In Contention

Tag: Greig Fraser

  • Picking the best new lensers

    As you know, we at InContention are dedicated to spotlighting below-the-line talent, so this excellent cinematography-themed piece at The Playlist caught my eye — in it, Oli Lyttelton singles out five individuals that he feels are spearheading an exciting new generation of DPs, breaking down their past achievements and future promise in some detail.

    The focus on newer names is both refreshing and necessary, given how awards voters can be resistant to outstanding work from comparatively untested talents. Of the five worthy names he puts forth, three — Greig Fraser (“Bright Star”), Eduard Grau (“A Single Man”) and Adriano Goldman (“Sin Nombre”) — arguably deserved awards traction in the 2009 season than they eventually got, while two — Robbie Ryan (“Fish Tank”) and Michael McDonough (“Winter’s Bone”) — seem destined to be similarly slighted this year, given their low profile and the gritty unprettiness of their projects.

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  • TECH SUPPORT INTERVIEW: The crafts of ‘Bright Star’

    Ben Wishaw and Abbie Cornish in Bright StarIt’s not every year that my biggest cheer on Oscar nomination morning comes in the technical categories, but such was the case last week when Janet Patterson’s name showed up in the Best Costume Design lineup.

    Patterson’s inclusion (following a senseless Guild snub) is gratifying not merely as recognition for her tangibly textured, richly story-serving threads in “Bright Star,” but as a representation of one of 2009’s most immaculately integrated – and under-rewarded – technical ensembles.

    Jane Campion’s John Keats biopic derives its fresh, fragile romanticism as much from writing and performance as the combined efforts of Patterson, cinematographer Greig Fraser and composer Mark Bradshaw. Their work has prompted countless critics’ punning on Keats’s “a thing of beauty is a joy forever” chestnut, but sometimes the most obvious praise is the most appropriate.

    For Fraser and Bradshaw, “Bright Star” represents their first experience on a Campion feature, having previously collaborated with the New Zealander on a pair of short films, “The Water Diary” and “The Lady Bug.” For Patterson, however, the film extends a collaboration with the filmmaker that dates back to Campion’s 1993 breakthrough “The Piano,” and has yielded previous Oscar nominations for both that film and 1996’s “The Portrait of a Lady.”

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  • ASC on the way

    Daniel Day-Lewis in NineAlong with the WGA, the American Society of Cinematographers will also be announcing nominees Monday.  Guesses as to which way they’ll go?

    I’d say the safest bet is Robert Richardson and his work on “Inglourious Basterds.” He often gets his due from the guild (eight nominations) even when he doesn’t from the Academy (five nominations).

    After that, it’s likely Barry Ackroyd, the most lauded of the season’s lensers in the critics awards circuit, will be chalked up for “The Hurt Locker.” But I think I have to come clean on something here.

    Due respect to Mr. Ackroyd, who is a considerable talent, his work on the film totally took me out of the narrative.  The slavish devotion to dizzying handheld work lacked the focus of the characters being depicted while attempting to somehow simulate the tension of their profession, and that, I think, was a misstep.

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  • INTERVIEW: Jane Campion

    Jane CampionJane Campion’s laugh comes as a rather lovely surprise: full, throaty and often directed at herself, it betrays a personality more robust, mischievous even, than one might surmise from her fragile, often solemn films. It’s a disconnect she cheerfully acknowledges, and credits in part to her collaborators.

    “As a filmmaker, it helps me to be around young people,” she says, referring to the unusually youthful cast and crew of “Bright Star,” her exquisite meditation on first love, nature and poetry – via the star-crossed affair of John Keats and his teenaged lover Fanny Brawne.

    “People in their twenties can be quite moody and quiet, and not in a bad way – they know how to be alone with their thoughts. People my age tend to blab on a bit without thinking, like I’m doing now.”

    She laughs again. If that’s a frequent occurrence over the course of our phone conversation, it could be because Campion is as relaxed and content as she has ever been in her career. Her first feature since 2003’s harshly-received erotic thriller “In the Cut,” “Bright Star” has placed the New Zealander back in critics’ good graces, even if it looks increasingly unlikely to emulate the Oscar success of her 1993 breakthrough “The Piano.”

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  • ‘Moon,’ Carey Mulligan, Tom Hardy take BIFA Awards

    Tom Hardy in BronsonThe British Independent Film Awards really spread the wealth this year, with only two films — “Moon” and “Fish Tank” — taking more than one award. In a slightly surprising result, Duncan Jones’s sci-fi debut claimed the night’s top prize, Best British Independent Film, as well as Best Debut Director honors.

