Movie scenes that show many emotions with little dialogue...

Submitted by bejeweled_sky t3_124qzot in movies

I am a therapist working with neurodivergent people; a handful of my clients have difficulty reading facial expressions. One of them asked me if we can dissect a movie scene and use it as a way of labeling emotions. Anyone have ideas for movie or TV clips where there is not much said, but a lot is felt?

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serugolino t1_je0ijna wrote

Even tho it's mostly dialogue the facial expressions are mostly divorced from the dialogue. The before trilogy

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KelMHill t1_je0ma2w wrote

The opening hour of The Deer Hunter

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epa_89 t1_je18ebf wrote

These might fit the bill:

Fruit market scene in Klute (1971) Scene available on Youtube.

Dale overhears the LA cops make fun of him at the diner in One False Move (1992)

Ending scene in Calibre (2018)

Ending scene in Fractured (2019)

Jack Lemmon's character in the turbine trip scene in The China Syndrome (1979) Scene available on Youtube.

This last scene has the most dialogue out of the ones I listed but it has lots of acting with body language and facial expressions as well.

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kamodius t1_je1jvkw wrote

There’s a scene in Picard Season 3 between Patrick Stewart and Gates McFadden (episode 3) where these two actors share a multiple second look with no words that conveys love, respect, anger, hurt and regret in one long look.

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longshot24fps t1_je23rpo wrote

Old silent films are 100% facial expressions and body language.

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Dentt42 t1_je2kp15 wrote

(TV example, but this is for science) All of Millie Bobby Brown’s acting as El in S1 of Stranger Things. I was very impressed with how well expressed herself in so many scenes, conveying how she felt without a word.

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ZorroMeansFox t1_je33yxh wrote

bejeweled_sky: Here's something you might find useful, an example of masterful direction outside of films:

Genndy Tartakovsky's animated series Primal.

There is something in the history of "Film Language" known as Pure Cinema, the original visual language intuited and codified in Silent Movies, which had to portray all of their emotional and narrative intentions without words.

Writer-Director Tartakovsky wanted to do this in an animated series, which would be set in a world before spoken language, but which still found a way to illustrate all the big universal feelings (and thoughts) at the wellspring of sentience: Fear, repulsion, longing/desire, love, hatred, joy, hunger, loyalty, wonder, satiation, hope/hopelessness, puzzlement, fatigue, inspiration, etc. etc.

So he set his story in a fantasy prehistoric world with a proto-human as the protagonist (hence the double meaning of the title, Primal). It's very impressive; and the "simplified"/artistically-heightened facial expressions might be useful for your clients.

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bejeweled_sky OP t1_je3c5sq wrote

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! I've created a great list.

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hippiestitcher t1_je58dwm wrote

The scene in A Beautiful Mind where Alicia visits John after he's been forcibly hospitalized. They both speak volumes with just their eyes.

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Djangooofr t1_je74wrv wrote

I would say the scene when Brad Pitt hesitate to pull the trigger at the end of Seven

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