


The camera then promptly follows him out of the house and into the street, where he is seen from behind nearly running to catch up with her. Similarly, the increasingly sinister interactions between the two begin to resemble those between a victim and an abuser.įor instance, when Young Charlie abruptly flees the house following an outburst, the camera pans to capture her departure in the background while simultaneously focusing on Uncle Charlie’s suspicious expression this gives us the sense that he’s contemplating going after her. (It is worth noting that Uncle Charlie’s method, strangling, is a particularly intimate way to murder someone.) She removes the ring, which comes to symbolize Uncle Charlie’s betrayal of her as well as murder, from her finger after learning the truth about him. However, Young Charlie becomes increasingly disillusioned, and Uncle Charlie more dangerous, as the details of her uncle’s murderous past are revealed. She continues to believe that, like a marriage proposal, Uncle Charlie is declaring his affection for her. To Young Charlie, the ring is symbolic of their strong connection but when she notices the engraving, we get an immediate sense that the ring is not quite the pure gesture of love that she believes it to be. The scene, and the two-shot medium close-up in which they are shot (and which is used frequently throughout the film), suggests intimacy between the two. This gesture is symbolic of a marriage proposal, which is unsettling considering the two are related. Furthermore, during a scene almost reminiscent of courtship, Uncle Charlie places a ring on Young Charlie’s finger.
