CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford

Directed by Andrew Dominik (2007), Cinematography by Robert Deakins

1. Overall Look:

I certainly think this film's aspects add up to overall look. I noticed Robert Deakins is a big fan of light and shadow. Throughout the movie I definitely saw how he used lighting and the natural shape of silhouettes. What really caught my eye was the use of lenses, the in between scenes were blurry at the edges and focused on something that was a step closer to getting to the plot of the film. The angles were quite interesting, a lot of low angle shots and far away shots were in there, but most of all close ups of the characters. I really enjoyed the close up shots, because it made me feel as if I personally knew the characters. For framing the characters were in focus, however it still gave me a chance to see the beautiful scenery in the frame. The camera movement was not fast at all, so it was slow yet engaging. I think the long takes were fairly used, it allowed the dialogue of the characters be the center of attention, which was helpful for the next clue of the story. I loved the the color of this film, it felt vintage and the low saturation wrapped it all up to complete the look of this film.

2. Images:

Going back to the in between scenes, I think those fall under this category. The images were not directly reflected in characters' action and dialogue, it was more of clues that kept the story going. 

Example: This is the main chair that Jesse James (Brad Pitt) usually sits in when he's home (shown above). This shot indicates a clue towards his death and all that's left is his lonely, empty, wooden chair.

3. Shot Lengths:

For this film few long shots were shot, however I think the back and forth short takes were the main ones. During a conversation or actions between characters, a variety of shots were taken to keep the eye moving. I did notice a pattern going on, as something intense was bound to happen, the shot would get lengthy to focus on something that may occur next.

4. Shot Types:

As I have mentioned, close ups are a huge part of this film, the reason being that dialogue is highly important. There is a lot of dialogue going on, which causes eagerness to know what happens next. When's the action happening!?...it drives the viewer insane. At least it did for me. I would say that extreme long shots were used in scenes when the characters would ride horses.

5. Camera Angles: 

Low angle were meant to make the main character Jesse James be above all the rest of the characters. (As shown above) The angle caused Jesse to look powerful and dominant of everything that was involved with him. High angles were used mostly for the character Robert Ford (Casey Affleck). He is the biggest scary cat from all the characters, so that angle really emphasizes on the fear he has all the time.

Example: For this shot I would say it's more of a "painterly" composition, but it's still an interesting point of view. 

6. Composition:

For the composition, most of what I remember seeing were a good amount of balanced rule of thirds shots. I actually think the shots in this film are unique and spooky in some way. Overall the scene seemed balanced and was shot in a way that fit the type of film.

Example: Suspenseful camera movement when Jesse James is about to get killed by Robert Ford.

7. Camera Movement:

I would say that there is a little amount of camera movement for this film. Movement was not overly used, however I did notice the different shots going on throughout scenes. The most important scene where Jesse James is purposely walking to the wall to clean the frame and Casey knows it's time to shoot him was my favorite scene to explain camera movement. The reflection of Casey pointing the gun at him was just so intense. It's as if Jesse sees his death.

8. Cinematography Style:

I think this film calls no attention for itself, however I did notice there was extra scenes. They honestly did not bug me, because it is a great film with/without those extra scenes. Overall, the style of this film was well organized and it really stands out from any other film I had ever watched. 

(Recap of favorite scenes shown below)

Film Noir Extravaganza

                                       
                           

                       

   "Noir is concerned with errors, with confusion, it's the noir idea. We don't know whats going on, but we do know something bad is out there controlling events." - Errol Morris.

This quote reminds me of the particular scene in "The Postman Man Always Rings Twice" where the character Cora Smith (Lana Turner) and the character Frank Chambers (John Garfield) are out to kill the character Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway). They both planned to kill Nick in a non suspicious way and I didn't know their exact plan, but I knew something bad was going to occur. The mystery behind their ways of doing the murder and not getting caught kept me engaged. I love the adrenaline and like the quote above says, I did feel confused at one point for everything that was going on. For example when Cora climbs the hill and searches for help after the car rolls down had me thinking, why was it that the detectives car that was there? I guess Cora's and Frank's plan wasn't as undercover as they thought it was.

