The Sugarland Express

For a first full length film, there is much to be appreciated. Spielberg's use of mis-en-scene to move the story forward and to mirror the growth and inner lives of the characters is miles ahead of where he was in Amblin' and Eyes. He places and moves the actors in many scenes in ways that heighten our understanding of the characters' relationship to each other. When Patrolman Slide removes Lou Jean from the car (from the private to the public) she pulls his gun (castrates him?) and throws the gun near Clovis. Clovis grabs the gun (thought doesn’t know apparently how to point it) and says he has never shot anyone before (which will mirror Captain Tanner’s statement in a later scene). Spielberg films the scene from the perspective of the Patrolman looking up at Clovis and (like a puppet master positioned above him) Lou Jean - having us identify with the Patrolman/society. If Lou Jean is meant to represent the private life of the individual (who like Antigone places family above the law) and if Patrolman Slide is to be viewed as the demands of society, Clovis is perfectly placed between the two opposing forces that are demanding of him to obey. The next scene we get a glimpse or foreshadowing of the fickleness and stupidity of the general public as the drunken passenger in the police car flees from them saying “God bless you”. It is hard to decide which of the two opposing forces Spielberg wants us to relate to the most (or perhaps we are simply to acknowledge their competing and irreconcilable forces) but it is clear he has no love of the general public (or the media for that matter). When he positions Clovis and Slide at opposite sides of the screen, with Lou Jean directly behind the gun that Clovis is holding, we see in Clovis’ face the uncertainty of what he should do next. It is when he accidentally fires the gun (with Lou Jean shuttering and yelling as the gun goes off) that he regains his manhood. The movie has faults including its straight narrative and lack of real depth to its characters), however, the story of a broken family trying to hold itself together against the rules and demands of society is a powerful and reoccurring theme for Spielberg. It is interesting to note that foster parents seem eerily un-parent like (the child seems to continual scream in panic when they are near) and that we are always aware from the beginning (which overdone foreshadowing such as the cartoon scene) that their quest to become a whole family again is doomed. Lou Jean’s character is interesting as she has, through the force of her will, not only given back Clovis his manhood, but managed to create during their journey a pseudo child in Slide (she feeds him, tucks, him in, and asks him if he need to use the potty) and a temporary American home in the mobile home they break into (with a stove and movie running in the bedroom). The darker side of course is that we are constantly aware that his private life cannot continue to exist for long. It is also interesting that the place they dream of going, where their child awaits, is called Sugarland. As if even this dream world (where only death is truely waiting) is too syrupy to exist in reality too. In the end there is no whole family that exists in a world that places rules and demands on its inhabitants.