Leonardo DiCaprio interview on The Treatment 

Leonardo DiCaprio was interviewed on The Treatment, Wednesday January 15, 2014. He is well know for acting in many great film such as "Wolf of Wall Street", " Titanic", "Inception"," The Great Gatsby", "Django Unchained" and much more. Leonardo has had numerous lead roles in films that make us think about what happens in the minds of humanity, human nature and reaches out to the viewer in a way that not many other films do.

Leonardo always plays roles of characters that are extremely flawed and outrageous but yet you can help but to relate to those characters in some way. It is because its human nature the characters are true and uncensored because it is the reality. These downward spiraling characters are what we are subconsciously drawn to. A major influence to Leonardo DiCaprio was Martin Scorsese's 1976 "Taxi Driver". 


"As long as you try to stick false empathy or sympathy or tack on any crappy didactic reasoning for their actions you are saying something about our world and culture that we live in and for human nature" Says Leonardo during the interview with KCRW The Treatment, quoting Martin Scorsese. This is exactly what draws Leonardo to a lot of Scorsese's films. The doomed and self-destructive characters is what motivates Leonardo, this touches his interest in financial corruption and greed like in "The Great Gatsby" and "Wolf of Wall Street" . 

Leonardo constantly explained his curiosity with real human nature and the dark side of themselves that everyone hides for whatever reason the characters he plays express that; they are what we sugar coat in our daily lives, things we don't discuss. Leonardo says " these films explore the darker side of human nature, of who we are". We all want more than we have, we want the American dream and doing whatever it takes to get it. this is what leans Leonardo's characters in term oil and is their strength as well as their down fall.

Leonardo talks about what the films he participated in do to the viewer and the message they convey. "[the films] does what cinema can unlike any other form  of art can and that is emerge you in someone else's mind set as an audience member and be submerged in the reality so completely that the rest of the world washes away, you no longer have an identity". This is what he looks for when picking a role to play and Martin Scorsese is known for making films like these. This is what Leonardo aims for when making a film, that is so real and raw that we cant help but to stop and watch what happens to this character.

I believe that Leonardo was very spot on about what cinema can do that other art mediums cant and that is what a lot of directors and actors aim for when making a film. It is what we all want in a movie. Leonardo had brought out the type of films that show our culture, and humanity into light, the truth about what happens to real people. To all of us as human beings. His films explore who we are and it is like that for any generations. Leonardo does what i believe all actors try to do and not many can. He makes you feel what his character is feeling and even though you might not always anticipate what his character will do next so you just expect the unexpected but still see and understand the world through the characters eyes. 

The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford

Shot Lengths: 

I felt like the film over all was a little slow but I think that mostly had to do with the fact that the movie had long takes. A lot of the scenes were  long and had little dialogue among the characters but the camera stayed on them while they looked at each other to see who would break first, it was a starring contest and no one trusted each other and they were all sleeping with one eye open, trying to stay ahead of the game; the long takes during scenes like this added to the suspense, gave the viewer the feeling of anxiety that the characters where feeling like when Jesse stopped to visit Ed Miller or just before Robert shot Jesse.

Images:

One scene in particular that stands out the most to me that displayed a lot of information without using dialogue from the characters or showing any emotion from the characters was when Robert shot Jessie. The camera cut back and forth from the gun to Robert and Robert had a blank expression on his face so we didn't know what was going to happen or who was going to make the first move but when the camera was on Robert then on to the gun then it all became very clear. 

Over all look:

The over all Look of the movie just seemed to be dark but light would shine and come out from somewhere. It seemed as if the light they chose to put in the film was all made to look as natural as possible, light coming from the top; the sun light, lots of dark shadows at night and only light coming from the moon outside or a candle near by. This also added to the characters look, putting Jesse or Robert in the dark to make them more mysterious and dangerous. Jesse was given a lot of back light as well to make him stand out, make him look desirable because that is what Robert saw in him; Robert idolized him, wanted to be him. the set up of most of the shots resembled photos of that time period; from the furniture and light and even the positioning of the actors.

Shot Types:

There was a lot of extreme long shots in the film and I think they were intended to add suspense and make the viewer feel what the character feeling, anxiety, anger, distress and suspicion. Also most of the time when the camera went to Jesse, it was almost always at eye level even tho the person he was talking to was not and I think that was to give him a sense of superiority, respect and admiration to the character. 

