Chris here to spread some love for one of my below the line favorites in this year's Oscar Race. Like many of my cohorts here at The Film Experience, I am completely taken with Arrival. Director Denis Villeneuve's last two films (Sicario and Prisoners) resulted in Best Cinematography nominations for the genius Roger Deakins, but this time he partnered up with future legend Bradford Young to stunning results. If the Oscars want to reward some diversity below the line, Young is a mightily deserving talent.
Arrival seems like a fitting film to break him into the Oscar fold considering how it perfectly distills his greatest strengths: layering intimacy and the grandiose in equal measure, complimenting theme, and creating awe in the everyday. Like the film itself, his camera is only deceptively stoic with a great well of feeling underneath. Add in Arrival's many unforgettable images and fluid movement, and we have a real contender.
The cinematography branch is one of the stingiest to let in new voices, but with a major contender like Arrival he can hopefully break through. While much of his past work might have been too small for Oscar, he's been building a steady resume of immaculate work. Let's take a look back at five favorites from his work thus far...
Pariah
The camera is keyed into Adepero Oduye's Alike on an almost surreal level - as psychologically upended as her burgeoning sexuality, as grounded as her need for approval. The color palate matches Alike's emotions as well, all lurid purples and aching browns. This was the first time we caught his name and haven't forgotten it since.
Middle of Nowhere
Here is another example of him tapping into a protagonist's state of being: Young captures the feeling of being emotionally stuck without losing the yourning disposition being stifled. It's a stylistic gamble that director Ava DuVernay takes, and the risk works thanks to Young's sexy and intellectual work.
Mother of George
Notice how Young seems to be one of the few cinematographers who give a damn about how to properly light actors of color? Delivering another sensual experience, Young finds the identity of the individual within a wider culture and vice versa. He'll be reuniting with director Andrew Dosunmu for Michelle Pfeiffer's Where Is Kyra?.
A Most Violent Year
Young takes the allegory of the screenplay and blows it up onto an even larger canvas with panoramic cityscapes and an almost confrontational intimacy. Perhaps his most narrative enhancing and simply visually appealing work, the framing alone elevates this story of one man to the level of Greek tragedy.
Selma
Much like how director DuVernay wanted to avoid the traditional trapping of the bipoic, Young also depicts Martin Luther King modestly while holding the march in Selma in profound reverence. His eye is as curious about this monumental character as it is his everyday subjects. The achievement in visual tying the civil rights movement of then to now is as much his accomplishment as it is DuVernay's.
Soon, he'll be shooting the Star Wars Han Solo spinoff, but are you already a fan of Bradford Young? Do you think his work for Arrival will get him his first nomination?