Cora Smith is definitely a femme fatal. 

"A powerful, sexual female, is a very dangerous figure." - Janey Place.

She knows she is an attractive woman and takes advantage of that to get what she wants. For example, in the scene where she dropped her lipstick, she expected Frank to walk to her, but he didn't. She wants the good life for her, which is why she plans everything in an organized way for her to get a benefit out of it. An example can be that she wants to stay with the diner if she succeeds in killing Nick; she is afraid to have nothing economically. She is a femme fatal, however I don't think she's a typical one. Her love for Frank is obviously true and she wants to be swept off her feet with a man she's actually happy with. 

                             The use of shadow and lighting is always used in these types of "Noir Fims", its almost its signature. In the scene shown above of the movie "The Postman Always Rings Twice", we can can't see the actual jail bars, but we know he is in jail by seeing the shadows of the bars. Not only was it the locations that were used for this film that were dark, but the time of day, which was night. They used the night to make all the lighting standout and give it a spooky, thriller feel to it. For example, when Cora and Frank were planning to electrocute Nick in the bathtub I noticed most of the lights were off, except for the bathroom light, which made me focus on the bathroom. The camera angels are also equally important. They guide the light on the direction its going and the amount of light that is being shown depends on the scene. This film style is also helped by the choice of music. Instrumental/dramatic music brings it all together; a lot of violin is included in this type of music. They keep the scene rolling with the slow part of the song yet rise it up to the loud part when something exciting is about to happen. One example for the music can be when Cora doesn't want to get caught by Nick that she was planning to run away with Frank. She gets back home as fast as she can (dramatic music plays here) to get the simple little note she had left Nick on the cashier box, until finally she arrives and grabs it. 

Shown above is actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt who stars in the Neo Noir thriller movie "Brick"

directed by Rian Johnson.

"NEO -NOIR"

                          I strongly think that there is a huge difference between color and black/white films. The dark and exaggeration of lighting gives the films a way more dark feeling compared to color films. There is something about black that makes it interesting, not just in films but also in other subjects, such as fashion. We view it as classy, however there is something bad about the color, which are two incredible combinations. I noticed that with film noir movies I have watched, there is something they have in common; that is crime and harsh type of love. For example in the movie "Dead Men Don't wear Plaid", Rigby Reardon (Steve Martin) is falling in love with Juliet Forrest (Rachel Ward), but he knows it would be trouble to get involved with her. He seeks for ways not to fall for her and wants to be a man who doesn't settle down. The story line is also similar to "The Postman Always Rings Twice", because Frank knows that falling for Cora is nothing but trouble too. The arrangement of scenery is highly detailed for the viewer to experience what the director wants the viewer to see. For example, when the director focuses on a character, the other character may be in the background. Most of it is left to the viewers imagination, because film noir scenes are for you to picture what happens between everything that's going on. 

ONE DAY

 “Oh you know me. I have no emotions. I'm a robot. Or a nun. A robot nun.” -One Day

              One Day, from a book (by David Nicholls) to a film and my all time favorite movie. It wasn't until the scenery of this film impacted me and made my love for movies stronger. As a young teen I loved recording short videos of places I would go or things I thought were interesting. Now as an adult not only do I love making videos, I also have really focused on editing them. Every time I watch a film I really keep an eye on the little details, things people don't really notice. I get fascinated how sound, editing, direction etc, come together and make something great that allows people to feel all different kind of emotions. I simply love how a movie makes you experience a story as if you were there.

                 What stands out about this film is that it gets you to your core, yet it has fun humor. I also enjoy Wes Anderson films, he has a different perspective of things and the fashion style is just magnificent and adorable. Some of my favorites from him are "Rushmore" and "Moonrise Kingdom". I'm really looking forward to watch his new film "The Grand Budapest Hotel" which comes out in March 7, 2014. I recently watched "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and wow, I was so blown away. It was such an inspiring and dreamy movie. That is also one of the special effects of movies, they make me believe in something I thought was impossible. Even if the film is fiction, I still love to imagine. If I were to describe my type of films it would definitely be One Day.
Below I have added the trailer of the 2011 film, enjoy!

One Day directed by Lone Scherfig