Camera Angles:

The story was about Jessie James and Robert Ford. The story was told by a third person but through what Robert herd and felt. Jesse was always under back light and the camera was at eye level because that was How Robert saw him, showed us how much and why Robert admired Jesse so much. When Robert wasn't around Jesse we see Jesse with key lighting and he casts a big shadow. He is now in the darkness because Robert no longer has Jesse on this pedestal, he is no longer the hero he once idolized and he is jealous of Jesse. All of these shot are from Roberts point of view. Robert is shot in several different angles because he is unstable and confused about how he feels about Jesse, when his feelings of admiration turn to jealousy.

Composition:

The composition of the film was all  mostly complying with the rule of thirds put there were some scenes where it seemed to look more like a portrait, light how a picture or a painting would have looked like during that time but yet it was still balanced and harmonized. 

Camera Movement:

There was not a lot of camera movement and when there was it seemed to move to fallow a character during a conversation, monologue or simply move back to get a wide shot or closer to see the emotion and expression on an actors face. I think the camera would stride with an actor to make the viewer focus and know that this is where their attention needs to be. There was no fast action movements and if the camera did move or zoom in, it would do so slowly, almost like to make you feel curious and make you wait for the answers to reveal themselves before your very eyes.

Cinematography Style:

I think when ever the cinematography calls attention to itself in this film it was most likely intentional and was made to wake up the viewer and signal the end of something or that something big that everyone was waiting for is finally going to take place. An example of when I started to pay attention to the cinematography was the very end when they showed the viewers how Jesse James was being displayed after his death and how life was for Robert Ford after he publicized the fact that he himself took the life of the notorious Jesse James.

Roger Deakins: 

Cinematography/ Director of Photography  

• Born in Devon, England on May 24, 1949
• Married to Isabella James Purefoy Ellis 
• Known for his work on Films by the Coen brothers and Sam Mendes
• Member of both U.S. and British society of Cinematographers

Education:

• Attended Bath School of Art and Design, National Film and Television School

List of Films

•  Shawshank Redemption (1994)
• Prisoners (2013)
• The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford (2007)
• Jarhead (2005)
• Skyfall (2012)
• Revolutionary Road (2008)
• The Big Lebowski (1998)
• No Country for Old Men (2007)
• Fargo (1996)
• True Grit (2010)
• O' Brother, Where Art Thou? (200)
• A Serious Man (2009)

Trade Mark 

• Loves to work with light and shadows
• "Always about the Script" -Roger Deakins

Light and Shadow

Light and Color

The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford

Prisoners

True Grit

Jarhead

Character and Story 

The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford 

True Grit

The Hudsucker Proxy

A Serious Man

 Awards and Nominations:

• American society of cinematography award for outstanding achievement in cinematography, Life time achievement award
• BAFTA award for best cinematography
• National society of film critics for best cinematography
• Nikola Satillite award
• Evening British Film award for best cinematography
• Nominated for several Oscars but has not won just yet

Film Noir

Film Noir was born around the 30's and 40's and these types of movies where notorious for being dark and mysterious. This genre broke a lot of rules and codes that most filmmakers followed in that time. For example, when you watch an old film from that era, they tend to avoided any bad influences and they most likely ended very well for the main characters. The two lovers lived happily ever after and the villain or antagonist is sent to jail and justice is served. Film Noir does the very opposite; these films give us the truth and show what the world is really like. Director Kathryn Bigelow says "its so raw, so exposed, nothing can protect you and its a descent into hell visually and emotionally". Film Noir tell us stories of what the world really looks like and what happens when the lights go out and no one is looking or paying any attention. The characters in these film usually end up in some sort of trouble and try to get out but the more they try and help themselves the worse it gets for them. Like they are stuck in quick sand with no one around to help them out. Film maker and critic Jean-Pierre Govin says  "the core of it all [Film Noir] is a tale of survival in a completely naked fashion". In "The Postman Always Rings Twice", Frank Chambers quickly falls head over heals in love with Cora Smith who is married to Nike Smith. Frank and Cora decide to conspire to kill Nick so that they will be able to be together forever but things didn't go as planned. Frank and Cora were sent to trial for the murder of Nike Smith and they eventually grow suspicious and throw each other under the bus. Frank and Cora end up getting away with it and run off together but then, just as things started to look better for Frank ans Cora; they get in a car accident and Cora dies. Leaving Frank to the electric chair for murder. No Happy ending, a story of lust, betrayal and suspicious.

