Color Theory: 'If Beale Street Could Talk'
a film worth watching on mute for its beautiful cinematography
'If Beale Street Could Talk', a James Baldwin novel adapted for film, written and directed by Barry Jenkins, has one of the richest color stories I've seen in a movie. The thread of color woven into each frame evokes a consistent string of emotions, deepening the narrative beautifully. I walked away from this film with a deep appreciation for the art direction, photography, costume, and set design.
The novel's 1974 cover has a deep golden hue, which the film production team carries throughout the movie.
Yellow, used as the foundational color, is seen throughout the film and is first introduced in the promotional material. It is presented in a rich and vibrant palette of golden amber, red, and blue shades.
The promotional material introduces the color story rooted in blue, yellow, and red.
Yellow, while reaffirming the novel's original cover expression, brings vibrancy, familiarity, joy, and hope to the storyline despite the sadness and darkness.
Red creates a beautiful balance to the deep brown hues on the screen, offering warmth and passion. I would go as far as to say that the red and brown hues anchored the frames within the color palette.
Finally, blue - specifically a cool blue - accentuated the scenes seamlessly. Green was used to evoke a similar emotion if blue was absent from the frame. Often, these two colors reflected a melancholy within the storyline.
I've selected six frames from the film that are rich in color, context, and story without giving away the ending (in case you plan to watch and haven't read or seen this story before).
Let's jump in and discuss...
Frame No. 1
The overall color palette:
Now take a deeper look at the color palette within the frame:
Emotional sentiment attached to the color story: the dominant yellow encourages hope while the green is used as grounding element.
Frame No. 2
The overall color palette:
Now take a deeper look at the color palette within the frame:
Emotional sentiment attached to the color story: the brown supports reflection and deep thought as the character is workshopping a task.
Frame No. 3
The overall color palette:
Now take a deeper look at the color palette within the frame:
Emotional sentiment attached to the color story: The blue contrasted against the brown offers deep connection, joy, intrigued within the small sparks of passion expressed through the bokeh.
Frame No. 4
The overall color palette:
Now take a deeper look at the color palette within the frame:
Emotional sentiment attached to the color story: A grittiness is expressed through the terracotta reds and grays. The color palette greatly emphasizes the absence of sustainability, often seen amongst low income neighborhoods.
Frame No. 5
The overall color palette:
Now take a deeper look at the color palette within the frame:
Emotional sentiment attached to the color story: Connectedness! Aside from the character's closeness in physical proximity, the intertwining within the pavement expresses this same closeness. This shot encourages progress or movement within the landscape, while joy is captured in the yellow and blue swatches.
Frame No. 6
The overall color palette:
Now take a deeper look at the color palette within the frame:
Emotional sentiment attached to the color story: love, desire, passion amongst the hardness or manufactured living seen in an earlier frame.
Final Thoughts:
It's not too often I walk away from a film, still processing the beauty of the frames more so than the actual storyline. While the story sparks deep conversation around pained topics in American culture, the film, 'If Beale Street Could Talk' ‘s cinematography magnificently captures the novel's essence.
Below is an overview of the six shots discussed and the color story I believe is expressed.
What emotions were captured within the color story for those who have seen the film or read the novel? And for those whose first introduction to this story is through this post, what stands out the most to you?