ET: 14: SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN IN SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN rewrite

Singin’ in the Rain, a film by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen has a musical scene of the same name in the film that is absolutely incredible through my eyes. There are many different views and ways others perceive this scene and I believe that I do see it a bit more differently from how others do.

In this scene, Gene Kelly portrays the man who is deeply in love with Debbie Reynolds and is not shy from hiding it. There are many close up shots of Gene’s face throughout the entire song and it ingrains this message of him being absolutely in love to the audience constantly. Like in the films ‘M’ and ‘Metropolis’, which had many close-ups on its actors, it was meant to create belief in the audience that the character is actually feeling that emotion during that scene. Also, all the three films had many full shots of its actors, displaying the complete head-to-toe of each character in order for them to make the audience feel what Gene is feeling. It aims to manifest a feeling in every single person that is watching the scene to WANT to sing and dance in the rain! (The beauty of it all is that most of us who did watch the scene – actually ended up humming to the tune outside class). Another important factor in which grabs the audience literally by the heart – is the tap-dancing. As Gene tap dances in the rain – the audience follows him and this creates the feeling of wanting to be his position (even if he was in the rain).

This scene though has its own meaning in terms of the sequence in the context of the whole movie. In the beginning, when Gene Kelly coincidentally meets Debbie Reynolds – it portrays the “Boy Meets Girl” moment when everything is new and fresh. As the movie progresses, Gene is seen to obsess and constantly think of her which leads up to the scene of him romancing her with the set-up of the studio – the “Boy Romances Girl” moment. The scene of Gene Kelly dancing and singing in the rain though, is the inevitable “Boy Kisses Girl” moment that I am sure, the scene most viewers tend to look forward to. The scene is blown out of proportion with Gene Kelly dancing and singing in the streets in the rain as he shows how happy he is after kissing Debbie.

The choreography on the other hand, says so much about how Gene feels in the movie and the how the little details are what make his happiness look so convincing. It starts out with him walking while sheltering himself from the rain with his umbrella. He then decides that there is no need for an umbrella – not even the rain could ever change how he feels about Debbie. He then walks with his head held up high, looking at the beauty of everything and then jumps onto a lamppost signifying he’s on top of the world at the moment. As the camera goes for a close up on Gene, one could see how in love he was with Debbie when he smiled from ear-to-ear as the raindrops fell on his face. He then starts tap-dancing with his umbrella and the dance starts to pick up pace as it progresses. There’s even a part when Gene avoids the falling drain water a few times but eventually just goes under it and enjoys the splash. It feels as if he’s afraid of it in the beginning but decides to take the dive anyway, like how some of us are afraid of love in the beginning yet we eventually take the plunge anyway. The dance becomes the most intense when he goes onto the street swinging the umbrella and then starts splashing the water with his legs like a child as if he’s free and absolutely nothing can stop him from feeling this overjoyed. Only until the policeman arrives and looms over his shoulder like a parent does to a child, does he bring himself back to reality.

I could go on and on about the many things that comprise this beautifully made scene. The fact is that this scene is viewed so differently from others. Nevertheless, it is similar on one point – that it is one of the best scenes one could ever make and it is enjoyed no matter when one watches it, especially on a rainy day.