Author name: Eilert Nilsson

Tobacco and Quiet Corners

Drama

Kelly Reichardt uses the same method to steal genre movies as J.B. does when stealing paintings because she works with stealth and determination until the missing elements become apparent. The Mastermind presents itself as a heist movie but it actually functions as an anxiety dream that uses corduroy as its outer layer. Josh O'Connor slouches […]

The Shape of Maternal Madness

Horror

Sally Hawkins has made a career playing women who beam kindness, so naturally the Philippou brothers cast her as a psychopath. Actually, wait. That's not entirely fair. Laura isn't simply a psychopath in Bring Her Back. She represents a more tragic case because her grief has consumed her completely which turned her into a disgusting

Chestnut Trees and Terrible Alibis

Thriller

People develop unusual behavior during autumn season. Always has. And Alain Guiraudie gets this, which is why he drops Jérémie into a damp November village where everyone seems to want him but nobody knows what to do about it. The chestnut trees display their golden colors when Jérémie reaches the location. Guiraudie and cinematographer Claire

Mickey Versus Mickey: When Cloning Goes Corporate

Adventure

The ice planet scenes hit you with this washed-out grey-white that Darius Khondji clearly spent hours calibrating. Watch the entire performance even though the first scene appears hazy because of the fogged glass effect. Look, Pattinson playing two versions of himself works. Mickey 17 shuffles around in beige jumpsuits Catherine George designed, all patched and

When the Darkness Actually Works

Horror

Eggers uses shadows as his main artistic tool to create absence which becomes a powerful visual element when he uses it to depict Victorian wallpaper through his claw-like silhouettes. The film Nosferatu achieves complete darkness which most contemporary movies avoid because they fear its intense power. The director spent five hours lighting candles for each

Dylan Goes Electric, Chalamet Goes Method

Drama

The brown corduroy jacket catches my eye first. Not Chalamet's performance, not the period Greenwich Village streets, but this one jacket that appears in three scenes and each time it's buttoned differently, worn differently, like it's aging with Bob or maybe Bob's aging into it. Brown corduroy in winter New York. Who makes that choice?

The Color of Concrete Dreams

Drama

An upside down statues of liberty is memorable. The film by Corbet begins with László Tóth stepping into Ellis Island while he views the inverted Lady through his eyes. The opening visual effect shows potential to be a gimmick but the following three and a half hours maintain their focus on disorienting the audience. The

The Control Room Commits Too Hard

Drama

Yellow. The first thing that catches you about September 5 is how aggressively yellow everything looks. Not warm, not golden. Yellow. The control room where these ABC Sports journalists scramble to cover the Munich hostage crisis feels soaked in nicotine stains and fluorescent haze, which works better than it should. Actually makes you queasy. The

Maria Callas Never Quite Sings in Pablo Larraín’s Lavish Tomb

Drama

The first thing that strikes you about Pablo Larraín's Maria is how goddamned brown everything is. Not sepia. Brown. The Parisian apartment of Maria Callas experienced an untidy entry of Autumn which resulted in complete disorganization of all spaces. Edward Lachman directs his camera as if he were using tobacco water to create paintings which

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