    Meanwhile, “Fish Tank,” which entered the ceremony with the most nominations, took a well-deserved pair of awards: Best Director for Andrea Arnold (the first woman ever to receive the honor) and Most Promising Newcomer for 18 year-old sensation Katie Jarvis.

    Jarvis lost the Best Actress award, however, to Carey Mulligan for “An Education” — one of the night’s few winners likely to figure prominently in the awards race across the pond. (This in stark contrast to last year’s BIFA awards, which were all about “Slumdog Millionaire.”)

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  • LONDON: A thing of beauty

    Abbie Cornish in Bright StarRegular readers will know that Kris and I frequently disagree as to the merits of certain films — and cheerfully so, since a range of opinion is kind of the point of having multiple contributors to a site like this.

    But I don’t think our opinions have ever been so sharply opposed as they are over Jane Campion’s “Bright Star” — which has its UK premiere tonight as the Mayor of London’s Gala selection, and which thoroughly enthralled me at this morning’s press screening.

    I realize that the film is relatively old news in the States as I write this, but I nonetheless feel compelled to add a rejoinder to Kris’s fair but frosty take from Telluride last month, as for my money, Campion has turned in a rhapsodically beautiful work, a possible four-star effort that sits easily with her finest.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Cinematography — Volume II

    Melanie Laurent in Inglourious BasterdsAlmost three months ago, I described how our cinematographers bring movies to life, by lensing the director’s vision, the actors’ performances, the production designer’s and the writer’s mood, just to begin. In the absence of these talented individuals, there would truly be no cinema.

    Like most people, this is my favorite of the Oscar crafts categories. I was very happy when Anthony Dod Mantle triumphed last year, even though he was barely on my radar post-TIFF, where “Slumdog Millionaire” premiered.  So what has emerged since our last assessment?

    From the Toronto and Venice Film Festivals, not a whole lot seems to have changed in the category. While “Precious” and “Up in the Air” seem to have been the biggest gainers, they still don’t seem to be obvious candidates here.  Then again, you have to keep an eye on Best Picture contenders, so I’d still consider DPs Andrew Dunn and Eric Steelberg for their work.

    Tom Ford’s “A Single Man” also performed quite well at Venice. Many have praised the look of the film, so it would be foolish to rule out Eduard Rau. On the other hand, Javier Aguiressarobe’s lensing of “The Road” did not receive the praise I suspected it might, with most acclaim going to Viggo Mortensen’s performance. Even so, I’ll keep my eye on this title until it is released in theaters.

    A contender whose vehicle has shifted since I last covered this category in July is Robert Richardson. While Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” has been delayed until next year, Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” on the other hand, has made a considerable splash. Richardson had many chances to show the scope of his talent on this project. I wouldn’t rule him out.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Cinematography – Volume I

    Saoirse Ronan in The Lovely BonesLIGHTS…CAMERA…you were probably waiting for the word “action,” no? Action is, after all, what many individuals go to a film to see. But the “lights” and the “camera” in this classic phrase bring a film beyond a book or a radio show…and capture the “action.”

    The individuals who paint the images of cinema with light and composition are rewarded in the Oscar category of Best Cinematography. Cinematographers are pivotal in the making of any film and it is thus unsurprising that directors often continuously work with the similar camera heads.

    Like many cinephiles, I must say this is my favorite of the so-called “technical” categories and I eagerly anticipate the race every year.  This year is no exception.

    Australian D.P. Dion Beebe might seem to be leading this year’s lenser race with his third collaboration with Rob Marshall, the musical adaptation “Nine.” Despite not being cited by the Academy for some of his more innovative work (see Michael Mann’s “Collateral”), Beebe has been previously nominated for 2002’s “Chicago” and won the Oscar in 2005 for “Memoirs of a Geisha.” “Nine” will give him the opportunity to pay homage to Federico Fellini while also capturing sprawling musical numbers, a feat this category tends to reward.

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  • Jane Campion’s ‘Bright Star’ scrapbook

    Those of you impatient to lay eyes on Jane Campion’s “Bright Star” following yesterday’s very positive Cannes reception might want to check out this online “production scrapbook” that has been assembled for the film.

    A loosely compiled collection of notes, photos, sketches, storyboard and props from Campion and her collaborators, it’s an elegant indulgence that gives some indication of the painterly visual textures we can expect from the film. Greig Fraser, a young DP working on his first major feature here, is already being talked up as a contender for cinematography honors, and in addition to the stills we’ve already soon, some of the location pics here show why. Take a look here.

    Abbie Cornish in Bright Star