How ‘Euphoria’ Keeps Us Hooked With Artsy Cinematography.
Colors, Effects And Editing In ‘Euphoria’.
Euphoria is a delight for a cinema critic or a student of Film Studies. With its strong symbolism, exceptional usage of angles, effects and colours, it is an artful masterpiece. One of the more popular aspects of his picturization is its aesthetic. The glittery and artsy makeup has resurged through social media with the coming of season 2 of the show.
Colors
Colors in the show play a very important role as weaved by the cinematographer, Marcell Rév. There are different colors usually associated with different characters and the display of their interpersonal relationships. Rue (Zendaya) is often accompanied with a myriad of colors ranging from blue, pink, purple and red pertaining to her perpetual state of intoxication.
Maddy (Alexa Demie) is shown in hues of cold colors like blue and purple to accentuate her boldness and similarly, Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) in pink and yellow shades to represent docility and naivety. Jules (Hunter Schafer) and Rue’s scenes together are usually shot in close ups with a yellow light dispersing from the background, almost in an angelic manner, signifying the progressive tangents in their relationship.
Mise-en-scène
The shot composition in the show is also cleverly illustrated in many parts of the show. There are several surreal shots where Rue is close to the camera, intoxicated, the background is blurred and there is a splurge of colors. These shots often set the surreal and “euphoric” tone of the show. There is a particular series of shots , amidst the turbulence in their relationship, Rue and Jules re-enact the famous pose from Titanic, where Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet stand together on the rear of the ship juxtaposed with the followed reifying of a self-portrait of Frida Kahlo with a sketch of Diego on her forehead with whom she had a problematic relationship. Jules had the sketch of Rue on her forehead signifying the duality of their relationship.
Towards the very end of episode 6 of the second season, Cassie was posing in front of the mirror. There was calm on her face and a plethora of roses that surrounded her. The shot was extremely paradoxical to the events happening in her life due to the unveiling of her affair with Nate.
Editing and Effects
Editing is key in the cinematic narration of Euphoria. Episodes usually started with either an exposition to one of the characters or with Rue in the scene. As Rue was the narrator of the show and was shown to have been intoxicated quite often, the narrative flow digressed and delved into other characters. This could be a hint that Rue is an unreliable narrator which she even admits to in an episode of season 1. After intertwining the lives through space and time of all the characters, Rue usually circled back to the exact scene the episode had started with. This editing tactic enables immense dramatic effect for the viewers
Effects in the show are mostly inculcated to capitulate the psychedelic state of Rue. Talking drug containers that invited her, walking on walls, fading and echoing of sounds were all techniques to explore her struggle with drug abuse.
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