10. Matthew Libatique – “Black Swan” and “Iron Man 2”
9. Danny Cohen - “The King’s Speech”
8. Robert Richardson – “Shutter Island”
7. Robby Ryan – “Fish Tank”
6. Yves Cape – “White Material”
5. Roger Deakins – “True Grit”
4. Michael McDonagh – “Winter’s Bone”
3. Matyas Erdely – “Tender Son – The Frankenstein Project”
2. Eric Gautier – “Wild Grass”
1. Luca Bigazzi – “Certified Copy”
Please don’t be the one to point out this film is released in 2011 in the United States; I’m well aware of that. Even if you’re a stickler, I think you can agree with me that Bigazzi deserves a moment of glory (even though he has “This Must Be the Place” in the future), as next year will be crowded with Lubezki on Malick’s “The Tree of Life” and whoever is shooting McQueen’s “Shame.”
There are many things to savor: the prodigious roving shots; the composition during the wedding photography scene which has a seat in the foreground and, through the door, off a mirror, the main characters having their picture taken; the close-ups (fitting for a film by Abbas); the framing at the end; the tones. Bigazzi lays out the imagery for Kiarostami’s vision to come together.
Honorable Mentions:
Jeff Cronenweth (“The Social Network”)
Yorick Le Saux (“I Am Love”)
Edward Lachman (“Life During Wartime”)
Martin Ruhe (“The American”)
Adam Arkapaw (“Animal Kingdom”)
Laurent Brunet (“A Screaming Man”)
Yaron Orbach (“Please Give”)
Morten Soborg (“Valhalla Rising”)
