Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak is much closer to the extraordinary quality of his Oscar-winning The Shape of Water (the film he made directly following Crimson Peak) than the critics would have you believe (and me too without a second, closer look)
An achievement of cinematic color and production design
gorgeous set design here and use of lighting- sublime
Del Toro brings back the iris here as an editing device—at least 5 times that I counted- absolutely works. Well executed, consistent, and pairs well with the material
Del Toro brings back the iris here as an editing device—at least 5 times that I counted- absolutely works. Well executed, consistent, and pairs well with the material
Del Toro doesn’t move the camera like his countryman Iñárritu and Cuarón, but his work in mise-en-scene and color—immaculate here—it is his focus and he’s at least strong as Cuarón (which is a crazy high compliment)- superior to Iñárritu. The three of them will be talked about historically 30-50 years from now just like we talk about Rossellini/De Sica/Visconti or any other three amazing auteurs that emerge around the same time from the same country or any “New Wave” like Fassbinder/Herzog/Wenders
Opens on Mia Wasikowska in all white, a great shot- dissolves- foreshadowing the ending
Opens on Mia Wasikowska in all white, a great shot- dissolves- foreshadowing the ending — Crimson Peak‘s costume work is extraordinary
Strong gothic horror shadow work
The blocking and arrangement of bodies is evidence early on with the row people at the funeral
The blocking and arrangement of bodies is evidence early on with the row people at the funeral
I had to talk about flaws in any film, I prefer to observe their strengths—and this isn’t a flaw really— the film would just be better with a bigger figure to play Wasikowska’s father. I think Chris Cooper- maybe even Kurt Russell make it a better film
Gothic- very Bronte (Wasikowska had just played Jane Eyre in Fukunaga’s adaptation), Jane Austen is in the text
the castle is a character in the film- exteriors and interiors
An achievement in costume work- just like Shape of Water
Green and red tinting in the fireplace room/scene
Green and red tinting in the fireplace room/scene
The castle- Allerdale Hall is one hell of a set piece- great frame of them entering
del Toro well aware of the strong tradition of gothic horror while also paving his own road at the same time
del Toro’s trademark expressionism
Wasikowska’s character entering a door like the shot in Pan’s Labyrinth– auteur cinema as its finest
from Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006
from Crimson Peak in 2015
True to de Toro’s continued use of good ghosts and monsters—the human beings are the evil ones as always
Woman from the bath in a mansion like this—hard not to think of The Shining (Charlie Hunnam even plays the Scatman role here sort of)
The poisoning of the tea is from Hitchcock’s Notorious
The shot at 46 minutes—unbelievably beautiful- the bath scene and emerald circular window
The shot at 46 minutes—unbelievably beautiful- the bath scene and emerald circular window
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