It was great to hear that Scott Caan is a photographer, it's even better that he's got talent to spare. The oversized slipcase that I got in the mail the other day speaks a great deal about Caan's work as a photographer. It's not easy being someones kid, and I think Caan has done a great job in the Ocean's movies as Turk Malloy, as an actor he's got a kinetic visceral charm which his father had, and a kind of coiled rage that is simmering just beneath the surface. If you get a chance check out a movie he directed called Dallas 362, (Scott Caan also wrote) you won't be disappointed.
It's immediately apparent that Caan has honed a sly and slightly fashionable style to his work with the camera, his black and white on set portraits of Carl Reiner and the stunning shot of Vincent Cassel are really wonderful candid moments. I've heard all kinds of stories about my favorite Ocean's movie, #12, and how they were writing that script as they went. I can imagine Caan had a lot of time to take pictures...movie stars at rest usually provide great content. Jared Leto on a roof, with a tree behind him that looks like a huge piece of broccoli, God, this shot is stunning, really something. Brad Pitt looks exhausted as Rusty Ryan, it looks like a quiet moment from #13. Don Cheadle hasn't looked this out of it since Boogie Nights, Caan has captured something with this shot of the actor, a moment just before things got started, when Cheadle wasn't looking. Damon, he's always prepared, he smiles even when no one is looking at him, and I think that's great, Caan gets these guys he's worked with, gets every detail.
It's not just shots of movie stars that fill this book, there are several of kids skateboarding, soft black and white, stiff highlights and deep black shadows, teenagers flying through the air never seeming like they're going to land. Caan has his share of beauties, topless women who all look like they just got up from a nap, blonde hair, dark eyes, sleepy face, it doesn't matter to Caan, he's always right there ready to strike. There is a beautiful shot midway through the book of a girl walking naked down a hallway, a faded lime green light paints the walls and she is barely noticeable, but it's a great shot, not because she's naked, because you don't see her, you only get a vague idea of her, and that's hard to capture.
There is an "On the Road" section to the book where Caan returns to black and white, this section is focused and beautiful. The guys playing horseshoes, or the fat girl playing soccer by herself. Caan must walk around all the time with his camera, and it shouldn't leave his side not even for a second. This book is filled with moments from his life, some ordinary, others studded with celebrity, and a great many are just the quiet seconds the day that we all take for granted. At the very end Caan puts in a shot of him and his old man, it's a nice touch. This book is worth your time.
-JR
0 comments:
Post a Comment