Alter Ego's in films

Alter Ego's 

As our film features an alter ego, I decided to research existing products that also feature ego's to ensure we were presenting them in the right manner. I wanted to emulate aspects of the alter ego and incorporate them into our antagonist. 

What is an alter ego?

A persons secondary or alternative personality, often the antithesis of the dominant personality.

Mr Brooks

The protagonist has an alter ego that encourages him to kill. The alter ego has a different appearance to Mr Brooks which I wanted to emulate as it presents the difference of the protagonists alter egos in much more overt way. The alter ego in Mr Brooks lurks behind him, guiding him through the murders. 

 

Black Swan

The protagonist within Black Swan has an identical looking alter ego, however, the alter ego has red eyes. This suggests the alter ego has a murderous and evil side which becomes throughout the film. I wanted to emulate the ending as Black Swan ends with the protagonist realising what she has done and accepts her darker alter ego. I feel this would be a shocking twist to the end of our short film. The ways in which the alter ego is presented in Black Swan is mostly via cinematography and editing. For example, the transition of the alter ego and the protagonist is achieved via quick jump cuts. I want to emulate this aspect within my short film as erratic behaviour can be elicited via quick jump shots and fast paced editing. In addition to representing the alter ego, Black Swan also features the deterioration of the the protagonist as the alter ego takes over. This was achieved via the portrayal of her mental state and her hallucinations. The hallucinations she experiences become apparent to the audience, I want Vera to experience hallucinations, however, I want them to only be apparent at the end of the film, e.g the car scene in which she believes she is talking to someone. 

Fight Club

The alter ego reveal in this film is a shock as both the protagonist and the alter ego are seemingly real people. However, it becomes apparent that the narrator of the film and the protagonist of the film are the same people, yet do not look the same, an aspect I wish to emulate. I want to emulate a scene in which the alter ego reveals himself to be the alternative personality of the protagonist.  For example, the image presents the alter ego blurring in between the protagonist and both are staring menacingly  at the camera. I want to emulate this to evoke that the alter ego has taken over Vera.