Nicholas Ray as an Auteur

The dysfunctional family is one of a few themes present in Nicholas Ray’s films. Another recurrent theme in Ray’s films is the idea of troubled youth. Ray’s protagonists are often juvenile delinquents. For example, in They Live by Night, the characters Bowie and Keechie, are one the run. Bowie, having previously broken out of jail with fellow convicts Chicamaw and T-Dub, is wanted for the murder of a police officer; Chicamaw shot the officer. His acquaintanceship with Chicamaw and T-Dub, leads Bowie into robbing a bank. Bowie’s grounds for robbing the bank is to gather money

To help the theme of dysfunctional families come across Ray uses other elements of the film. These include the cinematography used, how the film was edited, and the structure of the narrative.

This theme of outsiders wanting normality can also be seen in They Live by Night. Here Both Bowie and Keechie wish to start over. They want to be able to ride horses and play games in the park. They want to be able to adventure out without having to look over their shoulder all the time. Near the end of the film, both Keechie and Bowie understand that they can never have that, and in return make jokes about those who can.

for a lawyer to handle his case. After the shooting, Bowie and Keechie take off.

On Dangerous Ground stretches the theme of troubled youth, to simply troubled life. Here the detective, Jim Walsh, is having problems with work, and basically his life. Too much crime is getting to Jim, and he is beginning to take it out violently on criminals and witnesses. Also troubled is Mary. Wanting to protect her brother she keeps quiet to Jim about what Danny did. Mary also sacrifices her own health so that she may care for Danny.

Yet, another constant theme in Ray’s films is that of outsiders wanting normality. They long for this life they can never have. This is tied into the theme of troubled youth. In Rebel Without a Cause the normality that is wanted is a safe and happy home in the eyes of the protagonist. For James Stark normality would be his father being more aggressive, and not a push over or as soft. James also wants to stay in one place, and stop moving around with his family. Judy wishes for her parents to treat her the way she wants, and for her father to have more respect for her. Plato’s wishes continue the want for normality. He just wants to spend time with his family, or in return a new family that he can create. He wants the rules and the fishing trips that other boys his age have.

In conclusion Nicholas Ray used his personal vision in his films to lie across the theme of the dysfunctional family. By using common, stylistic traits in each film, Ray creates an artistic universe. The use of cinematic techniques helps to illuminate each theme in his work. Ray’s film characters are not living in the normal part of society socially. To portray so he does not follow the narrative functions set out by Propp. Each key stylistic aspect of the Nicholas Ray’s films studied was driven by the idea of family dysfunction.

The police detectives in On Dangerous Grounds also belong in this category. There is the obvious good cop bad cop scenario in the characters. Also the police chief plays the role of

Some topics in this essay:
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