Stylistic Resources for the Characterization of Film Characters: An Analysis of David’s Condition in A.I.: Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

In this article, we address style and narrative in the film A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001), directed by Steven Spielberg, in order to relate the narrative text to a specific analysis of its stylistic aspects, seeking to understand how the director uses style to depict the character’s transformations throughout the narrative. In this regard, we distinguish two different conditions of David: first as a robot child and also as the first artificial intelligence capable of experiencing emotions when activated. These two conditions are presented through the mise en scène. We observe that the compositional motivation frames David in circular forms and in reflections that fragment or overlap his image with others. Thus, the analyzed stylistic elements that shape the film's form contribute, respectively, to the implicit meaning of his journey as an angelic being and to demonstrating how the machine is capable of absorbing and processing knowledge.