This interview with “Living” cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay first appeared in the Below-the-Line issue of awards magazine TheWrap.
A 1950s-set remake of Akira Kurosawa’s classic film “Ikiru,” Oliver Hermanus’ “Living” moves the backdrop of the Japanese master to the same time period in which the previous film was released (with a screenplay adapted by Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro), only this time with a mild-mannered British bureaucrat (devastatingly played by Bill Nighy) fighting mortality.
“Putting myself in Kurosawa’s shoes was both an honor and quite a terrifying journey,” said cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay, who won the Bronze Frog at Camerimage this year for his impressive work on the film. “And I think the only way to do him justice was to get away from a direct homage and allow his movie hero to sit in the background in our subconscious, so we could go on a journey and create something new.”
“Living” sets the tone from the start with an archival-filled opening title sequence that places the audience in 1953, the year the film takes place. “The purpose was to very quickly and fluidly create a visual context of where we were in that world, and it was a great way to position the viewer within the story.”
But the greatest effect Ramsay and his collaborators had amid all the sensitive captures of somber light and perspective was their superlative lead actor, who conveyed the internal struggle in carefully calibrated moments of stillness. “Bill dominates space and has a gravity that becomes very apparent when you’re around him, yet he has a charisma that makes him seem light,” Ramsay said. “Oliver and I created a stage for the actors. It was about finding the right feeling, knowing when to be away from him, when to give him the silence and peace to be alone with himself.
Ramsay’s work was also showcased in 2022’s rogue comedy “See How They Run” (set around the same time as “Living”), and his work will soon be seen in Andrew Haigh’s highly anticipated film “Strangers,” Starring Paul Mescal and Claire Foy. But high on his project wish list is something akin to auteur science fiction, a genre he says is sadly not seen in modern theaters. “I feel like you have this split with science fiction,” he said. “It’s a piece of art and the world isn’t that big, or it’s event-driven and it’s too big. I’d love to be in a movie where they’re both deeply rooted and do something really special.”
Read more of the issue below the line here.
