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Re: Deja Vu
Ever since Man On Fire, my friends and I have become huge fans of Tony. Not seeing that in theatres was the stupidest thing I've ever done. His level of command over the craft, and his willingness to experiment with ways of conveying emotion, choosing scripts that are well-suited to his love for creativity, ignoring CGI and digital enhancements in favor of completely organic innovations, just everything. Even the subtitles are loaded with energy. As a photographer, seeing cross-processed positive slide film shot with hand-cranked cameras from the 1920s is a pure adrenaline rush- to see a fellow artist taking risks that I've often thought about trying out in the darkroom- underfixed film, bleach bypass, etc. It's hugely inspiring. I can't imagine his new stuff would play very well with people who aren't photographers or cinematographers, but I can't get enough of it. The craziness of Domino Harvey was so well conveyed in the appropriately crazy visuals- and yet they are conveyed with such confidence. A young person could never pull such organized madness off. That he actually rewinds the negative on the spot and re-exposes it for the multiple exposures blows my mind. It might be the first avant-garde action picture. And shooting the finale of the film in 2-10fps?! It's a cinematographer's wet dream!
I have a feeling Deja Vu will break away from the aesthetic of his last two films, as he's repeatedly said he doesn't like to repeat himself this late in life. In any case, it's great to see him emerge as such a creative artist after making 15 years of normal (but good) movies. In any case, I'll be in line for this one. I think it'll be solid, populist entertainment elevated by some terrific aesthetic exploratory interpretations of the material.
Regards,
Nathan
Body of Lies / Ridley Scott / Leo DiCaprio / Russell Crowe / Autumn '08
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