Keyboard warriors, put down your weapons and let me finish. Christopher Nolan is a creature of habit. Since Doodlebug, he has included Jonathan Nolan (as a writer and a grip) and wife, Emma Thomas (producer) on every project. He draws in names like Michael Caine and Christian Bale on numerous occasions, and Wally Pfister joined the team on Memento as cinematographer. However with Pfister leaving to direct Transcendence, he needed a new director of photography. Nolan acquired the service of the Swiss filmmaker, Hoyte Van Hoytema, whose credits include Her, The Fighter and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. But it is Let The Right One In that bares the nuances he brings to a movie. The Swedish horror exhibits Hoytema's tendency to grip the camera and take a wander through the scene. But unlike most, he has perfected the art of the hand-held shot. He doesn't disorientate his audience, he leads them by the hand; slow and ominous like a Reaper leading a soul into the Afterlife, building layers of subtle suspense. He accentuates the whites of snow and skin in the Swedish winter and splashes them with the vivid reds of blood, while worming his way into the nooks and crannies of a set to capture the best images, a la the pool scene finale. Hoytema will no doubt slap his stamp on Interstellar, bringing the culture and poignancy of European cinema across the Atlantic to present a different embodiment of a Nolan epic - but the use of IMAX cameras, as well as anthropomorphic 35mm photography, will still ensure the brazen and ambitious look typical of the director.
