Title: Citizen Kane
Author(s):Orson Welles
Year: 1941
Genre: Drama, mystery
Logline: ”The investigation of a publishing tycoon’s dying words reveals conflicting stories about his scandalous life.” (HBO)
Syd Field Analysis
Thoughts on Logline: Based on what i’ve heard about the movie and what this logline says, it sounds like the movie is going to be two divergent paths of information slowly revealing the character of Citizen Kane, which I then imagine would reconverge at the end to give us a full, satisfying picture of who this man really was.
Aristotle and Syd Field both talk about how important character and action are, so I imagine if this is the set-up then we’ve got a super interesting film to watch.
First 10 minutes
“Caught in Love Nest” - a paper headline that lost Kane an election to become governor. Same wording as Chinatown? Is Robert Towne a scandalous thief? (lol jk) - Steal Like an Artist, Austin Kleon
Opening Sequence of“News On the March” - We receive a wave of information points about Kane, some opinions through headlines of newspapers. The Xanadu Mountain (mansion) was “unestimated worth”, previous marriages, running for governor, being a public figure, slowly receding into his mansion into loneliness, and eventually dying.
A beginning, middle, and end to this opening sequence which eventually pans back outward to be a viewing of the newcast (~12 min)
Around ~10 mins it moves into a chronology of major events in Kanes life.
Just as the logline suggested, the news report about Kane unbiasedly showed two opposing public opinions about Kane himself, you either loved him (for being an American who proudly represents freedom of speech) or you hated him (for being a “facist”, greedy corporate tyrant who does as he pleases because he’s so wealthy.
At this point I’m going to bet that everything we heard about in the newscast is going to in some way resurface. Because of this idea that central plot unity makes a story the most powerful and easy to understand. Poetics and Syd Field both talk about this in different ways.
~11mins
Our first interview with Kane himself. He cracks a joke, calls himself American. At report that “there will be no war”
*I bet war happens*
Beginning
The News room who is producing this “news on the march” bit starts debating its effectiveness.
Dude says “It’s not enough to tell us what a man did, you’ve got to tell us who he was” which I think is one of these brilliant screenwriting lines that says many things at once 1) its a news reporter boss instructing one of his employees to create better content, 2) it’s a foreshadowing statement about the rest of the movie (so it works between the 3rd and 4th walls) where the honest, organic, believable characters live. This is relatability, it feels like the real world.
Aka it’s the Theme statement of the movie, and will be the central theme throughout the rest of the movie, That’s my guess, anyways.
Cinematically I’m wondering why the faces are deliberately in darkness, while the suit is lit up 13:39
Plot point 1
At ~14min, the Boss emphatically instructs his employees to “Find Everyone who Ever knew him!” because he wants to find out why he said “Rosebud” as his dying word.
This feels like it’s the first major plot point because all the action afterwards will emerge because of it. I’m Guessing…
Middle
The immediate next scene is Mrs. Alexander, we’re not getting a story from her (bc shes drunk and angry, doesn’t want to talk).
We get a glimpse of this reporters agenda, where he’s going. “Yeah I’ll see everybody, whose still alive” lol why does he say that?
No luck, moving on the the library
We transition to Kane as a boy, I’m thinking … “Damn this is a good fucking movie…”
His original dad is afraid of being seen as a bad husband or father because he’s giving his kid up, but then he learns that they’ll make $50,000 a year for the rest of their lives and then to the kid for the rest of his life, and says “Well, I hope it’s all for the best”... Switches up real quick! Of course back then that’s worth $956,285.71 today… so yeah he’s probably not the best dad in the world but, that is an insane amount of money for people living in a small-ish log cabin.
Oh god, that woman is ready to be rid of this boy. She seems both despaired and resolved at the same time.
But bro this is so heartbreaking for the kid. Kids need structure and reliability to be mentally healthy, and they’re just uprooting him completely out of nowhere.
