By Robert Goldrich

Cinematographer Marcell Rév’s creative bond with writer-director Sam Levinson began with the movie Assassination Nation, which debuted in 2018. Next came the first season of Euphoria, for which Rév earned an Emmy nomination in 2021 for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series–specifically for the “Trouble Don’t Last Always” episode. When the COVID pandemic delayed shooting of season two of Euphoria, Levinson and Rév detoured to an interim project which deployed more of a bare-bones production approach that yielded the film Malcolm & Marie. This was eventually followed by season two of Euphoria which included the episode “The Theater and Its Double” for which Rév’s lensing won a primetime Emmy in 2022. That brings us to what is now Levinson and Rév’s latest collaboration, The Idol (HBO), the drama series co-created by Levinson, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and Reza Fahim. 

The cast of The Idol is headed by Lily-Rose Depp and Tesfaye. In the series, Depp portrays Jocelyn, a pop music performer looking to reclaim her status as a superstar after having her career derailed by a nervous breakdown. Jocelyn’s romantic passions are reignited by Tedros (Tesfaye), a nightclub impresario with a sordid past. From there we are taken on a journey that can lead to new heights or at the other end of the spectrum, the deepest and darkest depths for Jocelyn. 

The series also stars Troye Sivan, Dan Levy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Jane Adams, Jennie Ruby Jane, Mike Dean, Moses Sumney, Rachel Sennott, Ramsey, Suzanna Son, and Hank Azaria.

Rév teamed with cinematographers Arseni Khacaturan and Drew Daniels on The Idol, noting that a complicated shooting schedule and varied work commitments resulted in no single episode being shot by one DP. Still, the cinematography was unified by Levinson’s approach–which he and Rév have fashioned and helped shape over the years.

“What Sam was asking for,” explained Rév, “was to create a certain kind of reality on set and to capture that in a stylistically composed way but still allow the actors to feel the freedom of improv, the freedom of space.” Performers, for instance, are able to move about, less restricted by hitting marks. This helped create what Rév described as “a more free way of working with actors.”

Rév observed that he and Levinson have developed “a pretty good shorthand” and deep understanding of each other over time. “He has a very strong vision, some of which is already in the script,” said Rév of Levinson. “He has an idea. I riff on that.” Ideas between them go back and forth and evolve, continued Rév, “in a very organic way. Sometimes it starts years or months before we start shooting. It evolves into something fine tuned and very well constructed. Sometimes it keeps evolving on the day of shooting. Sometimes we have a very well figured out plan and throw it out on the shoot day…An actor comes up with something we have to adapt to, something that feels right on the shoot day.”

This makes, continued Rév, for “a very inspiring set” which at the same time is challenging as “you have to adapt to certain things in a short amount of time.”

While there are those who “can work like a well-oiled machine–everything well thought out and mathematic,” Rév said he tends to think that most directors “like some sort of flexibility on shooting day” in that “at the end of the day, it’s about the actor’s performance. You want to support performance.” 

In order to provide that support, related Rév, “you have to adapt to changes” during the shoot, which can yield a better angle or approach that what was envisioned in prep. The careful planning remains valuable. Rév note that sets, for example, are often built around shots in Euphoria. But that’s months before the shoot. When you arrive on set or location, things can change and you react accordingly as you are inspired to create or do something different, building on the foundation you meticulously prepared but still willing to alter it in some ways to be true to the spirit of the story you’re trying to tell.
 
The need to tell stories well is at the heart of the creative spirit uniting Rév and Levinson, a prime example being the alluded to Malcolm & Marie. When production could not proceed on season two of Euphoria due to the uncertainty during that time over COVID, Levinson and Rév began thinking of possible projects they could do while waiting, using some of the cast and crew from Euphoria. Levinson had the idea to shoot a movie with just two actors in a house.

This led to Malcolm & Marie starring John David Washington and Zendaya as, respectively, a director and his girlfriend whose relationship is tested after they return home from his movie premiere and await critics’ reviews. A limited crew of Euphoria colleagues came together to bring Malcolm & Marie to fruition.

Levinson has a penchant for shooting on film, as reflected in season two of Euphoria (bringing back Kodak Ektachrome 35mm film which hadn’t been manufactured for some time) as well as Malcolm & Marie. The Idol was shot on Kodak Vision3 film, deploying ARRICAM LT and ARRI 435 Xtreme cameras in tandem with Cooke S4 and Angénieux zoom lenses.

Rév shared that working with Levinson means a cinematographer has to “think outside the box” and “throw away most of the rules.” Rev observed that usually most DPs have unwritten rules that influence how they create images. There’s a tendency, for instance, to gravitate toward “pleasing images” which leads to certain angles, certain kinds of light. “You learn those lessons and they become somehow patterns or rules.” Rév said that Levinson asks him to work in different ways, throwing out some of those rules which “allows for other creativity to flow into the process…A lot of that is in The Idol.”

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