The cinematic gaze - meaning behind the trademark Kubrick stare

Published by Reblogs - Credits in Posts, March 23rd, 2023

(Credits: Far Out / Warner Bros. / YouTube Still)

The cinematic gaze: The meaning behind the trademark Stanley Kubrick stare

Wed 22nd Mar 2023 22.00 GMT

Few directors have consistently released near-flawless movies with the same consistency as the great Stanley Kubrick delivered. After releasing his first feature film, Fear and Desire, in 1952, the filmmaker’s reputation grew further in 1957 with the critically acclaimed project Paths of Glory. Over the following decade, Kubrick released well-received pictures, from Lolita to Dr Strangelove, before releasing his magnum opus, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The epic space drama was a cinematic feat, exploring themes of human alienation, fears of technological advancements, and evolution with impressive technical skill. Kubrick never missed a beat, continually releasing large-scale productions, such as Barry Lyndon and The Shining, which solidified him as one of the greatest directors of all time.

The filmmaker tried his hand at multiple different genres, including science fiction, period dramas, war (rather, anti-war), dystopia and horror. Yet, he always carried distinctive trademarks with him into every project. Kubrick’s films can typically be identified by their bright visuals, which harness a specifically modern quality. Moreover, he often uses a one-point perspective shot, making intricate use of symmetry to draw the audience into the frame. A notable example includes the scene in The Shining where Danny Torrance pedals his tricycle down the hotel corridor towards the Grady Twins, with the camera tracking behind him.

However, the most notable trademark used by the director is the iconic Kubrick stare. The technique can be traced in almost all of his films, although it finds its ‘official’ origins in A Clockwork Orange. Throughout the movie, Malcolm McDowell’s menacing protagonist, Alex DeLarge, glances at the camera with a terrifying stare as if acknowledging the audience’s presence. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, McDowell shared: "It came up because [Kubrick] said, ‘I need some kind of look for when you hear the music.'" Kubrick told the actor he would "play the Beethoven Choral Symphony real loud" and "see what happens".

Detailing further, McDowell continued: "So I was doing various things, like—don’t forget I’m also supposed to be a little high. And so kind of this look came, and he suddenly started to laugh. And he was laughing because the eyes were kind of up and glazed over, and the mouth kind of took on a weird look. And when he started to laugh, we knew we had it. We knew that that’s what it was going to be. Because we were making a comedy, let’s face it."

However, the iconic look, soon dubbed the ‘Kubrick stare’, shortly became its own form of cinematic shorthand. Other directors began incorporating the stare into their work, and movie buffs quickly recognised examples of the Kubrick stare in films that predated the director’s establishment of the specific gaze. For example, Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates gives a particularly chilling look in Psycho that many have classed as a Kubrick stare.

Notable modern uses of the Kubrick stare can be found in David Fincher’s Gone Girl, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight courtesy of Heath Ledger’s Joker, and Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs. So, why is there so much significance placed on this iconic stare? It’s a simple look, yet the meaning it conveys is vital. It typically signifies that the character is unstable and deranged. When an actor performs the Kubrick stare, something intense will likely take place. Due to the technique’s recognisable status, when it is used in non-Kubrick-directed films, audiences can still interpret its meaning the same.

The gaze has been studied rigorously in the history of film studies, with scholars often drawing upon the works of psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. Writers such as Todd McGowan have translated his ideas into the study of cinema, suggesting that the cinematic gaze recognises and involves the audience in the film’s world. According to Mats Carlsson, drawing upon McGowan and Lacanian theory, the gaze is "the point from which the object stares back at the subject" and "involuntarily involves the spectator in the cinematic image".

Thus, when a character utilises the Kubrick stare, a psychological connection is established between them and the audience. We become invested when the character gazes back at us. We feel as though we’ve broken through the celluloid barrier and become a part of their world, no matter how scary. Therefore, the Kubrick stare is never short of being unnerving and unforgettable, forming an unbreakable bond – no matter how terrifying – between the character and the viewer.