"M", Melodrama?

"M" for Murderer. "M" for Morder. "M" for marked. A man marked by the letter, the murderer. But is he who he is because he is, or is he who he is because we say he is? "M" by Fritz Lang is a brilliant piece of expressionist art, challenging and provoking the norms of the society we live in, overturning values which we live by, and more frighteningly, blurring the fine line between whats righteous and just, and what isn't. "M" is a rebel, a daring testament to the adversity of its creator, Fritz Lang.

So what exactly is melodrama? Oxford defines melodrama as a piece of dramatic work which exaggerates plot and characters to appeal to the emotion. In melodrama, the characters are clearly defined and identified with a certain characteristic, be it good or bad. In all the films that came before "M", each character was usually clearly defined and placed where it should be. A great example of this would be Rise of a Nation, where the white people are portrayed as weak and helpless women, children while their black oppressors tormented them. "M" is a game changer in the world of cinema art. Never before has a character been cast in the grey area between the good and bad. On the surface, Hans Beckert is the heartless child murderer in "M" who's deeds disgust even the most hardened crooks, and seemingly no excuse could possibly justify him. Yet however, Fritz Lang throws us off when he begins to show us the flip side of this man. And this is where his expressionist brilliance truly shines. Through the most subtle elements, Fritz personifies the inner struggle Hans was facing through the use of light and shadow. As Hans was justifying himself before the jury, Fritz kept half of his  face constantly shrouded in the darkness, whereas the other half was always lit. Through this, Fritz portrayed the humanity in him. As with all of us, there are always 2 forces inside of us, constantly in conflict. This amplified the emotions of the character and made the audience relate to his plight. The use of sound in this piece also served to magnify the humanity of the murderer.  The character's desperate, heart wrenching pleas are punctuated with moments of bone chilling silence, serving to allow the audience to reflect on themselves,  and how much actually separates them from this demented murderer.

Another aspect explored by this film is the question "Are you really who you think yourself to be?" Fritz uses irony to its full effect where he portrays the jury and the judge of this man. The very people who are themselves criminals, are themselves sinners, are themselves murderers are condemning another equally guilty man to death? And as people go by, the character who is the "judge" is himself wanted by the police for 3 manslaughter charges. So how could one man condemn another simply because more people deem his crimes more heinous or despicable than what they themselves have committed? The montage in the film brilliantly juxtaposes the difference between a man who has to kill and a man who chooses to kill. However, the irony is that the one who chooses is walking free whereas the one who cannot help himself is condemned as a monster. Shouldn't the one who chooses out of his own free will to kill be punished first? Through this, Fritz challenges the make up of our society. He questions our choices, our morality and he condemns it. He shows us how ignorant and selfish people are, how self centered society is. When one of our own is hurt, like the men and women who screamed for his death, we fervently stand up and hurl insults at the so called murderer, condemn him and punish him. In the name of justice, we wouldn't think twice to do to him what he did to us tenfold. Unknowingly, we ourselves have become more heinous murderers ourselves that the man we seek to condemn.

In the closing sequence of the film, we see Hans Beckert being arrested in the name of the "Law", and then sentenced and punished in the name of the "People". Yet however, we are not told whether he was actually found guilty or not. Although subtle, Fritz Lang manages to use this scene as the coup de grace as the ending to this fantastic masterpiece. Through this, he shows us that we, the people, are not always as right as we think we are. Under the cover of "law" and in the name of "justice", how quickly we willingly give someone else up for our own selfish reason. Yes Hans Beckert was a murderer, but whether he was found guilty or not does not matter, nor do we want to know, for if by any chance he wasn't. Through this film, Fritz Lang laments our society, how we are quick to judge but slow to forgive, that we see the needle in someone else's eye while failing to see the log in our own. 

Which brings us back to the question, so is "M" a melodrama? It is and it is not. In essence, "M" is a murder mystery set in the mise en scene of a German town. The protagonist are the people, while the antagonist is the murderer by the name of Hans Beckert. However, it is also a reflection of the world we live in. Through this, Fritz aims to evoke us to see both sides of our own society and its people, where not everything is clearly defined, that those who seem to be in the right may very well not be.  And in that definition, it is not a melodrama. So, hats off to Fritz Lang, a brilliant filmaker.