Micro Essay of the last sequence in Cruel Intentions:

In this essay I will be writing about the mise en scene and sound in the last sequence of the film cruel intentions. The end scene is the funeral of Sebastian Valmont and where the whole bet is revealed. In this scene Annette acts extremely friendly towards Kathryn even though she knows Kathryn was the one who started the bet, this confuses the audience as we expect her to act differently towards Kathryn. Annette then says "l know it sounds trite, but sometimes when l feel l can't go on l turn to Jesus and he helps me through it" this could be a reference to the cross necklace that Kathryn wears all through the film as this necklace is where she hides her cocaine. She has a secret addiction, and just before the funeral you see her inhale some. Also at the beginning of the film Kathryn also says "l know this sounds corny but whenever l feel the temptation of peer pressure l turn to God and he helps me through the problem" which we know is her sly way of saying she turns to her cocaine addiction, that no one knows about.

At the beginning we see Sebastian driving in his jaguar, wearing Black sunglasses with his journal on the passenger seat. At the end of the sequence I have analysed Annette is driving in Sebastian’s jaguar, wearing black sunglasses with his journal on the passenger seat just like the opening sequence this suggests to me that Kathryn has lost the bet and Annette will take off where Sebastian left.

Sound is used to start tension as in the scene where we see Kathryn inhale her cocaine, in the school toilets as soon as Annette walks out of the cubicle music starts to play. This builds the audience up so they expect something to happening building up the tension. This is when Annette acts friendly towards Kathryn, which as I said at the beginning of the essay, confuses the audience as the suspense is taken away. During the funeral when a student comes in and starts taking students outside music again starts to play, this tells the audience something is about to happen. Also the angrier Kathryn seems to get the louder the music becomes. The music fits in well with the way Kathryn moves as when she opens the doors the music is louder.