I’m not sure Hardwicke has ever seen a movie, attended a photography or cinematography class, or had the exposure triangle explained to her. Seen multiple reviews praise the visuals of this movie, but it looked to me like somebody tried to copy Peter Jackson’s homework without making it too obvious. Mist filters galore. Overexposed skies, backlit angelic subjects.
When Mary and Joseph arrived at Bethlehem, my first thought is that it looked like the Uruk-Hai already stormed the place. And when the Magi chart the difficulty and dangers of crossing the mountain passes in the desert, I said aloud: “and why not go under it? Why not go through the mines of Moria?”
As a result of this ham-fisted spectacle, the whole film feels like a fantasy rather than anything approaching historical reality. I think it’s a terrible aesthetic for this story, and if the whole point of a film is to tell the story visually, then the visuals better be up to snuff, or what are we all wasting our time for?
Just read the book.