10 Outstandingly Beautiful Cinematic Single Frames
Frame-worthy frames with stock-still cinematography that'll knock your socks off.
In cinematography, light is key, colour is crucial, framing is everything and, as with most art, beauty is not only the desirable end product, but often the primary goal.
After all, the best cinematography really ought to be like a piece of fine art - frame-able and ready for repeat viewing and scrutiny, revealing new layers with every look. Some shots thrive on symmetry, others on clever framing, others still on heightened contrast and abyssal depth.
There is a ginormous toolkit to draw on in the film industry: CGI, practical effects, camera trickery, set design, costumes, props, locations, lighting and, of course, the actors themselves.
But, whether the frame is a vehicle for the film's themes, the characters' emotions, or simply just a nice thing to look at, there is a certain magic in every cell that has the power to stun and break the mould, escaping the limits of painting, graphic design or photography.
Masters of mise-en-scène are these directors and cinematographers, using every resource at their disposal to bring us aesthetically sublime films and (at least) ten outstandingly beautiful cinematic single frames.
10. Tony In The Cop Car - Nocturnal Animals (2016)
With a cleaner than clean aesthetic, Nocturnal Animals very much trades on the sensibilities of its fashion designer director, Tom Ford. Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal and Aaron Taylor-Johnson have never looked better.
The polished look throughout the film sometimes feels antithetical to the occasionally dark and miserable content - or it would if it weren't for the saving grace of its film/novel within a film framing device. Nonetheless, this contrast gives way to some especially powerful imagery.
In particular, this frame of Gyllenhaal's Tony Hastings, offset within the slim horizontal white and black framing of the car, the sky and the interior, is the most standout single image of a beautiful film.
It is the simplicity - striking and doubly effective, contrasting the lines, sweat and suspicion of a deeply troubled Gyllenhaal's face with the plain exterior of the police car - that really makes this one, drawing the eye to a face that features a film's worth of acting in a single lost, grief-stricken look.