IDENTITY
The theme of
identity is explored through the film.
“All about
Eve” demonstrates how one’s identity can be masked and kept hidden through the various
versions of Eve. The audience is able to witness how quickly Eve transforms
from a furious actress strangling her wig viciously to being calm and collected
after hearing Addison’s knock on the door. The director uses the lighting and
shadows to suggest to the audience of Eve being two-faced through bringing her
from the shadow of the alley to a harsher light and then back in the shadow.
Though Eve declares to Karen “I wish I'd never met him [Addison], I'd like him
to be dead”, she shamelessly comments to Addison few minutes later of how “I
confide in you and rely on you more than anyone I've ever known!” and “I need
you more than ever”. Addison’s exposure of Eve Harrington’s name actually being
“Gertrude Slescynski” gives proof that one’s true identity can be kept hidden
and covered by a fake identity. Phoebe’s defensive statement “I call myself
Phoebe” also provides evidence to how easy it is to hide one’s true self.
The opening
awards ceremony introduces characters according to their roles, portraying the
statement that one’s identity is closely linked to the roles they take part in.
Their roles are the first thing that is made known to the audience, this
clearly shows how the status of one impacts greatly to one’s individuality.
Karen is “of the theatre by marriage”, thus lowering her self-esteem as she
feels that she “has no talent to offer”. Although she is opinionated and
confident, clearly shown by her arguments with Lloyd and Margo, she becomes
timid and fearful because of her being “the lowest form of celebrity“.
Therefore, it is apparent that one’s character can be defined by their role.
One’s identity
depends on one’s surrounding. The public and private self of Margo and Eve
behave differently in different contexts. During the party, Margo is perceived
to be an arrogant “Queen Mother” who “treats her guest like her supporting
cast”. In the public view, Margo can be seen as being confident and full of
herself. However, while she is alone
with Karen, she “lets her hair down” and confides in Karen. In the private
view, she is seen to be humble by apologising and insecure. For Eve, to the public,
“We know her Humility”, “her love, her deep and abiding love” but to those who
surround her, she is identified as being a “louse”, a “contemptible little worm”. Eve’s public
façade deceives people into believing “time has been good to Eve” while in
reality, she is trapped, forced to “belong” to Addison. One’s identity is altered to different
people.
Many female
characters in the film based their identity on their youth and ageing. Margo’s
sense of identity becomes lost when “Three months ago, I was forty years old”. The
director uses the film technique of cross-cutting the scene where Bill and
Margo are placed side by side with contrasting lighting. Margo’s bedroom is
dim-lit, exposing her wrinkles while Bill's bright lit bedroom emphasises his
youth. This highlights Margo’s ageing. Due to her advancing age, Margo feels
“unwanted and insecure - or unloved”, "as if I'd suddenly taken all my
clothes off” is. Margo expresses her concern that “ten years from now - Margo
Channing will have ceased to exist”, also Karen becomes “helpless” when she
suspects Lloyd’s affair with someone much younger than her. This depicts the
fact that one’s identity can be wavered when ageing. In contrast, much of the
Eve, Claudia and Phoebe’s identity resides in their youthfulness. Their youth
is emphasised by their beauty and confidence, giving them a wide-eyed, naïve
personality. Eve manages to take care of herself and managing Margo’s affair
while Margo is left to be dependent and taken care of. Age is a factor that
affects ones identity.
RELATIONSHIPS
“Relationships”
are an important theme in the film “All about Eve”
The
representation of marriage by Karen and Lloyd is supportive yet tense and
disconnected. At the beginning, Karen is Lloyd’s “loyal little woman” and the
director shows their closeness as a couple through positioning Karen on Lloyd’s
knees. The couple is also always framed
together even when arguing, representing their affection towards each other.
Lloyd also shows his respect towards Karen by his assurance “I certainly
wouldn't make a change without your approval. , showing respect in their
marriage. However, Karen is not always a “happy little housewife”. After Eve’s
seduction towards Lloyd, Karen is left feeling “helpless”, insecure that “Everything
Lloyd loved about me, he had gotten used to long ago”. Also, Lloyd’s statement
“For services rendered - beyond the whatever-it-is-of-duty” is a comparison of
surviving a marriage to surviving a war represents that marriage can be
unstable and hard work. In contrast to Karen and Lloyd’s view on marriage, Bill
and Margo comprehend marriage as something that “would be enough” to prove
their love towards each other. The thought of Margo being “A foursquare,
upright, downright, forthright married lady” brought excitement and pure joy on
their faces. While marriage is defined by Karen and Lloyd as survival, it is labelled
as happiness.
