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Life Lessons: How Cinematography Exposes Abuse


In short, Life Lessons is  about a man who is a slave to his art. Lionel Dobie (played by Nick Nolte) is a world renowned painter, but is only able to perform at his best when he is in the company of a muse. Unfortunately, each woman he takes in is objectified and used, and once his work is completed they are cast aside.  The film specializes in exposing Dobie’s emotionally vampyric nature with its cinematography and writing.
The first unique element that shows the darker side of Lionel’s creative process is the writing, and structure of the story.  In the opening scene, we can see that Lionel is stuck in a hole devoid of creativity. There is an art exposition in three weeks, and Dobie has no paintings or inspiration.  Fortunately for him, his former muse and lover, Paulette (played by Rosanna Arquette), is passing through town, and he manages to convince her to stay with him. She accepts his offer under one condition - she doesn’t have to sleep with him. Afterwards, Paulette moves in with Dobie, hoping that he will give feedback on her artwork, and help her understand if painting is really for her. However, Lionel refuses to tell her whether or not she is any good, and makes constant sexual advances. All the while, Dobie continues to work on his own painting for the exposition. As time passes, Paulette grows more and more weary, and can no longer stand Lionel. She leaves New York with her brother, and is likely to never paint again. By then, Dobie has already completed his painting, and has no use for Paulette. He presents his new piece at the art exposition, and meets a new woman. He recruits her as his new muse, and appears to almost instantaneously forget about Paulette.
Throughout the film, we can see a back and forth nature between Lionel Dobie and his muse. To be more specific, every scene of him making advances towards Paulette or aggravating her, is succeeded by a scene of Dobie painting. Because of the way these scenes are structured, the audience can get the idea that there may be a correlation between his muse, and Dobie’s ability to paint.
The other key element that gives insight into Dobie’s perspective is the cinematography.  More specifically, the way the film uses close ups and its signature iris shot to give a better understanding of his point of view.  It is clear that, despite how much he tells her he loves her, Dobie’s intentions with Paulette are purely sexual. When Lionel is talking to Paulette in her room, we can see his focus shift when there is a close-up shot of her underwear, or foot. You can then see him space out of the conversation, as he is enveloped into a lustful daydream. In addition, the iris shots of the film are only used on Dobie’s painting tools and Paulette. This is the case until the very end, when Dobie meets his new muse. This implies that Lionel’s muses aren’t as much of  people to Dobie, as they are tools to feed his work. If these visual elements weren’t utilized, the audience of the film could mistake Dobie for being sincere about loving Paulette.
The truth is, draining the spirit from innocent women is a necessary part of Dobie’s career, and he isn’t completely aware of this. He will never be able to quit painting. Therefore, he is forever a slave to this process. Without the unique elements of cinematography and writing used in this story, the audience wouldn’t be able to truly understand the cost of Dobie’s creative process.
Dobie at the beginning of the film in front of an almost blank canvas


Iris shot on Paulette, when Dobie sees her


Dobie now painting in the company of Paulette

Dobie finding a new muse at the art exposition

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