“The point is not to avoid the war. The point is to win it.”
Alright settle in kids, I’m about to go film production geek (as always) and rave about how much I LOVE EYE LIGHT. So I’m a huge classic movie fan and one of my favorite parts of old movies is the way they lit their subjects. A common thing on single shots (especially with leading stars) was to highlight the faces and eyes with soft light which gave the stars a twinkle in their eyes and an angelic glow.
This is the scene that made me fall in love with Michael Sheen. Hanging on a close up of him showcased the immense talent and emotion Michael brought to Aziraphale. He conveyed so many micro emotions and wow be still my heart. But it was the the LIGHT REFLECTED in his eyes and his glow against the darker background that absolutely sold it to me. Like that setup portrayed him as a literal angel to me and I just gotta say I LOVE EYE LIGHT.
Gabz breaks down the cinematography of Good Omens (part 1/?):
Alright, so I won’t be going in order while I do this, I’m just going to start with the way Heaven is shot.
I’ve seen posts on here and Twitter criticizing the direction and cinematography of the Heaven scenes, so I’m stepping in to back Douglas Mackinnon (the Director) and Gavin Finney (the DP) on their choices.
People think it feels weird, out of place, and uncomfortable. Well guess what? That’s the point.
First, those extreme low angle shots are reminiscent of what Orson Welles did with Citizen Kane, so immediate praise is required. But what they represent is a position of power, an elevated position, which makes sense because this is the land of the angels and they literally live and work above everything.
The shot size and lens choice work together to reflect the inner emotional state of Aziraphale. While Heaven is an open and bright space, Aziraphale is under constant anxiety and uncomfort while he is there. It’s like he cannot breathe, it’s claustrophobic.
Gavin Finney used a wide angle lens to distort the features of the subject and make the viewer feel uncomfortable as the faces fill almost the entire screen. He also used close ups to emphasize that anxiety and binding Aziraphale feels talking to his boss. We feel uncomfortable because Aziraphale is uncomfortable. The faces filling the frame give us anxiety because Aziraphale has anxiety and feels constricted in a literal infinitely vast space.
If the interactions in Heaven felt awkward or strange on screen to you, then Douglas and Gavin did their job well. It’s brilliant technique on their part and shows a mastery of using the camera to reflect the emotion and thoughts of a character. Seriously, cheers to Douglas and Gavin! I got made respect for them.
I’m sorry but the things Michael Sheen does with his eyes are utterly obscene. Giving Crowley the Gay Once Over? The way he oh-so-slightly turns his body towards him and then turns away? He’s looking at him like a Victorian lady who has just found a handsome and rakish highwayman crawling through her window and she’s nominally protesting just to protect her honour. Aziraphale you fucking tease. I know I’ve said this before but he’s literally eyeing him up like a fucking crepe. This is peak NSFW. I should not be seeing this before the watershed.
The way he says “Oh, good Lord,” as if it’s Crowley who’s done something obscene (which, yes, he is sprawled out in black and scarlet like a late 18th century pinup) but it’s 1000% Aziraphale’s thirsty brain that sees his demon and immediately goes to carnal thoughts. If he was pure of mind he would’ve just been like, ah yes, there he is, but instead he’s flustered and blushing and chiding Crowley in an “oh behave!” sort of way, when really it’s him who needs to get ahold of himself. Crowley’s literally just said how awful humans are and all Aziraphale can think is “oh fuck he looks so hot, I was not prepared, I need a moment but also let me scope that out one more time” 👀