Friendship
is explored throughout this film. True friendship is shown at the Cub Room
scene through Lloyd’s honest acknowledgment and toast “ To each of us and all
of us, never have we been more close, may we never be farther apart.” Their
friendship is long-lasting and real, evident by Karen’s remark “We're never
deeply angry” and Lloyd’s assurance that he doesn’t think he will ever be “really,
deeply angry” towards Margo. The deepness of their bond is accentuated through
the honest words of Bill “The point is - in the cathedral, a ball park or a penny
arcade - we want to have you two beside us, our nearest and dearest friends.”
Eve and Addison’s companionship however is based on gains and benefits from
each other. Eve pursues to take advantage of having “a powerful friend in
Addison” and Addison seeks to control Eve through blackmailing her to “belong”
to him.
Loyalty
and trust are steady for some characters and fluctuates for others. Birdie is
fiercely loyal to Margo. This is evident by her taking a cup of coffee towards
Margo when she was drunk and by her cautions to Margo about Eve, showing her
loyalty. Bill, although seduced by Eve, remained faithful to Margo. While
loyalty endured, “Eve's disloyalty and ingratitude must be contagious” as Lloyd
is manipulated by Eve to take the prominent part of playing Cora away from
Margo. Lloyd also shows disloyalty to Karen when he disconnects their
relationship to be seduced by Eve. Karen shows betrayal to Margo in hopes to “to
give her that boot in the rear she needs and deserves” that could potentially
ruin their valued friendship. The director shows this by Karen and Margo not
being in the same frame in the Cub Room until Margo confesses her decline to
play Cora. This depicts the fact that Karen’s betrayal affects their
friendship. In return for Karen’s goodwill, Eve makes “A simple exchange of favours”
by blackmailing Karen into choosing Eve’s career over Margo’s. Trust is also
broken many times in the film. Margo’s promise to Max to read at the audition was
unfulfilled and vice versa with “Eve is not working for Max after all”. Eve’s
lies to Addison which he “intend to hold you to it” was exposed, destroying any
trust between the two.
Group
identity provides a clear distinction of any outsiders. The close knit group
backstage is interrupted by Eve who starts replacing the role of many
characters. Eve attempts to substitute Birdie by being an indispensable
assistant. Karen loses her importance as a wife through Eve’s intervention.
Eve
also takes over the centre focus of Margo. The director shows this through the
shift of attention from Margo to Eve as she tells her sad sentimental story. It
can also be seen that Margo becomes the outsider after the audition when Eve,
Bill and Lloyd was together on one side while Margo being alone at another.
Margo’s alienation is pointed out by her being unaccompanied on the stage bed,
dwarfed by the huge stage.
POWER AND
AMBITION
“All about
Eve” is set in a time where the society accepts the American Dream. Eve relied
on her belief that hard work and ambition will bring success and happiness. It
is true that Eve had to persevere and be persistent to reach her goal. This can
be evident by Eve’s dedication for “six nights a week - for weeks - of watching
even Margo Channing enter and leave a theatre”. Eve had to sacrifice her time
and money to form connections to bring her the success she longed for. Eve also
had to work hard, being Margo’s “my sister, lawyer, mother, friend, psychiatrist and cop” and her
indispensable assistant. Max’s remark “the kid's earned her way” confirms the
diligence and effort Eve made to accomplish her ambition. Although that hard
work brought her the success she craved for, it failed to grant her with happiness
she thought was guaranteed. At the start of the film, she describes the
applause being “like waves of love coming over the footlights and wrapping you
up”, however, at the end of the film she no longer sees those applaud as
significant. She had thought her fame would be enough to content her, however
her refusal to attend Max’s party dedicated for her shows how she lacks the
satisfaction and joy. Margo’s remark “But I wouldn't worry too much about your
heart. You can always put that award where your heart ought to be” insinuates
the emptiness and lack of happiness Eve ends up with.
Set in a man’s
world, the female characters in “All about Eve” have the mindset that one has
to “look up just before dinner or turns around in bed - and there he is.
