Swallow - Cinematography Review

The other night, I listened to a really sincere and down to earth chat between Rachel Morrison, ASC and Katelin Arizmendi on the Iconic Talent Agency live instagram and after listening, I had to check out Arizmendi’s latest work. I can’t resist a good character study, psychological thriller or feminist foray and Swallow is all of the above. Moreover, though, this film is a triumph of visual storytelling.

Swallow is a kaleidoscope of vivid colors, textures and reflections. Arizmendi leads viewers on a surprising journey with a mixture of rule-breaking compositions alongside balanced, picturesque setups - the results are striking. Arizmendi shows true artistry with her subtle, uncomfortable framing that manages to unsettle the viewer without being distracting or confusing. I love how she plays with eye-lines, sometimes even crossing the line, to demonstrate the disconnect and discomfort between the characters.

I love when surreal, magical lighting can be found through practical/natural sources like the reflection of the colorful marble playing across Hunter’s face or Richie turning into the devil incarnate as he turns into the crimson break lights of the idling car while threatening to hunt down and kill his wife. This use of practical, realistic setups to create dreamy, transformative lighting is what I truly aspire to do as a Cinematographer.

Arizmendi also does a wonderful job using framing and the movement of the camera to convey Hunter’s pica disorder - perfectly capturing her moments of strength with still, well-balanced frames while conveying her loss of control through handheld camera work and odd placement within her frame. I particularly love one frame towards the end of the film when Hunter is nearing rockbottom, she stares at herself in the mirror and she has almost completely disappeared out of the bottom of the frame … she is losing herself and what she chooses to do next will either make or break her.

I read more about this film in the recent issue of ASC magazine and was fascinated to learn more about Arizmendi’s artistry. Her attention to detail and her devotion to imbuing her images with meaning are abundantly apparent. For instance, she selected Master Primes in order to capture the intricate textural details of the swallowed-objects because people with Pica typically offer vivid descriptions of how the objects they inject feel inside their mouths. Brilliant!

Other knock-out sequences:

1. A discussion between Hunter and her mother-in-law where the camera crosses the line from the wide to the over-shoulder shots, heightening the discomfort of the situation and Hunter's uncertainty with her circumstances.

2. The amazing use of reflections throughout the film creating intensely rich and deep frames and, again, that subtle hint of surrealism in an all-too-harsh reality.

3. The striking way in which Hunter and Richie share their frames throughout the film ... separated visually by lines in the frame or surrounded by negative space closing in on them and their doomed relationship.

4. The theme of the lamb: slaughtered and eaten at the beginning of the film and then appearing again in the nursery that Hunter designs. I'm a sucker for a good symbolic motif ;)

Overall, I was awed by the photography of this film and I’m really excited to see how Arizmendi and Morrison get on with their upcoming feature, Flint Strong. In the meantime, I look forward to revisiting Swallow as I’m sure there’s lots more to discover in these deep, powerful images.

#Swallow #Cinematography #FilmReview