MovieChat Forums > Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) Discussion > Mirror image at the beginning

Mirror image at the beginning

posted 16 years ago by rocknroll70s
6 replies | jump to latest

I really enjoy this movie and everything, but I've always been curious about the part at the beginning. It's the scene where Peggy Sue is getting ready for the reunion and she's sitting in front of a mirror talking to her daughter. The image in the mirror and the person whose back is to the camera are clearly not in synch. I just wasn't sure why they wouldn't have actually used a mirror image or if anyone knew what the reason was behind that.
Thanks!!

[–] SinemaGirl 16 years ago

This subject was mentioned before, but I can't find the thread offhand.

If you look closely, it appears that the camera actually goes THROUGH the mirror, both in the beginning and at the end of the film. These days, with digital wizardry, that could be accomplished with more precision, but Francis Ford Coppola really enjoys doing things live on stage, and at that time, doing it practically would have been the best way. To me, the effect "mirrors" (really, no pun intended) Peggy Sue's journey "though the looking glass" of sorts.

I don't know if Coppola preferred the synch to be perfect, but whether it is intentional or not, it gives me the impression that time is not 100% set in place, it's fluid, it can slip, and while it substantially stays the same, Peggy Sue's journey proved that minor things can change (or go slightly out of synch).

[–] A_Minor_Blip 16 years ago

sinema girl is right, it's obviously intentionally off for that exact reason, that time has faults, tears in the thread

"faith is for nuns and amateurs" ham tyler

[–] LightningLad 14 years ago

I really like Sinema Girl's answer, that's terrific. It was touch of something which might later have been called Lynchian. There is something a bit disturbing about it. If it was a mistake, mistakes are where a lot of the best ideas come from.

-----
Reason is a pursuit, not a conclusion.

[–] StonehouseHunter 10 years ago

Nothing like joining the conversation almost four years later… Only Francis Ford Coppola knows (and may have explained many years ago or in some extended DVD extra) but I think the slight differences are intentional. There are two realities and as the camera transitions from one image to the other, the viewer enters the other reality.

There are also the shots when Peggy Sue is starting to blackout on stage and her daughter rushes to her side. At first, Charlie comes running but stops along the back with the crowd. Next shot, he is next to the daughter saying something to Peggy Sue, but you can’t hear him. Cut back to just the daughter and Charlie is back with the crowd. One reality, Charlie isn’t comfortable coming to her side with the daughter and in the other reality, he is right there beside her and the daughter. I think that is where Peggy Sue transitions from her one reality to the other, but first goes back in time to understand why the two worlds are slightly different.

On one side of the mirror, there is a book without a dedication. I don’t really want to get into the whole, “did she really travel time?” argument because… well… because it’s a movie. I am a little disturbed that Grandpa wasn’t more concerned that his granddaughter had just disappeared! How in the hell did he describe that to grandma when he got back home?

There may be a simple answer though and it is from a post by HBASIL7665 back on July 29th, 2009 on the thread, “The Mirror image/musical score” (probably the one SinemaGirl was thinking of) and that is:

“I had the pleasure of working on this film… The mirror image was something Francis was experimenting with. Usually when you shoot someone's reflection in a mirror it has to be on an angle so you don't see the reflection of the camera and crew. Francis wanted to shoot straight on. So, he had the frame of the mirror with no glass in it. Duplicate furniture on the other side and a body double of Kathleen T. and Helen Hunt. All four actors moved in sync, to give the illusion of a mirror. But shot straight on. That's why it appears slightly off.”

I hate Occam’s razor.

[–] jan-bollen 9 years ago

I recently happened to refer to the opening and closing mirror shots in this film in a post including several similar mirror shots, check it out: https://bttcinema.com/2016/05/09/reflections-on-the-mirror-image-post-2-linked-to-jaco-van-dormaels-the-brand-new-testament/

[–] Elynne 9 years ago

There are two realities and as the camera transitions from one image to the other, the viewer enters the other reality.

There are also the shots when Peggy Sue is starting to blackout on stage and her daughter rushes to her side. At first, Charlie comes running but stops along the back with the crowd. Next shot, he is next to the daughter saying something to Peggy Sue, but you can’t hear him. Cut back to just the daughter and Charlie is back with the crowd. One reality, Charlie isn’t comfortable coming to her side with the daughter and in the other reality, he is right there beside her and the daughter. I think that is where Peggy Sue transitions from her one reality to the other, but first goes back in time to understand why the two worlds are slightly different.

I really agree with your viewpoint. I just wrote my theory on the Time Travel thread: thinking about parallel universes that the mind can inhabit while in a comatose condition.