The beauty of Linus Sandgren's cinema
Tuesday, November 21, 2023 at 6:30PM ;)
There's been much ado about Saltburn, Emerald Fennell's sophomore feature and follow-up to Promising Young Woman. However, most coverage tends to focus on the narrative's sudsy details, the picture's eagerness to shock and provoke. There's also a lot to lust over, of course, from Barry Keoghan's middle-class interloper to Jacob Elordi's aristocratic wet dream. And then there’s Rosamund Pike, exuding ice queen glamour on the side. Yet, judging by trailers and stills, one aspect of Saltburn's spell seems underreported – it looks gorgeous, crisp and colorful, all shiny and new, images so ripe you want to sink your teeth into them.
Though one shouldn't dismiss Fennell's contribution to this aesthetic – some would argue the poppy aesthetic of her debut was its best element – much credit must go to Linus Sandgren, cinematographer mirabilis…
Born in Sweden, Sandgren started his career within the Scandinavian film industry, gaining particular renown for his collaborations with Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein. While working with that duo, the DP started insinuating himself into another world on the other side of the Atlantic, the Julianne Moore vehicle Shelter serving as transitory passage. By 2012, Linus Sandgren had entrenched himself in Hollywood, working for Gus Van Sant in Promised Land, where his flexibility with camera technology and shooting formats became apparent. That ease with which Sandgren adapted to new circumstances proved critical to his success and eventual Oscar win for La La Land.
However, though the director's vision always shapes his work, some aspects remain constant throughout the man's career. A love for vibrant colors is almost always present, even when he's submitting his skills to the tyranny of studio mandates. The vermillion of candy apple is a powerful calling card, reappearing across disparate titles like some chromatic echo, from indie dramas to Fennell's class war tease. Beyond that, Sandgren's lighting choices are also striking, not to mention recognizable. Consider his use of strong light sources, and how he lets brightness hit the camera just so it gets split as blue-ish flares, stretched out in anamorphic.
The technique evokes a heightened realism, like the deliberate imperfection that contradicts artifice. That's not to say Sandgren can't stun with more curated light schemes, like the ones we see in La La Land or the moving Chinese lamps he orchestrated to accommodate David O. Russell's improvisational method better. He mainly shoots on film, preferring 35mm as his go-to medium. However, there are changes here and there, like IMAX and 16mm for First Man's rougher look, raw and beautiful. Movement is key, as well, and that's where the DP most varies, adopting different grammars altogether depending on the project.
Take his three Chazelle collaborations and notice how dissimilarly the camera observes the action. In La La Land, one feels a tight choreography, every glide rehearsed and perfected, wrinkles smoothed to a silky flow that takes you from the location-bound circus of "Another Day in the Sun" to the finale's stylized theatricality. For First Man, Sandgren developed a look all about close-up realism derived from documentary filmmaking, every gesture on the edge of tremulous rarefaction. Only the moon sections embody aesthetic quiet, when the format expands and the screen seems to settle in low gravity.
Babylon is frenetic, taking on the shakes of the astronaut movie paired with a coked-up take on the musical's exuberance. Push-ins and pan-outs are common, swerving at high speed at first before the end of an era dies into stillness. Contrast to how he uses and abuses dolly shots in Don't Look Up, harkening back to political thrillers of yore. That's even more apparent when you start noticing the zooms littered throughout McKay's apocalyptic comedy, vestiges of 70s Hollywood, when paranoia was at home on the big screen. Though aesthetically linked through formats and color stories, Saltburn is its own beast – another slight shape-shift.
Set during a sunny 2000s summer, the film trades the prestigious halls of Oxford for a moneyed estate, dripping with history, old wealth materialized. Gloomy recesses and high ceilings dictate the Academy ratio frame just as blood-red floors call to mind Sandgren's obsession with the color. Indeed, the Kodac filmstock was chosen in part for how it reacted to the hue Sandgren flooded into the house, the crimson blossoming on sweaty faces. Cues and references further came from Baroque painting, some Caravaggio shadow and Gentileschi voluptuousness, jewel tones emerging from darkness, beckoning you in. The final picture is positively vampiric.
