OVP: Best Cinematography
The Nominees Were...
Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
Jeff Cronenweth, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Robert Richardson, Hugo
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Janusz Kaminski, War Horse
My Thoughts: More than any other technical aspect of a film, Cinematography is the category that most speaks to me, and is easily my favorite of the non-"Big 6" categories at the Oscars. I think it's because it most addresses what I love about the cinema-the beautiful lights and sights of the big screen, and the way the camera helps to reinvent how we see the world. Suffice it to say, then that I take the film that I'm giving this trophy to very seriously, and so it seems appropriate to start out with a film that took itself very seriously, though not quite in the way one would hope.
Jeff Cronenweth, just one year after his splendid work in The Social Network, managed to gain his second nomination for re-teaming with Fincher in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Say what you will about the film (and lord knows I have), but the movie has atmosphere, due to Cronenweth's sharp angles and minimalist color palette. He relies heavily on washed-out imagery, taking the romance out of a movie about a serial killer (don't give me that look-you know Hollywood likes to glamorize murderers on-screen), and making both Mara's Lisbeth and Craig's Mikael seem even more destitute and remote. If, as I mentioned earlier, the editors are not Mara's friends, Cronenweth is, framing her gaunt body and wide, round eyes to maximum effect throughout the movie. It's impressive work, even if the warmer lit indoor scenes seem a bit run-of-the-mill, and in particular, the film's last twenty minutes forgo the artistry previously on-display for a more SVU-sort of feel.
Guillaume Schiffman gets the advantage of working in black-and-white, so crisp and wonderful, and full of nice, fun light with which to play. While almost everything else in the film is better in the first half, I'd wager that the cinematography and the most memorable scenes (visually) are in the second half of the movie. See the above photo of Jean Dujardin for proof of the sense of melancholy and whimsy that Schiffman is able to bring. Even better is the camera work in the suicide scene. All of this is to say, though, that while lovely, there's not a lot to lend itself to the first half-nothing truly out-of-the-ordinary is happening that hasn't been done far better in a film like Good Night, and Good Luck.
Janusz Kaminski knows his way around a camera, what with the epic feast for the eyes he keeps serving up in many a Steven Spielberg film. Spielberg, with one exception (A.I.) tends to favor the "handsome" to the "pretty"since he switched to more serious films in the mid-1980's, so Kaminski has to work overtime to highlight a color palette that doesn't rely too heavily on browns and blues. He does this here by highlighting the natural lights of the morning and in particular moonlight, done better here than any of his four competitors. The camera clearly knows that a focus on nature's beauty is key here, and that early focus on the loveliness of our hero Joey, as well as the stark contrast between daylight and moonlight across the English and French countryside shows that this is a lesson that it takes most seriously. Additionally, that spectacular eye shot above is one of those images that you know will be celebrated in film clip reels for years to come.
Robert Richardson earned his seventh Oscar nomination for Hugo, and it's quite easy to see why. Richardson's love of wide shots, generously including the nooks and crannies at the corners of lavishly detailed scenes is evident in nearly every scene. We see a Paris of great detail and the City of Lights is always bathed in a twinkle-whether it's from the stars or from the reflection in the omnipresent snow. Richardson's work, unlike Kaminski's, doesn't spend much time in trying to accurately frame the "light of night," instead giving a white glow even in the nighttime scenes, but that doesn't mean that what he's doing isn't excellent.
Finally, we have Emmanuel Lubezki, who has the enviable task of working with Terrence Malick. Malick's films are always bounteous in their visuals, and Lubezki gets a treasure trove here-the creation of the universe scenes alone are like a NOVA documentary as shaped by Mark Rothko-haunting splashes of color and shape fill the screen. We are given the angelic and imposing O'Brien family-Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain are oftentimes shown as towering over young Hunter McCracken, even when full of virtue. There isn't a frame in the film that rings false-there are many open questions within the plot and the meaning of the film, but there is no question that we are watching a maestro at work-someone who is interested in exploring the planet, and in turn, one family, from all of its angles-both beautiful and disturbing. Oh, and the dinosaur scene rocks.
Other Precursor Contenders: The ASC Awards skipped War Horse in favor of the muted greys and browns of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (with The Tree of Life victorious). The BFCA gave The Tree of Life and War Horse their prizes in a tie, and ditched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in favor of the bleakness of Drive. And BAFTA, while giving their trophy to Schiffman, made the unforgivable error of skipping The Tree of Life-even for a candidate as worthy as Tinker Tailor, that's a crime.
Films I Would Have Nominated: I spent a good deal of time discussing moonlight in War Horse, but you know a film even better to capture that moonlight, and just night in general? Melancholia. The film's preoccupation with the night sky and with this gaudy, excessive, isolated house give Manuel Alberto Claro much room to roam, and indeed he does, casting out rich greens and blues that bounce from light sources as diverse as the rainbow.
Oscar's Choice: Oscar continued his love affair with Marty Scorsese's childhood fairy tale, giving Robert Richardson his third trophy. One suspects that both Schiffman and Lubezki were in the running.
My Choice: Emmanuel Lubezki. While Kaminski, followed by Richardson, Schiffman, and Cronenweth, all have their merits, what Lubezki does is beyond them. Lubezki is one of my favorite cinematographers of all-time, but that doesn't mean that this isn't his best work. The Tree of Life, which I maintain is a film that will grow in stature and reputation in years to come, would not be the high peak of filmdom that it is without Lubezki's strong, observant hand on the camera.
And now, of course, I welcome you to discuss in the comments-of the five films, what movie deserved the trophy? What films should have been nominated? And of all films in 2011, which had truly the best Cinematography?
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