American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 53

Unit photography by Joyce Kim, courtesy of A24. Additional photos courtesy of Larkin Seiple.

S

tranded on a deserted island and
about to do himself in, Hank (Paul
Dano) spots a body (Daniel Radcliffe)
that's washed up on shore. Upon
investigation, Hank discovers that the
corpse's unremitting gas can propel it
through the water and, when properly
harnessed, allow Hank to leave the island
astride the cadaver. Back on dry land, the
ostensibly deceased man - whom Hank
dubs Manny - begins to show signs of
life, and progressively reveals that the
parts and functions of his decaying carcass
in fact comprise a treasure trove of survival
tools.
Beneath its sophomoric surface, the
crude, chimeric comedy Swiss Army Man
- which won the U.S. Dramatic
Directing Award at last February's
Sundance Film Festival - is a visually
striking film about love, friendship, secrets
and loneliness. "What is home?" asks
Manny. "What is life?" With an abject
lack of memories, Manny absorbs all that
his socially awkward companion has to
teach as the two journey through verdant
vistas, musing upon humanity's fixation
on isolation and shame.
Written and directed by Daniel
Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively
known as "Daniels," Swiss Army Man was
shot by Larkin Seiple. Graduates of
Emerson College, the three have been
working together since 2011 on such
projects as the decidedly strange short
film Interesting Ball and the surreal, frenzied music video for DJ Snake and Lil
Jon's "Turn Down for What."
"The initial thesis [of Swiss Army
Man] was, 'What if we made a movie that
had the stupidest premise ever, and made
it the most beautiful thing we possibly
could?'" Scheinert says. "We wanted this
to be a celebration of beauty and life, and
meanwhile the content would be
constantly subversive, weird and unpredictable. We gave Larkin that openended assignment, and that led to our
concerted effort to location-scout more
intensely than we ever had before, and get
the nicest lenses we'd ever shot on."
"I had a lot of questions," Seiple
recalls of his first look at the Swiss Army
Man script. "How were we going to make

Opposite and this
page, top: On a
deserted island and
desperately lonely,
Hank (Paul Dano)
befriends a corpse
he dubs Manny
(Daniel Radcliffe),
who turns out to be
just the right
multipurpose tool
to free them both
from their physical
and emotional
predicaments in
Swiss Army
Man. Left:
Cinematographer
Larkin Seiple (right),
Dano (left) and
Radcliffe ready a
scene in which
Manny prepares to
launch a makeshift
grappling hook
from his mouth.

www.theasc.com

August 2016

53



http://www.theasc.com

American Cinematographer - August 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - August 2016

Contents
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Intro
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 1
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 2
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Contents
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 4
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 5
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 6
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 7
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 8
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 9
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 10
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 11
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 12
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 13
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 14
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 15
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 16
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 17
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 18
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 19
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 20
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 21
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 22
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 23
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 24
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 25
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 26
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 27
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 28
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 29
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 30
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 31
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 32
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 33
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 34
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 35
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 36
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 37
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 38
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 39
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 40
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 41
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 42
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 43
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 44
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 45
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 46
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 47
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 48
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 49
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 50
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 51
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 52
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 53
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 54
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 55
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 56
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 57
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 58
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 59
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 60
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 61
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 62
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 63
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 64
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 65
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 66
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 67
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 68
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 69
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 70
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 71
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 72
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 73
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 74
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 75
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 76
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 77
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 78
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 79
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 80
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 81
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 82
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 83
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 84
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 85
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 86
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 87
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 88
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Cover4
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