Roman Osin – Cinematographer – Pride & Prejudice

Okay, so I am posting this pretty much because I consider it one of the most beautiful shots I have ever seen. It really is a shame this was the only time Roman Osin teamed up with Director Joe Wright. The whole movie is filled with stunning imagery. Joe Wright more then any other director I have studied seems interested in using all the elements in the frame to tell his story. Usually he concentrates on relating his main characters with curtain elements or color schemes. With Atonement (2007)Joe Wright represented the main character Briony Tallis with the color White. There was also Briony’s sister in the movie, Cecilia, who was constantly symbolized by the element of water. In his latest movie Anna Karenina (2012) the much more unstable title character, Anna, was represented through a stream of lush colors depending on her mental state. For Pride & Prejudice the main character Elizabeth Bennet – the one you see on the ledge here -is constantly represented through earthy colors.

This image shows Elizabeth completely in here element. She is surrounded by rich browns and yellows. The sky even seems to carry some of those yellows and the blue is subdued so it doesn’t distract from the theme. This image also clearly expresses Elizabeth’s rebelliousness; I mean seeing she stands on the edge of a cliff. The beautiful thing is all the elements, such as the colors and the wind, are embracing her. Notice how both the horizon line and edge of the cliff points us directly to Elizabeth. I feel this shows Elizabeth’s independence and unwillingness to be tamed. It says everything we need to know about who she is and that is just illustrates some fine visual storytelling.