The Lighting of Calvary
By Samuel Rawlins
*Spoilers
Calvary, released in 2014 and directed by John Michael McDonagh (CalvaryIMDB) is an incredibly visually striking drama. It is a story about a priest named Father James, played by Brendan Gleeson, who is told by his murderer that he will be killed in seven days. The man wants to kill Gleeson’s character because as a boy, the man was molested by a priest. Father James never committed any such crime and the man knows it, and it is for this reason that he wants Father James dead. He wants to kill a priest that’s done nothing wrong because he was hurt so badly while he was innocent as a child.
The director of photography, Larry Smith (CalvaryIMDB), created visual themes for the lighting that were played upon to encourage the mood of the scene. The style for each theme is very different and stylized, and it hints at what the audience should be feeling during any given moment. The film opens on a close up of Father James in confession, hearing his murderer lay out the plans for his death. There’s a vignette around Father James along with a very warm tungsten light that serve to make the audience uneasy.
While warm colors are generally associated with comfort, in Calvary, they are associated with chaos and danger. This visual theme with the lighting carries on throughout the film. When Father James visits the local bar and is depressed by the sinning going on around him, that same color light is used along with a very warm color palette. Reds, whites, yellows, and oranges fill up the screen. The production design, done by Mark Geraghty (CalvaryIMDB), supports this color scheme as well with its red patterned wallpaper and the characters red clothing. The rising action of the film also plays on these warm colors. Father James’s church is burned to the ground one night while he is at the same bar. The fire, being warm of course, represents the fact that his church is both figuratively and literally burning. Beyond the literal meaning, the people of his church are losing their way and committing acts that Father James sees as heinous.
The next visual theme theme that Calvary plays on is in the cooler side, drenched in blue. When Father James needs to give his advice in a somber way, this is the lighting used. It isn’t used for the tragedies that happens to Father James himself, only for those around him who he consoles. It’s not meant to portray any kind of chaos, just an underlying feeling of the depressing nature of Father James’s life.
His wife has passed and his daughter lives far away and is mentally unstable. His companion is his dog, and even he is killed early on in the film, leaving Father James even more alone. He listens to the woes and problems of the people of his church and takes them on as well as his own. The lighting in the church itself is very interesting because of the color produced by the stained glass windows. In the picture above, the windows appear to be adding to the blue light, or at least motivating it. However, it is not only used for this somber lighting theme. It comes into play in others as well, and when it does, it is usually an insight into character. Pictured below is one of Father James’s alter boys cast in multicolored light from a stained glass window. As this shot comes early on in the film, it helps to characterize the boy as the mischievous, artistic, energetic child that he is.
The third lighting theme is possibly the most beautiful and one of the biggest characteristics of Irish films such as Calvary. Another Irish film, Sing Street, released in 2016, uses a similar style with frequency. When outdoors, the director John Carney and cinematographer Yaron Orbach (Sing Street) utilize the sunlight, whether harsh or soft already, to create a beautiful natural look that works with the landscapes also portrayed. Larry Smith and gaffer Steven McCarthy (CalvaryIMDB) use a lot of natural light in Ireland's beautiful outdoors to capture their image. Due to the frequency of overcast skies, the light in the scenes outdoors is very soft and natural. It produces pale but beautiful skin tones and highlights the gorgeous landscapes that Ireland holds. The soft grey of the sky coupled with the light pink skin tones leads to a beautiful image.
The cinematographer tends to use this style mostly in expositional settings, but also, interestingly, in the climax when Father James is shot and killed. The scene is set on the beach, and as such uses the same soft natural light. This is due to the fact that Father James is never afraid of his death. He embraces it and willing meets his murderer when the time comes. The scene isn’t meant to portray Father James’s terrifying, chaotic, sad last moments. Instead, it illustrates the meaningful and welcome end of the long life of a virtuous priest. As a truly noble priest who knows that he’s done nothing wrong, Father James becomes a Christ figure, paying for crimes that he didn’t commit. Due to this, if there is an afterlife, Father James believes that his will likely be good.
Calvary is a beautiful film. The cinematography is gorgeous and drives the story, the lighting is stylized in an interesting way, and the production design is incredible. Father James’s church is beautiful and elegant while still small and fitting of a little Irish town. The stained glass is amazing and leads to incredibly interesting lighting that also builds the characters and adds to the story. Even Father James’s home is dressed in a way that adds to his character in that it is bare besides the cross on his wall, implying that he doesn’t really have anything besides the church and his dog. As a drama, Calvary tends to have a 4:1 contrast ratio, (the ratio of the amount of light in the highest highlights to the lowest shadows), but sometimes it gets much flatter, almost to a 2:1, especially in the scenes outdoors. However, the shadows never look too soft or harsh, and the film is gorgeous.
The director of photography, Larry Smith (Larry) comes from London, and so is accustomed to overcast days similar to the ones he shot. He is a member of the British Society of Cinematographers and has won many awards for his cinematography including the Kodak Award for Best Cinematography in 2011 (Larry). He is definitely a master of his craft, and is still working on projects today, his latest being Trafficker which released in 2018. On Calvary, Smith opted to shoot on the Arri Alexa and used the Angenieux Optimo 17-80mm T2.2 Lens and the Angenieux Optimo Zoom Lenses (CalvaryShotOnWhat). Calvary is in a 2.35 aspect ratio, a classic for drama, and Smith is excellent with his composition for this aspect ratio.
Overall, Calvary is a gorgeous film in terms of cinematography and lighting. The three visual themes that Smith and McDonagh created to portray tone is a really beautiful concept. The symbolism that comes from it is very interesting with analysis, but it also creates psychological impact on the audience with no thought required. The audience will feel the things that the filmmakers want them to and they won’t know why. It’s comparable to creating a musical theme for a character because there is a lighting theme for different tones. However, this technique is a more subtle and psychological way of nudging the audience towards the way they should be feeling.
Works Cited
“Calvary (2014).” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt2234003/.
“Calvary (2014).” ShotOnWhat?, 13 July 2014, shotonwhat.com/calvary-2-2014.
Carney, John, director. Sing Street. Lionsgate Films, 2016.
“Larry Smith.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/name/nm0809040/.
McDonagh, John Michael, et al. Calvary. Fox Searchlight, 2014.
6. “Sing Street (2016).” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt3544112/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt.