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Shadow Of A Doubt Analysis

Decent Essays

So, for Shadow of a Doubt, I’m going to start with some of the moments I found interesting while watching the film:

I liked how at the beginning it went from a rich fancy party to what looks like a poorer portion of the city. It felt symbolic. Like moving from fantasy to reality, or from the beautiful to the base.

I loved how Ann Newton never put down the book she was reading while answering the phone. This amused me because I was a real bookworm as a kid and could relate to her not wanting to stop reading.

Young Charlie seemed like a moody teen initially. She reminded me of a young woman who’s in that transitionary phase between teenage school years and true adulthood. In many ways, Shadow of a doubt was a coming of age story.

I liked …show more content…

Apparently the phrase dates back as far as 1896. Stackexchange.com had an interesting list of explanations for the hat on the bed superstition. One that I liked, considering the context of the story was that there used to be an old voodoo tradition in which a hat was placed on a bed as a sign that if a person continued to follow their current course of action, a curse would come upon them. I also enjoyed how Joseph Newton said he didn’t like to invite trouble as his reason for not wanting him to put the hat on the bed, but then Charlie puts his hat on the bed anyways, as if to say “Trouble is already …show more content…

Herbie seemed to like more romantic or poetic versions of murder, whereas Joseph seemed to like the more practical. The conversation about murdering someone in a way that looked like an accident was excellent foreshadowing for Charles’ attempts to kill Charlie.

Now that I’ve covered some of the points I found interesting, I want to give my summation of the movie:

I think that, as stated before, this film is a coming of age story. At the beginning of the film, Charlotte is disenfranchised with life. She sees a lot of it as meaningless and boring. To her, Charlie is the answer. She views life through very romantic and naive lenses, initially. She is practically worshipful of her uncle, feeling that he can do no wrong and everything is brighter because of his presence.

Charles brings a new view into Charlotte’s world. He does not trust people. He can act polished and friendly, but he would kill the person he claims to value most. He sees the world as messed up and corrupt, and wants to get the most he can out of it. Charlotte now has the choice to take her uncle’s view, or chose a different

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