“It’s a rare glimpse into their vulnerability,” says cinematographer Ben Fordesman of a scene in Ronan Day-Lewis’ “Anemone,” where estranged brothers Ray (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Jem (Sean Bean) drunkenly dance moments after Ray reveals the scars of his childhood. Here, the film’s unflinching energy — influenced by Ingmar Bergman’s “Autumn Sonata” — shifts; the camera shakes free from restraint before pulling back to reveal them small against the empty wilderness. “Ronan was keen on exploring the psychological landscape of Ray, in particular, in a metaphysical way. This was our way to recontextualize the characters and place them against the vast indifference of nature. To suggest a kind of detachment from reality,” Fordesman says of “Anemone,” which examines trauma and its generational ripple effects. The scene’s dramatic payoff wasn’t originally scripted and almost didn’t happen, as the cabin set had to be redesigned so one side could be removed. Creative engineering from production designer Chris Oddy and seamless visual effects helped bring it to life. “It was genuinely one of the most fun things to shoot when you’ve got the motivation to move freely. Everything in the rest of the film is considered and composed,” says the cinematographer. “This maybe leans into the way that trauma can be often experienced as a memory and the dancing is a way of shaking that off.”
