This weekend I'm tackling the design categories and cinematography, and as always there's an excellent variety of work that spoils us for choice. Behold my picks for the
Best Production Design of the year.
BRIDGE OF SPIES (Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo, Bernhard Henrich)
Robustly detailed and authentic recreations of Cold War battlefields on both sides of the ocean and both sides of the Wall, made extra chilly by snowy weathering.
CINDERELLA (Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Shiavo, Casey Banwell)
The ornate floral motifs and sumptuous colour palette appropriately heighten the emotion and theatricality of this lavish fairy tale adaptation. Pure, concentrated eye-candy.
CRIMSON PEAK (Thomas E. Sanders, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau)
Allerdale Hall is a stunning, singular creation; One of the great movie sets of the decade. Not to be overlooked are the magnificently dressed locations of Kingston, Ontario (standing in for turn-of-the-century New York).
EX MACHINA (Mark Digby, Michelle Day, Dennis Schnegg)
The film thrives on stylish, thematically relevant minimalism. That subterranean luxury home starts to feel like a sterile prison cell after a while, with a verdant wilderness just beyond the windows.
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (Colin Gibson, Peter Pound, Lisa Thompson)
Every locale and vehicle is steeped in details that contribute volumes to the untold story of this post-apocalyptic world. Visionary world-building at its best.
JUST missed:
Boy and the World (Alê
Abreu)
Carol (Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler, Jesse Rosenthal)
Other strong considerations:
Brooklyn (François Séguin, Suzanne Cloutier, Robert Parle)
Mr. Holmes (Martin Childs, Charlotte Watts, James Wakefield)
Room (Ethan Tobman, Mary Kirkland, Michelle Lannon)
