BEST OF 2024
D irector Tim Mielants reunites with regular collaborator DOP Frank van den Eeden, with the pair masterfully depicting the mundane routines of coal merchant Bill Furlong in this adaptation of Claire Keegan’s novel. The film weaves between the winter of 1985 in the town of New Ross and flashes back to the fifties. Working alongside production designer Paki Smith, the DOP beautifully brings both periods to life with his stark cinematography. Capturing the film with the ARRI ALEXA 35 and Panasonic PVintage lenses kept the overall look of the film grounded in reality, without taking away from the overall story. Much of the film takes place during the night, so van den Eeden relied on natural lighting sources, as well as using available streetlight for exterior sequences. With a powerful leading performance by Cillian Murphy, this film is a harrowing look at Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries. SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE WORDS Oliver Webb
RIPLEY WORDS Nicola Foley
I interviewed Robert Elswit, DOP on Ripley , back in the spring, having just binged the entire eight-part series. The time pressure on the interview necessitated a speedy watch, but it wasn’t a chore in the least: I’d argue that this stunning Netflix show doesn’t just offer some of the best cinematography of 2024; it’s a strong contender for some of the best ever seen on television. One of the first things Elswit said to me was that he had initially been reluctant to take on the project when director Steven Zaillian reached out, since there was already such an iconic adaptation of Ripley out in the world. But where Anthony Minghella’s 1999 feature brings the conman’s story to life as a stylish, sun- drenched Mediterranean fever dream, this gives an inverse take: shadowy, cold, menacing and entirely monochrome. The team paid close attention to how they could make the audience feel through lighting, building tension and manipulating it to illuminate character dynamics. Tom Ripley, ever the enigma, lurks in the shadows; while Dickie, morally ambiguous and self-absorbed, hovers in half-light. Marge, the most transparent and sincere of the trio, is fully lit, exposed. With a stylised, film noir approach, Elswit embraced the interplay of white and black highlights and shadows, in part using traditional tungsten lighting for the unique contrast, which lends itself well to black & white. The lenses, Panavision VA primes, were also key, with Elswit enthusiastically praising how they hark back to vintage movies, adding elegance to every frame. Another hallmark of the cinematography I loved was the sneaky camera work. As duplicitous as Ripley himself, clever framing and movements capture the action from unexpected angles – up high, down low or through foreground objects. It often feels as if we, the viewers, are eavesdropping, peering over shoulders and around corners, stealing glimpses of Ripley’s deceptions. We become uneasy accomplices, sharing in his misdeeds. Elswit’s cinematography doesn’t just help tell the story – it lures us into it, pulling us along in the shadows, where everything is just a little bit dangerous…
B ased on The Wizard of Oz and adapted from the beloved stage musical, Universal’s Wicked – directed by Jon M Chu and shot by Alice Brooks – brings the Emerald City to life in the first half of a two-part project. Working with existing IP meant that Wicked had much to live up to, both in terms of retelling the original story and capturing the land of Oz in all its saturated spectacle – yellow brick roads, fields of red poppies and, of course, Elphaba’s green skin. Aided by gravity-defying footage, aerial DOP Jeremy Braben flew heavy-lift drones over the film’s various sets, where they were often shooting scenes simultaneously. The result is a movie that maintains the magic of its predecessors, inviting audiences into its whimsical, wonderful world. Find out more in the NBCUniversal special Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises . WICKED WORDS Katie Kasperson
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