American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 57

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tantrum in the dust; Marie in the tub, up to her neck in sorrow and milky
bath water. Cornerstones gave us breathing room from all the close-ups
and the dialogue. "
Even through a bitter fight, Malcolm and Marie look classically cinematic and beautiful, with a dramatic quality to the way they're lit. When
asked about the influence of the Golden Age of Hollywood and the work
of photographer George Hurrell, Rév notes, " George Hurrell's work is a
great example of the world we were trying to pay homage to. Sam's intention was to reclaim that Hollywood Golden Age aesthetic for Black
actors. "
This visual style is another distancing effect, as much an artistic
choice as a requirement of the Double-X stock's slower film speed. " If
you're shooting something with a digital camera, the most common approach is to light the space to give the actors freedom to move wherever
they want to, " says Rév. " What I really enjoy about working with film -
especially less-sensitive film - is that you have to design each image.
It forces you to take a less natural approach [in regard to lighting]. "
(See sidebar, page 54.) At night, the house's brightly lit interior causes

it to stand out like a beacon against the dark. In the film's early-morning coda, the house is filled with shadows. Outside, Malcolm and Marie
stand together atop the crest of a low ridge, viewing the same world in
a different light.
Reflecting on the experience of making Malcolm & Marie, Rév notes
that the restrictive circumstances of the pandemic forced him to strip
the filmmaking process down to its essential elements. " It gave us a clear
view of what's important and what's superficial in the common practice
of filmmaking, " he says.
He is looking forward to the day when the film industry is freed from
these creative and practical restrictions, but he's also grateful for having
had the opportunity to experiment and collaborate with a small, closeknit group of peers he trusts and cares for. " A film set is usually a very
busy place, kind of like a construction site, " he says. " With Malcolm &
Marie, we were trying to create something very intimate onscreen, so it
was to everyone's advantage that we minimize the size of our crew and
maximize our empathy. "

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American Cinematographer - April 2021

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