'The Green Knight' Cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo Discusses Creating a Cinematic Palette and Mise-En-Scène
Director David Lowery is no stranger to the abstract. As if his work on ‘Pete’s Dragon’ or ‘A Ghost Story’ didn’t affirm that, perhaps his latest film ‘The Green Knight’ will.
While there have been plenty of Arthurian legends crafted for the big screen, none have ever been quite as ambitious or as beautiful as this one. Despite directing, producing, writing, and editing the film, Lowery could not have achieved his vision without the help of cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo. Speaking exclusively to FilmSpeak’s very own Kaleena Steakle, Palermo discussed the film’s color palette, his preferred method of mise-en-scène, his favorite part of the film, and much more.
Based on the anonymous 14th century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the film follows the titular Gawain (a member of King Arthur’s round table), as he accepts the challenge of a mysterious warrior known as The Green Knight. After appearing before Arthur’s court, the knight dares any person to strike him with his own axe. However, should he survive, he reserves the right to return the blow a year and a day later. Feeling boastful of his abilities, Gawain decapitates the knight in what appears to be a fatal blow. But when the knight surprisingly rises and reveals he’s still alive, he tells Gawain to prepare for their rematch “one year hence.” Over the course of the year and as the anniversary inches closer, Gawain begins an arduous journey to come to terms with his own courage and worth as one of Arthur’s right-hand men.
As the title suggests, the color green is crucial to the film both visually and symbolically. Even though it’s more commonly associated with envy or wealth, here it’s more about prosperity. At the very beginning of the film, for example, King Arthur’s world is “devoid of green.” However, according to Palermo, if you look closer, you’ll see a little bit of moss. The idea was to both illustrate that, “even if you tried to get rid of all the green in Camelot, it would still grow,” and foreshadow Gawain’s unwavering determination.
Still from The Green Knight
In terms of composition, the color really is everywhere. It isn’t always in your face, though. For instance, the colors blue and yellow also appear prominently in the film and, as any first-grader will probably tell you, those are also the prime ingredients of the color green. Even when you don’t think you see it, look again, because as Palermo says, “[He] looked for places to sneak it in.”
Color isn’t the film’s only aesthetic strength, though. So is light. When asked about the importance of using natural light, Palermo said, “I think it’s essential [for his journey] to look terrible and hard and cold… if he had this glossy film lighting on him, we wouldn’t have been concerned for him as much, I believe. I think part of the harshness of the environment is in the moodiness of the light.”
With or without the light, many of the film’s shots and sequences look like they could be works of art in their own right. When asked about his method for planning shots, Palermo said, “I try to think in motion, but I often end up framing rather pictorial frames. Maybe they don’t start that way, but maybe they pan into something that feels more pictorial or more painterly in the framing of a person.”
As much as it works, though, he adds that he’s always looking for a way to change things up. He says, “It’s best to not just frame a shot and then it cuts into another shot, [instead it’s about how to] move from one shot to another with intention.”
On the topic of intention, Palermo also mentioned that the film’s fittingly poetic finale almost didn’t happen. Despite being heavily edited by Lowery, Palermo says he was extremely involved in crafting the ending and that the two grappled with how to execute it. “The final shot did sort of change,” but rather than decide what would be cut out, the discussion was focused more on, “how long [they would] hold on them.” In addition to calling it one of his favorite parts of the film, Palermo also joked that it was his “crowning achievement.”