Danny Devito's Techniques Used In The Film Matilda

What techniques does the director, Danny DeVito, use in the film ‘Matilda’ to illustrate that the character Agatha Trunchbull is evil and malicious.

The film ‘Matilda’ directed by Danny DeVito is a 1966 fantasy comedy film about a small girl Matilda. Matilda is a very intelligent child who is neglected by her parents and believed to be ordinary. However, when Matilda begins school we are introduced to the malicious, rude and fierce Ms Trunchbull who is the principle of Cruncham Hall Elementary School. Some of the techniques used by DeVito to betray her as malicious are her unattractive appearance, evil personality and unflattering angles.

The appearance of Ms Trunchbull is an effective way of creating her cruel and dominant personality. The

The first time we are introduced to Ms Trunchbull there is many extreme close up shots used as a build up to reveal her face. First we are shown an extreme close up of her extremely large bulky calves with high green socks and children running and screaming as she walks out of the school’s doorway. Followed by a high angle, which is commonly used to make characters look weak or powerless however, because of Ms Trunchbull’s large build she is still much larger than all the children and seen as dominant. We then see a close up of her very tight bun on her head continuing to her gloved hand holding a whip. When miss Trunchbull’s face is finally revealed it is a close up high angle from the perspective of a child to expose her red oily face and grotty yellow teeth. When Ms Trunchbull and Miss Honey are having a conversation in Ms Trunchbull’s office when the camera angle is on Ms Trunchbull a high angle is used to make her seem more powerful and evil in comparison to Miss Honey where a low angle is used to make her seem weak and powerless. DeVito’s clever use of camera angles and shots clearly shows Ms Trunchbull is an evil, threatening and

Matilda gains control over her powers and is able to scare Ms Trunchbull into thinking she is being haunted by Magnus, her dead brother in law. She looks flustered with an untidy bun and tired face, the change in her appearance shows her fright compared to when she was in control. Instead of using fierce, cruel language she starts to whine and whimper which also shows she is no longer dominant and confidant toward the children. Her personality changes from malicious to powerless and she begins to panic in disbelief of what is happening. Finally, the change in camera angles used is extremely effective in showing her loss of power, Ms Trunchbull shown using low angles and high angles of the kids and Miss Honey to show her weakness and who is now in control. The final scenes where Ms Trunchbull is no longer in control evidently show how effective film techniques are when illustrating the character.

In conclusion the Film ‘Matilda’ depicts Ms Trunchbull as evil, malicious and cruel which is evidently shown in the film by the clever use of film techniques. DeVito cleverly uses film techniques to clearly illustrate her as malicious and cruel. The effect of film techniques is clearly shown at the end of the film when Ms Trunchbull becomes weak and powerless compared to her dominance throughout the film. The film