‘Eddington’ Cinematographer Darius Khondji on Ari Aster

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, “Eddington” cinematographer Darius Khondji talked about his filmic approach to Ari Aster‘s pandemic-set film, which follows a standoff between a small town mayor (Pedro Pascal) and the local sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix). While he notes that writer/director Aster called it “a European psychological thriller on American land,” visually he saw something different — “a modern western.” This take ended up being not only accurate, but how the feature has been predominantly described in reviews.

“We wanted the exterior to be very bright, like, garishly bright, like the light has almost started to take off the color and the contrast a little bit because it’s so bright, never bright enough,” Khondji said.

Khondji is a legend worldwide, having shot some of the greatest films of all time — “Seven” and “Amour” among them. He landed Oscar nominations for his work in “Evita” and “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths.” While a longtime fan of Aster’s — and a defender of Aster’s controversial “Beau Is Afraid” — the two had never worked together before “Eddington.” Each said that the collaboration went smoothly.

“Ari and I have a common language,” Khondji said. “We discovered quite early on working together that we have a very similar taste for dark films, not dark in lighting but in storytelling.”

Aster said that Khondji even rewired how he looks at visuals. “Darius and I hate unmotivated camera movement,” Aster explained to the LA Times. “But there are certain things that never would’ve bothered me compositionally that really bothered Darius, and now they’re stuck in my head. For instance, Darius hates it when you cut off somebody’s leg, even if it’s at the ankle. A lot of Darius’s prejudices have gone into my system.”

Khondji did say that while he has his guidelines, they aren’t necessarily set in stone. “You have a rule, and then you decide this is the moment to break the rule,” he explained.

Speaking with IndieWire in 2023, Khondji gave insight into his theories behind how best to shoot a film. “And it’s not just about what’s in the frame. The world outside the frame is very important. It’s good not to have flags or equipment in the way of the actor’s gaze because I want them to feel the scene,” he said. “The world of cinema is not only technical. It’s about feeling the world around the actors, becoming them.”