience laugh but she herself comes home and cry. She has a secret which she transformed into a source of laughter.
The film starts with a bright voice of the show host presenting his next comedian so the audience is prepared for a good mood. Meanwhile it sees a woman behind the scene who does not seem relaxed at all – her pose hints at her praying or just being overwrought. The camera is moving behind the scene till it is fixed on Rosy. In the beginning of the movie, the directors used certain types of transition between the shots and the opening titles, namely fades-out and fades-in. It means that the image slowly fades to black or fades from black screen slowly into the image. This method seems to make the audience serious.
When Rosy finds herself onstage, she is very confident and funny. She creates the image of a strong woman who looks on the bright side of life. Rosy wears trousers and shirt, and it seems like the divorce she is talking about is just a certain phase she will easily overcome. But the audience gets confused when the shots of her performance change to those of her being at home. The directors successfully created the mood and the atmosphere of what expects her at home. They chose to demonstrate it at night when it rains outside. It is dark in the kitchen where she is having a drink and smoking a cigarette. The gift baskets she was talking about in the show are really here, on the table. Rosy now seems miserable.
The audience begins to suspect that in reality, she misses her husband when she cries, looks at their common photo, and wears back the wedding ring. It seems like she pretends she is still married. The directors chose an interesting device to depict the story – the happy Rose onstage is shown parallel to the miserable Rosy at home. It is now obvious that the comedy is a true art because its acting requires total efficiency; otherwise the jokes and the laughter will seem artificial. No matter what Rosy is going through she must make people laugh.
The bright colors onstage are contrasted with dark and grayish ones in the kitchen; the noise and laughter oppose the breathless silence at Rosy’s home. She stands straight while performing and she humps up the back when at home; she is open and easy-going with her audience, and she seems avoidant in her empty house. These two worlds of hers are contrary, and unfortunately, it is the sad one that seems to be real.
The final scene takes place in a room where the audience is surprised to see a pale ill man sleeping. Now it is obvious Rosy is not divorced – she takes care of her husband. The attentive spectator might notice that the diffused light of the lamps creates the warm yellowish picture which associates with love, family, and coziness. Rosy left her despair in the dark cold kitchen and entered the room as a loving caring wife. The directors underlined the sense of humor of her husband by his question about the show – he knows what she tells the audience and smiles. The scene is very heart-piercing. Obviously the directors made the typical life accident more intense particularly by choosing the comedian to show her struggles with difficulties – she hides her misery by attracting attention to her excellent sense of humor.