Without that, you're not woman”. Margo is a star but doesn’t feel like a woman
because of the tradition where females are meant to be “happy little
housewife”. Margo’s confession “funny
business, a woman's career. The things you drop on your way up the ladder, so
you can move faster. You forget you'll need them again when you go back to
being a woman”. Margo further acknowledges the importance of this gender role of
being a housewife through her realisation “That’s one career all females have
in common - whether we like it or not - being a woman. Sooner or later we've
all got to work at it, no matter what other careers we've had or wanted”.
Status is a
vital feature in this film. The fur coat is a symbol of status; it is a display
for the world to envy one’s success and riches. This can be supported through
Miss Casswell’s admiring statement “Now there's something a girl could make
sacrifices for” when she sets her eyes upon a Hollywood star’s sable coat. The
fact that “Women with furs like that where it never gets cold” shows how although it is unnecessary to have such a
thick coat, it is still seen as essential for Hollywood stars for the purpose
of flaunting their fame and fortune. However, this status comes with a price,
as reinforced by Bill’s comment of how she “probably has” made sacrifices for
it. Eve is also confirms that truth by having to fake her identity in order to
become “the Golden Girl, the cover girl”.
Control is
seen in this film through Addison who seeks to rule over others. The director
shows this during Addison’s narration at the beginning of the film where
Addison seems to control the public. The
camera moves according to Addison’s narration and the background music is muted
to highlight the importance of Addison’s presence. When Karen takes over the
narration, Addison looks at her, as if he is giving his permission for her to
be the voice-over. This conveys that the whole film is from Addison’s
perspective and opinion, that he owns her story. Addison blackmailing Eve and
forcing her to “belong” to him indicates the controlling desire he has within
him. Also, Addison introduces himself as someone who is “essential to the
theatre, in hopes to convince the audience that he has the power.
THE WORLD OF THE
THEATRE
Life is a
performance in “All about Eve”. Karen’s assumption that Eve apologised “On her
knees, I have no doubt! Very touching, very Academy-of-Dramatic Arts!” clearly
points out Eve’s actions are merely just an act. The statement “Lloyd says
Margo compensates for underplaying on the stage by overplaying reality” insinuates
that Margo’s approach on life is constantly dramatic and showy. Margo admits
that she has taken acting into her real life when she confesses she has no
other identity “besides something spelled out in light bulbs, I mean. Besides
something called temperament.” The metaphor “Real diamonds in a wig” is one
that portrays how something real can be easily suffocated under an artifice,
one’s true nature hidden under a performance. When Bill and Margo go upstairs
after their argument, Addison comments “we’ll miss the third act, it’s going to
be played offstage”. Also, Bill remarks “We usually wind up screaming and
throwing things as the curtain comes down. Then it comes up again and
everything's fine”. This suggest that the lives of the characters in “All about
Eve” is one filled with drama and acting.
Appearance
can contrast reality; Eve is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. She chooses a
“drizzly” night to approach Karen, wearing a “Kind of mousy trench coat and
funny hat “to appear as a helpless, unthreatening fan. Eve gives the impression
of having “The lack of pretence, that sort of strange directness and
understanding” , causing others to have “developed a big protective feeling for
her - a lamb loose in our big stone jungle”. However in reality, she is a
schemer who would do anything “for a part in a play”. Eve acts as a martyr to Margo’s temper and
pretends that “if she's got to pick on someone, I'd just as soon it was me”,
acting helpless and defenceless, while in truth, she is the prey that is about
to devour others.
Stars reside
in theatres while celebrities exist from film. “All about Eve’ shows the
distinctive differences between the two. Eve’s award makes her a celebrity but
Margo is a star. While Margo is identified as a “true star”, Eve is simply a
“light”, something to replicate a star. Celebrities are seen as a “carbon copy”
where there are many others, such as Phoebe, who will replace each other.
