Favorite techniques: too many to count. this movie creates the most bafflingly dreamlike atmosphere without apparently wanting/trying to be Lynchian or subversive to the nature of the assignment. Whole thing feels like I took a nap in the sun and woke up half-remembering a movie that could never have existed;
“And there was a part when they went dancing… and the camera sort of floated up to the lights, I think? But it stayed there for a long time, before…
Favorite choices: the way Lanthimos covers dialogue scenes with compositions that favor negative space as a way to emphasize subtext in the conversation, drawing EYES away from who’s talking (and toward the ceiling) and our MINDS away from what’s said (and toward what’s unsaid). It’s a really cool technique to build a sense of anxiety that runs parallel to the top layer of the characters’ words and activity.
Example: the cocktail party; obtuse wide angle two-shot of Ferrell (back turned) and Bill Camp (focus) juxtaposed with very tight, low-angle telephoto of Kidman. Punching between these compositions creates unsettling punctuation.
