yes, i'm just watching the movie now, this scene is actually clever and funny. when markham comes in, there's a shot showing him on one side of the room and sir john on the other. then there's a shot from markham's point of view: sir john looks a v e r y l o n g w a y a w a y, much farther than in the previous shot--we're being told that the room seems much bigger to markham than it really is. then sir john says hello, and his voice, though he's such a long way away, is very loud. when markham replies, his voice can hardly be heard, though he's in the foreground. then when he walks across the rug, as you say, it seems like he's sinking into it. all these things are hitchcock's inventions for telling us how markham actually feels going into that room. and yes, later on he'd be more subtle, but these things aren't that different from, e.g., the glowing glass of milk in Suspicion.
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