"Hotel Chevalier" (2007) is a short featured as an extra on the DVD for Wes Anderson's 2007 "The Darjeeling Limited".
The short stars Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman.
(P.S: Robert Yeoman does nearly all the cinematography on Wes Anderson's film, which the exception of "Fantastic Mr Fox", and he happens to be a favourite of mine)
I'm analysing this particular short mainly for it's use of colour and cinematography.
From the beginning of the short, it's clear to see how the use of colour helps portray the characters beyond words. Schwartzman's character wears a yellow dressing gown (as seen on Portman on the image above), which blends into the yellow theme of the hotel room, connoting that he is in his comfort zone here, and doesn't stand out from the background, thus disappearing into it.
Once he receives the phone call from Portman's character explaining that she'll arrive soon, he changes his attire into a grey suit, and proceeds to lie back down on the bed, standing out from the background, suggesting that he is now out of his comfort zone, and is clearly uncomfortable by her arrival.
During the outfit change, he enters the bathroom to brush his teeth. During this shot, he stares directly into the camera, which is playing as a mirror at this point. His unsure look truly unmasks the worry he feels towards Portman's character.
Portman arrives in a grey coat, white blouse, black trousers and black shoes. Her black outfit connotes that she doesn't belong in this hotel room, and that this isn't her ideal place of residence. She then proceeds to walk around the hotel room, and study some of the objects randomly placed.
She then walks into the bathroom and brushes her teeth. Contrasting to Schwartzman's actions, Portman never looks directly into the camera, connoting that she isn't afraid and doesn't feel as though she should look herself in the mirror for reassurance.
After their bedroom scene, Schwartzman's character wraps Portman's up in his dressing gown, as if enveloping her in the comfort zone that is the room. Up until that point, it comes to the audience's attention that we never view Schwartzman's character in the outdoor world or even beside a window (with exceptions of the bathroom, which doesn't give off too much light) which enhances the connotation that his character is in his comfort zone when inside the hotel room, away front he outside world. Portman's character, however, is often placed in Wes Anderson's famous centre shots (fun fact: Wes Anderson nearly always works with cinematographer Robert Yeoman), which always happen to have her placed by or behind a window, reflecting her freedom and comfort in the outside world. After being wrapped in the yellow dressing gown, pulls him to stand on the balcony, breaking Schmartzman's pattern of avoiding the outdoor world and light.
They stand on the balcony for a shot, before Portman pulls Scwartzman inside, back into his comfort zone of the hotel. This suggests that despite his rebirth into the outdoor world, Portman understands his needs and so pulls him back inside the realms of the hotel, back to where he can sink into the background in peace.
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