The Wachowski's and The Coen Brothers

 

The Wachowskis are influential science fiction directors resposible for the Matrix Trilogy, among other titles like Bound (1996), Speed Racer (2008), Jupiter Ascending (2015) and Sense8 (2015-2017). Lily and Lana had a history working as writes for Marvel comics, eventually shifting to script writing in the 1990s. Soon after they decided to become Directors, unhappy with how their works were often changed and cut up, having little say in creative decisions. 

Their history in comics can be seen through its influence within their films, with many stylistic shot choices resembling those found typically found in Comics. They are well known for being groundbreaking and visionary as directors, having distinct visual styles, and exploring nuanced takes and representation of gender, its roles, and sexuality within some of their films. 

The Matrix is a film I've never fully watched through, but I really love the shot choices of the film, as well as its distinct aesthetic established through grungy, dark green colour palettes, and dark Cyberpunk costume pieces. I think details like this separate it a lot from other science fiction series, and definitely shows its influence from comics. I feel like lots of small details like that really help with building a believable world that's still very different from our reality. 

The Coen Brothers Began their directing career in the 1984 film Blood Simple, which was co-written by the pain and funded privately. The pair was soon recognised for having idiosyncratic talents for their work on the film. A few years later in 1991 the pair swept many awards and achievements such as best picture, director and actor at Cannes, for their film Barton Fink. They are well known for other films such as Raising Arizona (1987), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998) and No Country for Old Men (2007)

Blood Simple is the only Coen Brothers film I've seen, However I could already see a very distinct style, especially throughout the lighting of the scenes, with many shots making use of high contrast between darker lit shots and a bright source of light. I also really liked the use of colour throughout many shots with coloured neon lights illuminating characters/the scene. 

I think the use of shadow also helps to grow the sense of uneasiness, as the viewer cant easily see everything within a scene, adding to the suspense, and using the light within the scene to direct the viewers attention. The comedic aspect of the film was also something I quite enjoyed, and it made you kind of sympathise with Ray, having to clean up the mess he accidentally created.