The first thing the eye is drawn to in this scene is the sheriff's white shirt; it is the brightest object in the shot and appears even brighter due to the dark areas surrounding it. The composition places the focus a little to the right of center, which helps balance the weight of the image, and the chevrons on Ellie's shirt draw the eye up to her face, and the space around her head gives her presence a greater importance in the scene, as does her placement toward the top of the image. The lighting is high key; everyone appears to be fairly evenly lit and contrast comes more from the colors of the clothing and vehicle than from the lighting decisions. The use of the long shot takes in the large crowd and shrinks Ellie, which emphasizes how lost she is in this decision to return home. It also distances us from her, just as this moment causes the distance between her and Peter. The angle is slightly downward, but very close to eye level. She is more vulnerable in this scene than she has been in most of the others, but she's still in charge of her decisions. The image is very dense and chaotic; this helps to establish the feeling that the decision to return home was made hastily within a turmoil of emotion after she found that Peter had left. The open form gives the impression that the crowd we see here is still spilling out to an unknown distance, which adds to the sense of chaos.
Nicely done, Amanda. Just note that, while the description of the angle is correct, the term is high angle. I do wonder about her being in charge. That is, clearly she made the decision to give herself up, but I think the image shows Ellie delivering herself to all the paternalistic forces that she's essentially needed to guide her previously, despite acting as if she could live survive independently of them. That is, the image seems to confirm what we (and Peter) have always suspected about her.
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