A Beautiful Portrait of a Tragic Character

Rating: 9/10 (8 October 2015)

Citizen Kane has often been considered one of the best films ever made, and for good reason. The film uses complex and expert composition, camera work, and pioneered new techniques like deep focus, and elaborate camera movements. However, the most impressive part of Citizen Kane is the subtle meanings that can be taken from the composition, if viewed closely enough, it can drastically change a viewer's opinion of the characters. All the while using the life of William Randolph Hearst as a blueprint for the character and story.
When discussing Citizen Kane there's a lot to talk about, some of which is more obvious than the rest. One compositional trick the film used was the use of low angle camera frames. This meaning the camera was below Kane quite often to imply power, this often helped reinforce that Kane was a man of great power. The use of camera angles did help reinforce that Kane was a man of power, but was most likely used more for leading audiences to show the duality of the character. Another obvious aspect is that of Deep Focus, and elaborate camera movements, both of which were groundbreaking at the time of release. Citizen Kane's most impressive achievement was that of Deep Focus, a method in which everything in the foreground and background is clearly in focus. Deep Focus was used effectively to show that Kane was important even in frames when he was seemingly trapped. Despite the fact that Kane was a powerful man he's consistently shown as being trapped, helping reinforce the duality of the character.
Charles Foster Kane is besides his superficial facade a very tragic character, but it may take a few viewings to realize this. In multiple cases throughout the film composition implies a further meaning, most often the composition is made to make Kane look trapped. The two best examples of this are in the beginning with his parents, and at the midpoint of the film, when Kane is in Susan Alexander's room with Boss Gettys. An understandable question is why Kane shown as being trapped?
The answer is given in the beginning, and throughout until the end "Rosebud." Rosebud has it's literal meaning, and the figurative meaning of a lost childhood. However, the film consistently shows the audience that Rosebud represents that Kane is a lonely character, looking for a love he was deprived of before he had a say in the matter. Multiple lines in the film reinforce this for instance when Kane says "A toast, Jedediah: to Love on my own terms. That's the only terms I've ever known."
It would seem logical that Susan Alexander paralleled Rosebud, as their affair, is the only time Kane doesn't look lonely. Rosebud being Kane's lost innocence, and love, may have been filled by Susan Alexander, the best evidence of this is that Kane admits he's looking for Rosebud before he meets her, but is distracted by her, symbolizing that she represents the same thing Kane that Rosebud does. In the end however, Kane loses Rosebud again, and he loses Alexander as well. It's impossible to ignore the tragic look of an old lonely Kane who sits in an empty Xanadu, probably wishing he could give it all up for another life, one where he had Rosebud.
Rosebud is also theorized to be a reference towards William Randolph Hearst. Film reviewer Gore Vidal theorized that Rosebud was Hearst's nickname for a private region of his mistress Marion Davies, other theories were that it was Hearst's nickname for his childhood bike, either way it seemed to connect to Hearst. It seems obvious that Citizen Kane is based on Hearst's life despite what Welles said. The evidence is that Xanadu is remarkably similar to Hearst Castle, both characters were media moguls who helped start wars, and both had mistresses.
Regardless of whether or not Citizen Kane is based on Hearst's life it is still a great film full of meanings. It is so full of meanings, and elaborate compositions it's almost impossible to address all of them, but that's only a testament to the film's sheer quality. At the time the film changed the way filmmakers approached framing, and movement. It seems that still today few films have been so dense with literal, compositional, and figurative meanings as Citizen Kane did. It will forever remain a masterpiece of American Cinema.