Posted in: A24, Exclusive, Interview, Interview, Movies | Tagged: eternity, Ruairí O'Brien

Eternity DP Breaks Down Timing, Inspiration on A24's Fantasy Rom-Com

Cinematographer Ruairí O'Brien (Small Town, Big Story) spoke to us about the A24 fantasy rom-com Eternity, timing, inspiration, and more.

Cinematographer Ruairí O'Brien has accomplished a lot across his 28-year career, having his start in shorts before moving on to TV and film, starting with the 2003 BBC procedural series Murphy's Law. With over 60 titles in his filmography, including his memorable work on Acorn's The Fall, IFC's Five Minutes of Heaven, and the indie horror film Sea Fever. O'Brien's latest is the A24 fantasy rom-com Eternity, which follows the trio of Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) and the afterlife love triangle she gets caught up in with Larry (Miles Teller), the man she built her life with until death did them part, and her first husband Luke (Callum Turner), who died during the Korean War trying to return to the life he only knew before dying in service during the conflict. O'Brien spoke to Bleeding Cool about whether there was any sequence of the David Freyne film that was more difficult to execute, some of the inspirations behind the film, and the cast's performance.

Eternity DP on How Billy Wilder and Mike Nichols Inspired the Film Visually

Was there any particular scene or sequence that was more difficult than others to execute?

Our second day on set, we were up in the mountains, and the producer came to us at the start of the day and said, "Okay, guys, this is a big day. Don't drop the ball on this one." We had this dusk scene, and the script is streaming golden sunlight on the actors, and I said, "That's not going to work for several reasons. We haven't got the ability to control the light up here from the side of a mountain. Let's wait till the sun has gone down, and we'll do it just in that cool fading light." Of course, when it came time to shoot it, we had this beautiful streaming sunlight, and everyone's looking at me, going, "Why aren't we shooting? This is exactly as described in the script." I had to hold my nerve and be like, "No, we're waiting for the beauty to go away" [laughs]. That was terrifying. I had a feeling they might ask me to pack my bags the next day, but luckily, it all worked.

As far as how Eternity compares to your other work, did it feel routine, or did it take some planning to execute this? How does a studio like A24 provide that unique canvas for you?

When I read the script, David and I both had the same references in mind. We thought that The Apartment by Billy Wilder was the tone of what we were going for. We both came to The Graduate as a visual reference. Independently, we both were like, "This is what I was thinking, so that was helpful, but then everything else you must discover and negotiate. As I said, locations are never quite what you're expecting, and the set you're building isn't quite (what you're expecting). You're always discovering and negotiating as you go, but whatever your initial ideas are, they always modify as you go, and it was great. A24 did not interfere. They looked at our notes and went, "Looks good to us," and gave us free rein.

You brought up Miles Teller earlier, and I was wondering, as far as the testament to what the cast has done in scenes and their space, and what it meant for them to breathe life into your world, and how it all came together?

It's always amazing because you read something on the page, and then a great actor can elevate it just by what they bring. If you give terrible dialogue to a really good actor, and you were like, "Oh my God, this is amazing. I'm so moved." He's buying a carton of milk, or the script lands, and every line sung. It was elegant and eloquently great. Every day at work, you felt like you were doing great work. To be honest, all the time as a DP on this, you sit back, frame them nicely, and let them be themselves. It's a joy to work on something like that.

Eternity, which also stars John Early, Olga Merediz, and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, is available in theaters.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!