The sequence of reading Kanes Diary:
So he hasn’t “always been Mr. Kane” but it was thrust upon him at a young age. “I think it will be fun to run a newspaper!” *gets so pissed lol*
Young Kane is boastful, proud, and having fun ~25mins
Argument between Thatcher and Charles Scene reveals Charles believes he’s doing something for the good of the people without “money and property”.
~29min:
“I always gagged on that silver spoon” Is he saying he wasn’t really all that happy about being thrust into absolute riches?
Immediately the next line: “If I hadn’t been very rich, I’ might’ve been a really great man” A resentfulness towards his extreme wealth.
“What would you have liked to have been?”, “everything you hate.” Unwealthy but joyful and unrestrained?
Reporter leaves the diary and goes on to chat with Mr. Bernstein
Bernstein’s memory - Kane starting the Inquirer Sequence:
~30min: Bernstein makes the point that he’s got a good memory by telling the reporter about his seeing the girl in a white dress w/white parasol
Sick burn: ~33m
Kane moves into the Editor & Chiefs office.
Kane is basically a kid who just logged into Facebook for the first time, ready to post all kinds of crazy gossip. He wants people to read his newspaper.
~35min:
Fights with Editor and Cheif and instructs someone to pose as an authority at a local mans house just to stir up drama (to then be put in the newspaper)
That’s a bit of character badness, we turn a little, so far Kane has been a bright, inspired, proud, and honest sort of character, but now we see him excited to cause a bit of drama.
“These promises will be kept” IN THIS SCENE KANES FACE IS IN THE DARK!
Is that because he’s “moving into the dark-side” of the paper business? He just contradicted himself saying he promises to tell the truth, but just after he intentionally did not write a story that was truthful.
~41min: “You don’t expect me to keep any of those promises, do you?” Oh Charles… “Why tf you lyingggg”
Charles acquires a larger newspaper company, Mr. Leland wonders what will change
47min~: Ends Bernstein's memory flashback
Mr. Leland interview, flashback sequence
~51min: Charles first marriage
Tells the whole story of their marriage through a sequence all filmed at the same dinner table. I’ve read about this scene in Syd Fields' book. The exposition tells us that Kane only cared truly about the newspaper.
How he met Susan Alexander, their first night together
Weird transition from that night to the election speech
~1:01mins: He begins his election speech to show that he’s strongly opposed to Mr. Gettys
Plot point 2
***This is the point where Charles starts to take a self-destructive path. All his actions begin stemming from “how it will look on me”.
But is then ambushed by Gettys himself, which ties back to his night with Susan, Gettys blackmails Charles so that he can keep “his life”
Gettys chooses violence. He chooses Susan, Gettys makes sure it’s public in an attempt to throw off any possibility of his winning the election. This is a huge scandal exactly because it goes against what his running campaign promises are. Honesty vs Dishonesty
~1:10mins: Inquirer chooses to publish “Fraud at Polls” headline. Hm, that sounds familiar…
Drunken Chat with Jedadiah
Kane builds Susan an Opera house (get the vibe she's not that good)
Reporter says she's amateur and bad. Developing pity for Kane.
He fires Jedidiah.
End / Resolution / Act 3
~1:23min Ends Leland’s Flashback Sequence
Still no ‘Rosebud’
Reporter goes back to Mrs. Alexander, she's still drunk and drinking.
Flashback with Susan Alexander:
Kane pushes both the singing lessons and the singing teacher, pushes Susan into singing and making a poor performance.
“Doesn’t like the way the world is so he wants to make one of his own.” something Old Mr. Leland says a few minutes ago.
What’s going on in Kane’s mind? He knows the performance was bad. He if fighting for something to be true that isn’t. Maybe because he lost the election, and is still in the illusion that he gets whatever he wants. Carries that to his love life, and tries to give Susan something great, but she’s not able to live up to his ideal.
Jed sends him the Original handwritten copy of Charles “Declaration of Principles” from the first day at the Inquirer, and Kane calls it an antique. He’s certainly come a long way from where he was. Literally rips it up.
Is Jed the guy that suggests “these new guys will change him, without him knowing it”?
