Definition December 2020 - Web

THE DEV I L ALL THE T IME | PRODUCTION

LEFT Robert Pattinson menaces as Reverend Teagardin

PAINTING A STORY Part American gothic, part winding drama, The Devil All the Time is many things, not least beautiful. Cinematographer Lol Crawley tells us just how he did it

WORDS LEE RENWI CK / P I CTURES NETFL I X

I n a film packed with A-list performers playing monumentally large characters, sprawling narratives and exquisite production design, blink and you could miss Lol Crawley’s nuanced visuals. For those with an eye for cinematography, The Devil All the Time is a real treat. For anyone else, his approach works its subtle magic well enough to grasp their attention. A large part of the film’s success can be attributed to its characters. Of course, writer and director, Antonio Campos’s baleful lot are well-penned and superbly performed, but there’s more to it than that. There’s a visual language, acknowledged or not, that creates an inescapable air. Bill Skarsgård’s traumatised and rageful Willard looms, Tom Holland’s damaged Arvin is held at arm’s length, save for a few introspective moments, and Robert Pattinson’s Reverend Teagardin flits between a frame-

DECEMBER 2020 | DEF I N I T ION 07

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