OVP: Best Cinematography (2018)
The Nominees Were...
Lukasz Zal, Cold War
Robbie Ryan, The Favourite
Caleb Deschanel, Never Look Away
Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
Matthew Libatique, A Star is Born
My Thoughts: It is not unusual to have non-English films in the Cinematography category. Of all of the craft branches, historically this is the easiest category to take on an international motif (for the Academy). That being said, this might be the first (and only?) time that a tech category went with a majority of movies not in English. This was driven by a truly shocking Oscar morning nomination, which in retrospect shouldn't have been shocking at all. In recent years the Cinematography branch had success with shoveling enough Roger Deakins films at the larger voting body that Deakins finally won in 2017-just one year later, they seemed to have picked their next candidate for such treatment with the long-nominated, never-winning Caleb Deschanel. We'll start with him today.
I will admit up-front that I am in the minority among at least "very online" film fans that genuinely enjoyed the (long) Never Look Away. The story of one life told compellingly is an Academy mainstay, but it's one that I'm more immune to, but this one struck me as the rare 3-hour film that justifies its runtime. Deschanel's camerawork toes the line between conventional and artistic, on occasion giving us glorious work trying to pay homage to Gerard Richter (like the grand reveal of all of the photorealist paintings), but honestly (and I mean this as a genuine compliment), the best part of Never Look Away's cinematography are the sex scenes. Deschanel seems utterly fascinated with the flawless posteriors of the two lead actors, and is lighting them in a way that, is well, genuinely hot. Considering the dearth of eroticism in modern cinema, I'm going to let this slightly pervy nomination slide, but let's not forget that Deschanel is getting this recognition largely because his camera was so focused on butts in Never Look Away. Tina Belcher would be proud.
Roma also has some key scenes focusing on nudity, but it's not really what you recall from the film. Cuaron's camera is really focused on making every shot look glorious, an absolute ode to cinema itself. Somehow combining Ingmar Bergman with Fellini, Roma's camera captures the shifting tides of the world at-large, the pooling water on a garage floor to a panning shot of a department store as it's overrun by armed men. Roma is not a movie with a large central plot, but more about getting the feeling of a life, and that's happening specifically through the camera-every frame of this movie feels like it was chosen specifically for that moment, and for a movie that is a mood picture, nothing ever feels extra or out-of-place. That's a combination of fine editing & also daring camerawork, and so of course this was nominated (and won) this prize.
Cold War, like Roma, is shot in black-and-white (a crutch for this branch), but both films are more than just pretty B&W pictures. They also say something through their camera's. In Cold War, it's more about the passage-of-time. Look at the way the camera lingers on our two young lovers, both at odds & making bad decisions for their own happiness, and the way it seems to almost pull back, robbing them of the life they'd have in a different situation. I think Cold War's genius is that it knows that life is not just about regret, but choices you can't undo. Zal shows that in the spareness of his camera, knowing to keep certain aspects of the picture at a distance because it will slip through our fingers.
There were two films in English in this category, both movies cited for Best Picture & Actress that otherwise could not have less in common. The Favourite is the kind of movie that gets someone their first nomination mostly because they're realizing the vision of a distinctive director (who is breaking through with Oscar). This is not to insult Ryan, whose camera is playful & adept in The Favourite. I particularly liked how he used the clouded English sky as a backdrop to the clearest-headed moments in the script itself. But I don't think this is using cinematography as a central stage the way that Roma and Cold War do, and I wonder if this might be as close as we got in this category to a "coattails" nomination.
A Star is Born, as we progress in the coming weeks, is going to be a frustrating experience for you, dear reader, if this was one of your favorite films of 2018. Similar to La La Land when we did 2016, this is a movie I wish I liked but did not. But also similar to La La Land, I am not blind to the film's strengths, one of which is its delicious camerawork. A Star is Born, especially in its first half, is a beautiful movie, playing with natural light and authentic fake light (i.e. the way that the glow of a concert lights feels overwhelming), and I adored the movie's clear homages to past A Star is Born iterations, particularly the 1954 version in the way some of the nightclub scenes are shot. Like most things with the movie, the film's second half doesn't have as much to lend itself as the rest, but this is a minor complaint-the music & cinematography are by-far my favorite parts of this picture.
Other Precursor Contenders: The American Society of Cinematographers goes with just five nominations and it's generally the classiest of all of the tech precursors. Here we have Cold War taking the trophy over A Star is Born, First Man, The Favourite, and Roma (I wonder if the reason they didn't go with Roma is that generally the ASC/Cinematography branch has been reluctant to director-cinematographer hyphenates). Roma did take the BAFTA, however, over Bohemian Rhapsody, Cold War, The Favourite, and First Man. In terms of sixth place, let's pretend it was First Man because I actually think it was Bohemian Rhapsody, which would have been just a gigantic car wreck of a nomination (for the record, I predicted If Beale Street Could Talk at the time, but it totally bombed with Oscar so I doubt it was close in retrospect).
Films I Would Have Nominated: I'll be up-front, this is a good lineup. Oscar resisted doing something heinous like nominate Bohemian Rhapsody, and as a result you get five thumbs ups here. That being said, I'd have for sure thrown First Man in this group, as it has a distinctive style & I don't think that's just the special effects talking.
Oscar's Choice: Cuaron probably couldn't have won based solely on the cinematography branch's help, but lucky for him the entire Academy voters here, and so he beats out Cold War.
Oscar's Choice: Cuaron probably couldn't have won based solely on the cinematography branch's help, but lucky for him the entire Academy voters here, and so he beats out Cold War.
My Choice: I'm going to give it to Cuaron as well, just slightly over Zal, both of which proved that black-and-white cinematography can take on many moods, but be gorgeous in both cases. Behind them would be A Star is Born, followed by The Favourite and Never Look Away.
Those are my thoughts-how about yours? Is everyone still behind Roma (the consensus favorite in 2018), or does someone want to strike out on their own? Is this the only tech category with a majority non-English films? And was it First Man or Bohemian Rhapsody nipping at this category's heels? Share your thoughts below!
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