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Essay / Narrative Devices in “All About Eve”
Director Joseph Mankiewicz's All About Eve uses a circular narrative to conceal the truth of Eve's story. However, the impact that Eve's story ultimately has on Margo is greater than Eve's story itself. Indeed, the fabricated nature of Eve's story allows it to be easily rewritten by other "carbon copies" like Phoebe, thus rendering it worthless. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay There is great irony in the title Mankiewicz gave for the film, “All About Eve,” because the story of 'Eve is never told by Eve herself, but rather through the stories of all those she betrayed. Therefore, on a broader scale, the film is an exploration of the nature and effect of everyone's duplicity by introducing the key characters of the narrative in Sarah Siddon's dining room and then. using a flashback to follow their retrospective trajectory, Mankiewicz makes palpable to the audience the betrayal that Karen and Margo feel, as a result of Eve's seduced manipulation, therefore, Eve is introduced to the audience just as Karen was - in the shadow of one. The fact that such darkness is an allusion to Eve's deceptive nature goes unnoticed by the film's viewers, but rather highlights Eve's apparent impecuniosity. As such, the obsequiousness revealed by Eve through her extensive research into careers and lives. of Margo, Lloyd and Bill is slightly disturbing, and turns into disconcern about his ability to make himself indispensable to Margo, by becoming her “sister, lawyer… and cop”. The height of discomfort, however, is experienced in Mankiewicz's first explicit revelation of Eve's subterfuge, as she is rejected by Bill and childishly tears off her wig, before instantly switching from fury to charm at the sound of the knock. 'Addison. Therefore, Mankiewicz's circular narrative effectively conceals Eve's deception, thus making her behavior more heinous in the public eye. Although Eve's story is important to Mankiewicz's narrative, it is not necessarily the most important. Rather, it is the impact of Eve's story on Margo that is most captivating. Mankiewicz first introduces Margo through Addison Dewitt's narration, where she is unquestionably defined as a "real star." She is centralized in the frame and controls the caustic banter between her and the Richards, behind the scenes, and greatly disparages her fans. Thus, Margo is first presented as the stereotypical celebrity who has outgrown her fame. However, while she appears to be at the peak of her career, the close-up of her face as she bids farewell to Bill at the airport and asks him, "Am I going to lose you, Bill?" », Reveals a woman who deeply lacks confidence and hesitates to trust. Therefore, while Margo falls victim to Eve's manipulation, but is marginalized by her close friends due to their reliance on Eve's "quiet kindness" and "rare qualities", Mankiewicz elicits great sympathy from the from the public. This culminates in the confessional scene between Margo and Karen, where Mankiewicz reveals that Eve's machinations have revealed deeper uncertainties in Margo's life. The dialogue is very pathetic, as Margo admits to feeling nothing but "insecure, unwanted and unloved." Therefore, Margo's transformation ultimately trumps Eve's story, which is rendered worthless by Phoebe's rewriting. In the film's final scenes, Margo finds true fulfillment in her role as a docile and humble housewife, while Eve is hurt by victory..