Lighting: Cracks

Context? Nah. I present a post in pictures.

Eva Green as the enigmatic Miss G.
Backlit by a grey, clouded sky that emphasizes her solitude.

Miss G again on her own, this time at the gates of the boarding school.
Little to no lighting gives strength to the atmospherically rainy weather.

Click-clacking her heels between the pews,
not caring that she is late to the morning's prayer session.
Her placement draws attention and lets viewers know just how little this character gives a fuck.
A little backlighting from the stained glass windows
highlights her intruding presence even more so.

Miss G stands amongst her favoured students.
Her placement within the shot separates her from the rest of the group,
as they are bathed in light (innocence) while she alone stands in shadow (hidden agenda).

As in the previous shot, the students appear to have a heavenly glow about them.
The rest of Miss G's room—untouched by the sun's rays—seems to entrap the girls.
Even their uniform frocks subtly blend with the surroundings.

The elite 'circle' of friends caught in one of the rare periods
in which they are content with one another.
Everything is naturally lit, making the scene a peaceful one as the girls soak up the sun.

Dressed up for their St. Agnes Eve feast.
The girls blend their 1930s fashion with flowers reminiscent of Keats' romanticism.
This feeling is also aided by the warm, lightly-honeyed lighting.

Renegades skinny-dipping by the light of the moon.
The underwater shots in this scene give everything a magical look,
especially in contrast with the rest of the film.

A foreigner to England, Fiamma (here played by María Valverde) reads alone in the stables.
The light source is opposite, covering her but also creating a shadow along the wall.
The symbolism of the barred stalls speaks volumes, too.

Poppy (Imogen Poots) looking through a crack. What she sees is terrible...
as viewers are encouraged to think given the dim lighting and the pinpoint reflection in her eye.

If I were forced to describe the film in one sentence or less, I would say that it is a pristine example of that iffy place between being a child and an adult.

For more information:

• Cracks on IMDB
• Cracks, the novel, on Amazon