In "Th Postman Always Rings Twice", Cora Smith ( played by Lana Turner) is what Paul Schrader referred to as the "Black Widow Sensibility". Cora was sexual, head strong and driven, she will do whatever it take to get what she want s and she will use anyone she knows will help her get it. During world war two a lot of women started working and gaining a sense of Independence while the men where off fighting the war and when the men got back women became a threat to men because of they were not independent and strong. In Film Noir women are extremely strong and sexual; they are deadly to men, irresistible to them. These women bewitch them and are like untamed animals; which is part of their charm. Scholar Janey Place says "men have always been endangered by a strong sexual female" she also says that the woman is driven and selfish. Cora married Nick because he was secure and promised her things, she had a dream and was driven to succeed in life but she wasn't happy and she met Frank who she fell in love with but she did not want to give up everything Nick offered her to go out on the round with Frank; her only option was to get rid of Nick so that her and Frank could have everything and she would have had everything she wanted. Frank is drawn to her, she knows what she wants and she will take it any way she can. "people like to play with fire" says Kathryn Bigelow (director) and it is true people love danger and mystery; they want what they think they cant even especially if its no good for them.

Film Noir is also famous for its use of light and extreme shadows, camera angles and music. These films put you in a place where you can relate and understand the story emotionally and psychologically. For example, sometimes a director will give you a low angle shot of the women and then cut to a shot of the man she caught in her web with a high Angle shot to show that she is n control and superior. The man is merely a tool she uses to get what she wants. She is visually dominant. Cinematographers used light to altar the space and create a mood that fit the scene. If the scene was someone about to be murdered it will be very dark. "There is no light, there is no release, no escape" says director, Kathryne Bigelow. She explains the psychological aspect of the effect the light and the dark shadows has on the viewer. When someone is walking down a dark hall with dramatic music the viewer only expects the worse but its more of implied danger and the viewer is left with their imagination.

"Body Heat", directed by Lawrence Kasdan, has many characteristics of Film Noir; only its in color. The story line is a great example of film Noir. A strong, beautiful, intelligent and selfish woman married to a wealthy man falls in love with another man ( or just makes him fall in love with her) and uses him to get what she wants and creates a puppet out of him. She eventually convinces or tries to imply murdering her husband and the man ends up doing the dirty work while she double crosses him and uses him as a scape goat. From the very beginning the main Character is doomed and he is trapped in this woman's web of lies like a deer frozen by a cars headlights. The music itself was sexual and luring, like the woman. "Body Heat" also used lighting and the positioning of the cameras to tell the story like in classic Film Noir, when Ned Racine ( played by William Hurt) tried to get into the house to get to Matty Walker ( Kathleen Turner) and she was just standing there watching him. The camera showed his view from outside through the windows and doors as he was trying to get in. You  see him doing everything he can to get to her, he even broke the window and climbed in the  house and she waited for him like a dog and she was holding the biscuit. This scene just shows what power she has over him already and he will do anything to get her, her love, her effecting and her body. This same scene also shows Matty Walker through the window and the blinds on the window cast a shadow over her like prison bars, this foreshadows Ned's fate as he tries to pursue her. 

Intro.

   Music and movies are my biggest passion; I also love reading any and all books . I listen to music almost every minute of everyday. A lot of my music varies in genre from industrial, heavy metal, Jazz, rockabilly, swing, classical, country; you get the idea. I listen to everything, I just like having an open mind to new things. sticking to one genre of music can get boring and I like to have different music for whatever mood I am in that day.
    I am a movie buff and I am one of those people that quotes movies in everyday conversation from time to time ( very geeky, I know). I have my own collection of movies and it is very large, many of my friends say I can open up a movie rental business with my collection. You can not ask me my favorite movie because I will go on forever about different movies and it will never end. I like watching all kinds of movies whether they are old or new, I actually enjoy old black and white movies and a few silent films. I love it when people recommend their favorite books, bands or movies because its like they are showing you a piece of their own personality and you get a sense of who they are. I hope to find a career that interest me in the entertainment business maybe work on set of a TV series or for movies, be a film editor or maybe a movie critic someday.
   I believe everyone has the right to happiness and no one can tell others how to live their lives. Being happy is the most important part of life, without love and happiness what's the point? I believe in being kind to others and doing what makes you happy no matter what anyone else may think, as long as you are not harming anyone else it's no ones business what you choose to do with your life. I believe in honor, respect, hard work, kindness and being the best you can be. Be yourself and enjoy life as much as you can. Take risks, live life, love someone, let someone love you, travel, help others who need it, don't make assumptions, be honest and above all be happy.