great works ii – 2850 jta 12:25-2:05: love letters from the world

Endgame – Jorge M, Preston, Aly

April 28, 2017 Written by | 4 Comments

The scene that we focused on came a little more than halfway through the movie at the 54 minute mark, when Nagg is speaking to Hamm. In the text, the author, Samuel Beckett, did not specify what reaction Hamm was having as he heard his father tell him, “I hope the day will come when you’ll really need me to listen to you, and need to hear my voice, any voice.” (p.786). However, the director of the play chose to circle around Hamm’s face and zoom into his facial expression. The director of the play tries to show that Hamm is coming to a realization that what he is doing with his parents is wrong. Hamm has a facial expression that showcases some sort of guilt, as if he is feeling repentance for having treated his father so bad. This is the last time that Nagg is seen in the play.

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4 responses so far ↓

  •   p.cheung // Apr 28th 2017 at 1:27 am

    The scene my group decided to compare was the 54 minute mark of the video and on. The part I chose to compare to the book is the scene where Clov is pushing Hamm around the room from window to window. When I read the book it doesn’t show where the sunlight is coming from and if there was any sunlight there. While in the video it shows that the first window did have sunlight when Hamm said there wasn’t. The feeling of sunlight would be enough for someone to feel even without sight. This allows us to better understand Hamm and see that he isn’t very aware of what the room is actually letting in. The production design of the room in the video helps us understand the characters in a better way. Without the visuals that are given, it is harder for us to understand how the characters are feeling when they speak.

  •   j.devine // Apr 28th 2017 at 8:13 am

    Preston, I agree that the production’s design of the room helps us to understand the text better. The text was a bit confusing for me, especially when I was trying to picture in my head the scene where Hamm is being pushed around by Clov. Seeing the two windows in the room and the darkness that they chose to focus on, I got a better understanding of what was going on. I think the room’s set up matched Beckett’s image pretty well and reflected the dark humor he was going for.

  •   j.azcue // Apr 28th 2017 at 8:13 am

    I completely agree with the first comment, I believe it is one of the most clear moments of the film and “realization” is the perfect word to describe Hamm facial expression. The make up in his father together with his facial expression as well play a huge role in demonstrating his anger towards his son. At the same time, one can see that it is one of the only times in the film that Hamm doesn’t interrupt the other person and just listens. No excuses, no responds or anything, he just listens and in some way he sadly agrees with his father’s words.

  •   MEZBAH ONU // Apr 28th 2017 at 11:52 am

    I agree with your perspective and how the expression of both characters are shown and displayed both visually and through dialogue. It shows how serious that moment truly was. Hamm just listens and doesn’t do much about it.

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