Master Study:
Denis Villeneuve
The Director:
Denis Villeneuve is a French Canadian director born on October 3, 1967 in Trois-Rivières, Québec. Denis got his start in 2001 when his film ‘Maelstrom’ screened at festival circuits worldwide and was met with critical acclaim. The 2009 follow up Polytechnique was also praised by critics. Denise is more commonly known for his 2015 critical and box-office smash hit thriller Sicario, taking a total of 80 million on 30 million budget, also boasting an impressive cast studded with talent like Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin. He is well known for Prisoners, 2013, starring the likes of Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, who also showed up in the 2015 mindbender Enemy. Villeneuve is set to direct the upcoming Blade Runner sequel starring Ryan Gosling and Jared Leto and has also recently completed the sci fi mystery thriller The Arrival starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker. Villeneuve’s unique style consists of using very intimate, close up camera work, creating a sense of claustrophobia and tension, focusing on and using the the characters to drive the action rather than using the setting to keep the story going. With this in mind wide angles are used sparingly and so when they occur a sense of grandeur is created, even though the location might be mundane.
The film:
Sicario: Sicario is the story of an FBI agent (Emily Blunt) who is roped into a unique Task force operating out of Juarez Mexico, leading the charge of the war on drugs, and trying to track down Mexico’s biggest cartel leader. As the team moves forward Blunt begins to question the legality and ethics of the operation, lead by the gun hoe Josh Brolin and guided by the mysterious suave and deadly local Benicio Del toro. Like I said before, the camera work is tight and quick. Creating suspense and tension as if you were down on the ground with the characters. The score is great and creates a sense of foreboding, its like a combination of old school horror violins and the inception bwaaah noise. One of the most memorable scenes is the high way shoot out, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa2agiADM04
The whole cast is great but Del Toro steals the show with his intense, merciless james bond esque performance.
The Film Continued:
In this segment Blunt along side her team infiltrate a house and discover kidnaping victims stashed in the walls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-pvs7gVNHo
Notes: most of the camera work is at eye level, making you feel like you're participating along side the characters, this adds to the immersion, the camera also moves with the characters, for example when Emily Blunt flies back so does the camera. This is again adding to the immersion factor by making you feel the visceral force of everything. The cinematography is intimate which works to create tension by limiting you're view of the surroundings, creating a fear of the unknown in a foreign and dangerous environment , much like traditional horror.
The Director:
Denis Villeneuve is a French Canadian director born on October 3, 1967 in Trois-Rivières, Québec. Denis got his start in 2001 when his film ‘Maelstrom’ screened at festival circuits worldwide and was met with critical acclaim. The 2009 follow up Polytechnique was also praised by critics. Denise is more commonly known for his 2015 critical and box-office smash hit thriller Sicario, taking a total of 80 million on 30 million budget, also boasting an impressive cast studded with talent like Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin. He is well known for Prisoners, 2013, starring the likes of Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, who also showed up in the 2015 mindbender Enemy. Villeneuve is set to direct the upcoming Blade Runner sequel starring Ryan Gosling and Jared Leto and has also recently completed the sci fi mystery thriller The Arrival starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker. Villeneuve’s unique style consists of using very intimate, close up camera work, creating a sense of claustrophobia and tension, focusing on and using the the characters to drive the action rather than using the setting to keep the story going. With this in mind wide angles are used sparingly and so when they occur a sense of grandeur is created, even though the location might be mundane.
The film:
Sicario: Sicario is the story of an FBI agent (Emily Blunt) who is roped into a unique Task force operating out of Juarez Mexico, leading the charge of the war on drugs, and trying to track down Mexico’s biggest cartel leader. As the team moves forward Blunt begins to question the legality and ethics of the operation, lead by the gun hoe Josh Brolin and guided by the mysterious suave and deadly local Benicio Del toro. Like I said before, the camera work is tight and quick. Creating suspense and tension as if you were down on the ground with the characters. The score is great and creates a sense of foreboding, its like a combination of old school horror violins and the inception bwaaah noise. One of the most memorable scenes is the high way shoot out, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa2agiADM04
The whole cast is great but Del Toro steals the show with his intense, merciless james bond esque performance.
The Film Continued:
In this segment Blunt along side her team infiltrate a house and discover kidnaping victims stashed in the walls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-pvs7gVNHo
Notes: most of the camera work is at eye level, making you feel like you're participating along side the characters, this adds to the immersion, the camera also moves with the characters, for example when Emily Blunt flies back so does the camera. This is again adding to the immersion factor by making you feel the visceral force of everything. The cinematography is intimate which works to create tension by limiting you're view of the surroundings, creating a fear of the unknown in a foreign and dangerous environment , much like traditional horror.