The Batman stars Jeffrey Wright and Paul Dano, who portray James Gordon and the Riddler, respectively, recently had a chat with Collider, where they talked about cinematographer Greig Fraser’s breathtaking work on the DC hero’s imminent return.
It was Robert Pattinson who first heaped praise on the Dune cinematographer by saying that he has seamlessly accomplished one of the hardest things they teach at film school through clever lighting tricks. Now, Collider has asked the actor behind Bruce Wayne’s ally and friend James Gordon to share his thoughts on Fraser’s work.
“I was really taken by Greig’s work,” Wright said. “It was really clear to me, and I just said it, consciously to myself, a few times on set, ‘This guy is a painter!’ And he really does paint with light. I would look at the diner scene we shot, I was looking at the monitor and we were trying to get this relationship of Rob and I outside the diner, and I looked at the monitor and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, dude. All you need to do is stand right there and it’s all said.”
The trailers and other promo spots for The Batman had already made it clear that the film would stand out from your typical superhero pictures in terms of aesthetic presentation, but this essentially teases the makings of a cinematic masterpiece. The actor further elaborated by saying:
“Greig uses shadow and light, but these brushstrokes of color; oranges here, these kinds of pinks there, it’s consistent in a way that’s just so beautiful and so informative of tone and mood and does so much work for us as actors. I literally said to myself, ‘Just stand there. Don’t do anything. Let his work speak.’ He’s really, really brilliant.”
Fortunately for us, we don’t have to wait long until we can watch this impressive cinematic feat that is The Batman in cinemas when the film premieres on March 4.