At this point he’s been made a fool so many times, but he’s still fighting it. He forces Susan to keep singing even though she doesn’t want to, so that “He won’t be made a fool”
~1:36min: She tries to O.D to get out of singing. (That’s my guess).
Scenes occur inside the mansion. Susan feels trapped, doing jigsaw puzzles to pass the time. Kane still relentlessly pushes towards the reality he wants, but he’s never getting it. He still believes he can force his way with money and desire. But Susan is tearing that reality apart.
~1:44min As she leaves: “Everyone will know about this!” All he cares about is his status and reputation but it causes waves of hatred. She’s getting out.
He begs her to stay, but only because “You can’t do this to me!” but she knows better.
Ends Her Flashback Sequence
“All the same, I feel sorry for Mr. Kane” - reporter He’s writing exactly how the audience is supposed to feel in this moment, what we likely feel. We just saw this old man go on a crazy downward spiral for his life… If we don’t pity him, well you weren’t watching or you’re a very sad person.
Something this movie has done really well this whole time has kept the audience’s thoughts close to it. Again, the “smell” coming through the 4th wall. The reporter commenting on how we would feel too.
Reporter goes to visit the Butler.
~1:47 Mins The Butler Sequence.
He picks up the story right where we left off, Susan leaving, but from the butlers perspective.
There’s a new tone here because we’re getting this exposition from the Butler.
“U mad bro?” He’s breaking everything
Connection to Beginning + Catharsis
1:50min He picks up the snowglobe from the beginning
After trashing a whole room.
He utters “Rosebud”
Walks through the infinite mirrors… What’s this a metaphor for?
End Butler’s Sequence
The reporters are at his mansion as everything is being wrapped up.
The final reporter's monologue —
“What have you been doing all this time?”
Reporter: “Playing with a Jigsaw puzzle” - Metaphorically: Piecing together the life of Charlie Kane
Lady: “If you could’ve found out what Rosebud meant, I bet that could’ve explained everything!” - What that means to the viewer: We would’ve found out why Kane acted so strangely all the time. Which it literally does explain. His lack of love from childhood caused him to be a ruthless, savage old man who never got any love in return.
Reporter - “No I don’t think so, no, Mr. Kane was a man who had everything and lost it” (This is why we pity him more and more as the movie goes on), I guess Rosebud was just something he could never have. (Which it literally is, because he lost it very young). I guess Rosebud is just a piece of the jigsaw puzzle, “a missing piece”. (Which it literally is, but we just don’t know this yet.).
We then finally learn what Rosebud is, AFTER the fact, which it’s the name of the sled he had when he was young. A time when he didn’t have to worry about getting or not getting everything he wanted, about impressing people, or caring how they thought. He even says:
“I always gagged on that silver spoon”
“If I hadn’t been very rich, I might’ve been a really great man”
“What would you have liked to have been?”, “everything you hate.”
He says this early on, while we’re still building a liking for the young, rebellious Kane.
The Meta-metaphor - The Controlling Metaphor
WE INTENTIONALLY DON’T FIND OUT WHAT ROSEBUD MEANS BECAUSE IT WAS A MISSING PIECE OF KANES LIFE!!!!!!!!!
Mic drop.
And of course. We end on the No Trespassing sign as well.
The End
All of the middle of the story is about showing us who Mr. Kane is, and it shows us this portrait of a man who slowly loses everything, in the midst of “having everything”. Power, Business, Love, then finally, life.
We sense that there’s a “missing piece” in the whole movie. And the Report literally says “Missing piece” is probably Rosebud.
That’s when we see Rosebud on the sled from the beginning and everything is made very clear: He just wants to be loved unconditionally. (parental love) and that’s why he was trying to force Susan to love him. Of course, he himself was forced from his life, so that was his theory of control.
Citizen Kane is incredibly well written because it never once leaves us, the viewer, alone or apart from the movie. Which is the opposite of what Mr. Kane felt. He felt isolated. He had origin damage, that caused him to make the choices he did.
It’s a movie that explains itself, through itself. Becoming it’s own metaphor. A Meta-Metaphor! (a metaphor that lies inside all the other metaphors).
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