I think there's a massive guilty pleasure to be taken in appreciating things simply for the way they look. I can watch the following films repeatedly and besides being great pieces of cinema in terms of writing and direction, the style and aesthetic quality alone are my reasons for watching.
Each makes me 'feel' something I can't explain as well as I would like. There's an unease and uncanny familiarity, whether it's in suburban California or an imagined future of totalitarian Britain. There are some recurring themes; reflections in the mirror, masks, deception and disguise, ridiculously cool interior shots and even better panoramic snapshots of these enigmatic worlds.
There are the vast open landscapes which increase the ever present feeling in each film that 'something' is waiting to happen. The underlying tensions are offset with the creation of frames which you would pause and climb inside if only it were possible.
V for Vendetta, James McTeigue, 2005
Set in a near-future dystopian society, the style and imagery of the film alludes to several classic themes. Orwell's 1984 the most obvious and the paralles between V and The Count of Monte Cristo. There's the Shadow Gallery, a wealth of forbidden French noir treasures, and original pop culture artefacts, plus V himself; the masked Guy Fawkes reincarnation. There are great frames of the disused Aldwych Tube Station, familiar images of London, darkened by the shadow of the totalitarian state and just the simple presence of Natalie Portman. It's a beautiful film.
Brick, Rian Johnston, 2005
I won't go into detail describing the fairly complex plot of Brick, but if you haven't seen it you'll need to watch it now. Set in California and based on a disjointed group of high school pupils, this is a surreal suffocating cinematic creation, with fantastic on-location shooting in tow. The colours are at times subdued, as are the characters; they're never really 'there' at all. There's a feeling of a certain haze over the lens, trapping the dysfunctional group inside Rian Johnsone's disturbing creation of suburban normality, with the tension of a classic noir thriller constantly present.
Several of the film’s wide-angle shots angle up from street level,
giving it noir’s claustrophobic feel. The haunting,
melancholy score often evokes both the feeling of a jazz nightclub and
science fiction thriller. There are shots, and simply objects which
still stand out in my mind after watching this film more than 7 years
ago. Its achingly cool, and kidnaps your attention from the start. Watch out for the scene in the dressing room - perfect.
A Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick, 1971
Grim and disturbing imagery set against the most fantastic creation of set design and stylisation in modern cinema. There are pages and pages to be said for Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, if you haven't seen it, you're probably mad. Again with it's dystopian setting, use of colour, themes of violence, paranoia and deception, Kubrick's classic is set firmly in the surreal sci-fir noir genre. The decor is enviable, the 70s completely reworked into an Alice Down the Rabbit Hole version of itself; the iconic Korova Milkbar pulls you straight in from the opening camerawork, and so follows the most striking film locations. It's dark, terrifying, highly sexualised and undeniable beautiful.
I have so many favourite scenes it's hard to even know where to start, so I'll leave you with some images.
V for Vendetta, Brick and A Clockwork Orange are based somewhere in the
future, a surreal hazy landscape which is interrupted by bleak, flat
colour shots of the every-day. They exist in an unimaginable world, but
yet one where the cinematography constantly chases the possibility that
these imagined futures could be just around the corner yet hopelessly out
of reach. Everything effortlessly stylised, and simply just fantastic to
look at.
For more beautiful stills check out film-grab.com.
- Kirsty