Furthermore, Margo does not seek to give her fans any more than her on stage
performance as she sees them as “Autograph fiends! They're not people - those
little beasts who run in packs like coyotes”. In contrast Eve’s attachment to
her fans, being “profiled, covered, revealed, reported” is what equips her with
fame. The director uses the flashing of the cameras on Eve’s face that covers
her whole face with a white light, to represent the emptiness a film star has
as it is the public façade that the public sees and not their true self. It is also
conveyed that fans used to “worships” stars but since the development of
Hollywood films, “Fans no longer pull the carriage through the streets - they
tear off clothes and steal wrist watches.” This shows how the loyalty of film
fans is only on the surface whereas theatre fans are more faithful, evident by
Eve being “being told off in no uncertain terms all over town”. In the theatre,
“Wherever there's magic and make-believe and an audience”, the theatre cast
have a greater freedom compared to film-making. Whereas “they change everything
around” in the theatre, films are controlled quite rigidly. As there is a
distance between the stage and the seats in the theatre, Margo is “Week after
week, to thousands of people, you're as young as you want while in the film,
Bette Davis, the actress cannot conceal her age. In the film, Hollywood is seen
as a place where “So few come back” .so far away that an airplane is needed and
is paved with “stars”, fame and fortune. The theatre is portrayed to be for the
“elite”, an enclosed and old fashioned place.
SYMBOLS AND
MOTIFS
Symbols and
motifs are present throughout the film. These include doors, costume, lighting
and stairs.
Doors in the
film portray the idea of insiders and outsiders in group identity and
belonging. Before Karen first introduces Eve to the group, a roar of laughter
is heard behind the door. This suggests that the characters inside are a
close-knitted group and Karen, is not one of them. During Eve’s introduction, Birdie gets mad
after being insulted by Margo of being “a fifth-rate vaudevillian”. Birdie then
slams the door and is shut off from the group, insinuating that Eve is about to
replace Birdie as one of the insider.
Doors are also represented as a door of opportunity. Eve uses Karen, the
“lowest form of celebrity” to open up her way to achieve her ambition. This is
shown through Karen opening the door to Margo’s dressing room to invite Eve in,
the start of Eve’s connection which would be the stepping stone to her success.
Also, during Bill’s welcome home party, Eve opens the door of Margo’s bedroom
to ask Karen for a favour, “about to ask you for another favour - after all
you've already done”.
The costume
used is an important feature in the film.
In the beginning, Eve wears unflattering attire, “Kind of mousy trench
coat and funny hat”. Compared to Karen’s
new mink coat, Eve looks unthreatening and helpless, gaining the direct
acceptance and sympathy from Karen. Later, Eve changes her style of clothing to
Margo’s style and transforms from a timid fan to a confident assistant. Her “elegant
new suit” was a hand-me-down from Margo, conveying the message to the audience
that this is the start of Eve stealing Margo’s look. The scene where Eve holds
Margo’s costume in front of the mirror is another confirmation that Eve is
scheming to take over Margo’s identity.
The director
uses lighting to express underlined messages to the audience. When Eve is seen
in the alley, she moves from the shadow to a harsh light and back into the
shadow again. This is a representation of Eve’s character, to suggest her
two-faced nature. Margo is seen to be insecure about being “forty years old.
Forty. Four oh”. While the character in
“All about Eve” assures that “Margo Channing is ageless”, the director uses
lighting so the audience is able to accept Margo’s age anxiety. While the other female characters are filmed
under a flattering light, Margo is filmed under a flat light to emphasis on her
aging. Through lighting, Eve is seen be radiant and youthful in contrast to
Margo’s age advancing in years.
Stairs in
the film is perceived to be a symbol of a ladder to accomplish one’s ambition.
During Eve and Karen’s first meeting, Karen is seen to be stuck in between the
steps of a stair. This epitomizes how Eve is about to use Karen as a way to
access her dreams. It also indicates the fact that Karen would be trapped by
acting as a ladder for Eve, evident by Eve blackmailing Karen. During Bill’s
welcome home party, Addison sits a step above Eve, demonstrating Eve’s motives
of using Addison to climb her way up to the top of the theatre world.
Furthermore, stairs are a representation of being ambitious. After Eve lures
Lloyd into her apartment in the middle of the night, Eve walks hand in hand
with a girl up the stairs. This denotes that Eve has an ambitious plan and she
will do everything to get her way.
Mirrors are
a sign of how appearances may not necessary be reliable. In the beginning, when
Margo looks into the mirror, Margo sees Eve appearing like an adoring fan.
However, in truth, Eve is about to steal her identity. Moreover, in the final
image of the film, Phoebe looks into an endless repetition of herself on the
mirror. This is a symbol of how there are many characters like Eve and Phoebe.
