American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 50

Families
Women take center stage in Rodrigo Garcia’s Mother and Child, shot by Xavier Pérez Grobet, ASC, AMC.
By Rachael K. Bosley •|•

Lost and Found

W

ritten and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, the new drama Mother and Child presents three women whose paths intersect at a Catholic adoption agency that plays a prominent role in their lives. Karen (Annette Bening) comes to the agency in search of the daughter she bore at age 14 and gave up for adoption; adoptee Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) pays a visit to try to track down her biological mother; and Lucy (Kerry Washington) and her husband (David Ramsey) arrive seeking to adopt a baby. Garcia has explored women’s lives to memorable effect in previous features — Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her (2000), Ten Tiny Love Stories (2001) and Nine Lives (2005) — but Mother and Child doesn’t employ the episodic structure that characterized those films. Instead, each woman’s story is intercut with the other stories, and they eventually prove to be threads in the same tapestry. The film is Garcia’s latest collaboration with director of photography Xavier Pérez Grobet, ASC, AMC; they first teamed on Nine Lives and have since worked together on a number of projects, including the TV series In Treatment and Deadwood. One of the ASC’s newest members, Grobet has
50 May 2010

worked steadily in film and television since he moved to Los Angeles from his native Mexico a decade ago. His recent credits include the features The Back-Up Plan and I Love You Phillip Morris. Shortly after Mother and Child was given its U.S. premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Grobet met with AC in Los Angeles to discuss the project. American Cinematographer: In terms of camerawork, Mother and Child couldn’t be more different from Nine Lives, which told each of its nine stories with a single Steadicam take. Was this movie as challenging in its own way? Xavier Pérez Grobet, ASC, AMC: Yes. When I read Rodrigo’s script, I knew we could talk about doing something visually that would be very different from Nine Lives. I think Rodrigo’s projects are always interesting, and we both really enjoy the process of looking for what each film is, coming up with a way to tell the story that makes sense. Mother and Child is very emotional, and we wanted to let the story unfold in front of the camera. We talked about creating a style where the camera was more observational than intrusive — not a protagonist. We started thinking about

American Cinematographer



American Cinematographer - May 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 2010

American Cinematographer - May 2010
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: ASC Heritage Award Winners
Production Slate: The Man Next Door • Academy Sci-Tech Awards
Armor Wars
Wonders of the Sea
Lost and Found Families
Dark Secrets
Deep Visual Roots
Post Focus: Restoring A Star Is Born
Tricks of the Trade
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Fred Elmes
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Intro
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - American Cinematographer - May 2010
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 1
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 2
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Contents
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 4
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 5
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 6
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 7
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 9
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 11
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Short Takes: ASC Heritage Award Winners
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 13
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 14
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 15
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 16
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 17
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Production Slate: The Man Next Door • Academy Sci-Tech Awards
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 19
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 20
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 21
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 22
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 23
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Armor Wars
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 25
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 26
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 27
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 28
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 29
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 30
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 31
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American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 33
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 34
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 35
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 36
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 37
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 38
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 39
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Wonders of the Sea
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 41
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 42
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 43
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 44
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 45
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 46
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 47
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 48
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 49
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Lost and Found Families
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 51
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 52
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 53
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 54
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 55
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Dark Secrets
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 57
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 58
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 59
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 60
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 61
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 62
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 63
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 64
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 65
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 66
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 67
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 68
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 69
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 70
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 71
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Post Focus: Restoring A Star Is Born
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 73
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Tricks of the Trade
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 75
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 77
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 78
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 79
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 80
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 81
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 82
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 83
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - ASC Close-Up: Fred Elmes
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Cover4
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