
Originally Posted by
David Mullen ASC
I've collected the half-dozen or so online reviews of "Big Sur" that mention the cinematography, which is most of them - here is what they wrote:
Justin Lowe, The Hollywood Reporter
Visually the film is a pleasure to watch, with Polish and cinematographer M. David Mullen contrasting the rich blues and greens of the Big Sur exteriors with the burnished glow of the sunlit or firelit cabin interiors, or layering an almost sepia-toned patina onto the San Francisco segments. In particular, the outdoor scenes set in the redwoods or on windy beaches necessitate making rather demanding camera setups and movements look natural and spontaneous.
Allison Loring, Film School Rejects
Breathtaking visuals of Big Sur and the California coast make you feel like you are there which, when paired with a beautiful score from The National, feel like true escapism and make the juxtaposition against Kerouac’s breakdown all the more tragic.
Kristopher Tapley, HitFix
Michael Polish is a filmmaker I'm still quite enamored with. His and his brother's aesthetic, owing plenty to DP M. David Mullen, is just softly beautiful and singular. And when you're pointing that camera at central California's landscape, that makes for a pretty, pretty picture.
Chris Martin, Spin Magazine
With a solid cast filling in for the legendary literary figures that peopled the book (here liberated of their thin aliases), plus unerringly gorgeous footage of the Central California coast and a perfectly minimal score provided by the National, Polish chooses not to meddle with the source material and mostly benefits for it.
Tim Grierson, Screen Daily
Polish (Northfork, Twin Falls Idaho) is a filmmaker interested in concocting ethereal, dreamlike worlds, and with the help of his long-time cinematographer M. David Mullen, Big Sur mirrors the boozy melancholy eating away at its protagonist. With a narrative powered largely by Kerouac’s voiceover reading of the book he’s working on, the movie is less a character piece than it is episodic glimpses inside debilitating ennui and hopelessness… The risk, of course, is that such a strategy will result in a lethargic, navel-gazing study of morose self-pity, but Polish largely overcomes such concerns by utilizing a spare shooting style that in its simplicity underscores the depth of Kerouac’s despair. Mullen gives the Big Sur locations a quiet grandeur, the Pacific Ocean constantly in the frame, suggesting a place at the end of the world.
Brian Tallerico (blog)
“Big Sur” is beautiful with stunning cinematography by M. David Mullen and a gorgeous score...
Stephanie Nikolopoulos (blog)
The film is directed by Michael Polish and the cinematography is by M. David Mullen, who worked together on Stay Cool and The Astronaut Farmer, and it is gorgeously lush.
Joe Bendel (blog)
A rich visual feast, Big Sur functions as a heck of a show-reel for cinematographer M. David Mullen (whose extensive credits include Jennifer’s Body).
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I really have to thank Red and Jim Jannard in particular for supporting this project and making the Epic camera that contributed so much to the quality of the final product. I also have to thank Tonaci Tran for renting us his Epic as our A camera, Dane Brehm our D.I.T., Chater Cameras for the rest of the package, Michael Cioni and Ian Vertovec for their support at Light Iron from the beginning and for the D.I. work for the Sundance screening. Oh, and I have to thank Tom Lowe for contributing some fantastic images!