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Franki Gjoza
Mr. Furman
AICE Media Studies
10/6/16
Fingersmith Analysis
Fingersmith is a television drama/romance that began airing on March 27th, 2005. The
director, Aisling Walsh, uses unique camera angles, editing, music, and mise-en-scene to
emphasizes the main representation throughout the series, sexuality. Nonetheless, the audience
quickly learns about the main protagonists within the first few scenes; the lady in the voiceover
is named Maud, and she apparently has a strong connection with the other female character, Sue.
This connection is significant because of the time period, Victorian England, in which
homosexuality was a taboo subject.
First and foremost, arguably the most important part of a film is the camera shots and
angles because shots and angles tell the story. Walsh uses a variety of camera angles to
emphasize the representation of sexuality including close-ups, eye line, and two-shots. Close-ups
are used when Maud and Sue are having dialogue in the first scene. The effect of the close-ups is
to portray the emotions that are expressed off the faces of both ladies. Experts state that basic
emotion is portrayed through facial expressions and close-ups really capture the intensity
between Maud and Sue. Following close-ups are two-shots, they are self-explanatory and include
two people within one shot. This type of shot is vital because the audience gets to witness the
position of both characters in the scene and experiences the chemistry between said characters.
Moreover, eye line shot was a major indicator of the representation of sexuality because in the
second scene it is apparent that one of the ladies was looking directly at the others breasts.

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Without eye line shot, the audience would not understand what the character is actually looking
at and it would ignore important details of the scene. Unique camera shots are necessary in a
film, or else it will be stale, and Walsh does not fail to provide.
Nevertheless, a film can have a numerous amount of different camera angles; however, if
these shots are not properly edited, then the audience will lose interest. Fingersmiths approach
on editing is distinctive because the pace of the scenes changes about mid-way into the clip. In
the first scene the pace is slow with dissolving effects when Maud and Sue are speaking to each
other; the slow pace indicates a tense atmosphere and emotions of temptation. In the second
scene, the ladies find themselves outside and this is when the pace of editing increases. The male
character, Richard, instigates the sudden pace increase because he has a certain desire for Sue.
The fast pace cross-cutting from Sue to Maud to Richard emphasizes the fact that Sue has a
tough, pressuring decision to make between Maud or Richard. The combination of camera shots
and editing make the film pleasurable for the audience and keeps them hooked.
Sound and mise-en-scene were also weaved into Fingersmith and they play a significant
part in emphasizing the representation of sexuality. Both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds were
used in different scenes to depict a different effect. Diegetic sound was mostly used in the
dialogue between Maud and Sue. The effect of the dialogue is to provide the characters in greater
detail; the audience learned that Maud and Sue have certain connection through their dialogue in
the first scene. Furthermore, non-diegetic sound is also used when eerie music is added in the
transition scene from the house to outside. This music is paired with low key lighting to create an
uncomfortable setting in the first scene, almost as if Maud and Sues connection is forbidden.
Lastly, the character costumes also follow the time setting of Victorian England, making the film
more authentic for the audience and emphasizing the fact that homosexuality was unheard of.

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Ultimately, Fingersmith is a series that takes place in Victorian England and depicts two female
characters that are secretly in love. The representation of sexuality in this series is displayed
through unique camera angles, editing, sound, and mise-en-scene.