To finish this Sandgren celebration, let's admire a selection of screenshots from some of his Hollywood films:
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PROMISED LAND (2012) Gus Van Sant
You can find it streaming on Starz. Alternatively, the film is also available to rent and purchase on most major platforms.
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AMERICAN HUSTLE (2013) David O. Russell
You can find the film on Paramount Plus. It's also available to rent and purchase on most major platforms.
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JOY (2015) David O. Russell
You can rent and buy it on Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Amazon Video, VUDU, DirecTV, and the Microsoft Store.
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LA LA LAND (2016) Damien Chazelle
This movie musical is streaming on Netflix. You can also find available to rent or purchase on most major platforms.
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BATTLE OF THE SEXES (2017) Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton
Available to rent and purchase on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play, Youtube, VUDU, DirecTV, the Microsoft Store, and Spectrum On Demand.
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FIRST MAN (2018) Damien Chazelle
Currently streaming in Fubo and DirecTV. You can also find it on most major platforms, available to rent and purchase.
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NO TIME TO DIE (2021) Cary Joji Fukunaga
Currently streaming on Prime Video, MGM+, and Fubo TV. You can also rent and purchase it on most major platforms.
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DON'T LOOK UP (2021) Adam McKay
Streaming exclusively on Netflix.
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BABYLON (2022) Damien Chazelle
Currently streaming on Prime Video, MGM+, Paramount Plus, and Fubo TV. You can also find it on the big platforms, available to rent and buy.
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SALTBURN (2023) Emerald Fennell
Currently in theaters.
What's Linus Sandgren movie most dazzles you? What's his most beautiful job yet?
Reader Comments (9)
It’ll always be First Man, for me.
I think La La Land is his best work so far, with American Hustle in second place. Have I ever felt totally wowed by his work? Not yet but I still respect his work. Not sure he would have gotten my vote for the Oscar in 2016 but that is a strong lineup. I vote for a series on looking at the cinematography Oscar lineups!
American Hustle and Saltburn.
American Hustle is such a great-looking movie. I'd kind of forgotten.
I'm very excited about Saltburn - hope to see it very soon.
Claudio, thanks for highlighting Sandgren with this insightful essay. He is a glorious talent.
In this era where almost every movie is just plain underlit, his vibrancy is joyous to behold. He gives SALTBURN a look that feels both old and new, and also timeless, and his collaboration with Fennell feels inspired. They create several tableaux that are sublime and...hot take...I think pound for pound, SALTBURN has more individually striking images in it than Oppenheimer and Killer Moon combined!
Saltburn, Saltburn, Saltburn! Among his others La La Land, Babylon, and American Hustle are my favorites. But Saltburn looks fantastic.
His work in Saltburn was absolutely gorgeous. Maybe a bit self conscious, but SUCH a welcome reprieve from the dull, muddy, Netflix-ified cinematography most movies have today. Amazing use of colour, and flair, and understanding of the power of cinema as a VISUAL medium.
I'd say his work on La La Land or First Man is my personal favourite. A nomination for his work this year would be very deserved.
charlea -- That sounds like a good idea, even if it'd take a lot of work, taking notes, screenshots, and whatnot. Even beyond LA LA LAND, 2016 would be an especially fun year to explore.
EricB -- Oh, that IS a hot take, even though I'm not especially fond of OPPENHEIMER in terms of sheer image-making—great cinematography but not a lot of memorable individual tableaux.
andrewfraser -- I wonder if he can get in. Of course, PYW was beloved by AMPAS, but I'm unsure if SALTBURN will enjoy the same heat. Then again, this category isn't allergic to nominating otherwise ignored properties, even lone nominees.
It's really meaningful. And I think it's a certain talent to write like that, too. Which I should learn from royalwriter.co.uk, where they write my work for me. I hope to be able to show my writing talent someday.