In today’s social media crazed society, aesthetic is everything. Young minds are more obsessed than ever with how things look because it represents a vibe. It represents a “brand.” Countless nights are spent perfecting Instagram pages. Countless hours are spent choosing the perfect profile picture. So it only makes sense that naturally, our eyes are drawn to more aesthetically pleasing things. One of these things includes movies.
When watching Palo Alto for the first time, I noticed this movie had a very well thought out aesthetic. With the movie being directed by Gia Coppola, I wasn’t surprised. I have always found movies that are directed by a Coppola very aesthetically pleasing. One only needs to flashback to the ever so popular The Godfather to remember that masterpiece.
Now, don’t get me wrong. A good script and casting are also key elements to a good movie however, aesthetic is also an often glossed over key element. In Palo Alto, this was not.
Use of colour
One of my favourite elements used in film was the use of colour. Just by looking at a colour, you can evoke emotion. For instance, red. Red tends to be closely linked with anger or passion. Or Blue. Blue is often linked with calmness and coolness.
To keep the overall tone of the movie calm, I noticed the absence of strong or loud colour use. Nothing was ever bright or drastic. Wardrobes were often muted and the settings were the same. However, to add something quirky, there was often a pop of colour. Whether to add spunk to a character or a subliminal message, this colour worked well in identifying meaning. For example, in the beginning of the movie, Emma Roberts character April, is seen wearing a mustard coloured sweater. With the backdrop, it stands out but not in an obnoxious way. Subtly with April’s wardrobe, you can feel a quirky vibe which doesn’t always shine through in the role. I like this because it doesn’t have to be obvious. A character doesn’t have to yell out, “Hey! I’m quirky! Look at me!” to get their point across. Instead, it seemed quite the opposite.
Teddy’s outfits seemed similar to that of April and I think this was intentional. Teddy wore muted tones and artsy fashion like his ripped jean jacket. But we really see a touch of quirkiness, smilier to that of April, when he wears his stylish western inspired red and black shirt to the party. To me, this started to draw the parallels between April and Teddy that we hadn’t been seeing yet. In a character that doesn’t say too much, you get glimpses of what he likes based on the colours that surround him.
Use of Light
This movie’s use of light may not have had as much symbolism as colour but nonetheless, it was pretty to look at. One scene that stood out to me was Teddy’s walk home at the end of the movie. When he finally left his bad intentioned friend in the car and started walking home, there were streetlamps illuminating the back of him. As he walked, it seemed as though there were only a spotlight on him and it actually made him look quite alone when really, he wasn’t.
Another cool use of lighting was at the party. When the wild group of drunk teenage boys lit off firecrackers in the driveway. I found this little montage very cool. Just watching it brought me back to high school. Seeing something so stupid be so funny and entertaining to these boys almost perfectly summed up teenage adolescence for me. Sadly, it still kind of resonates today. This scene seemed also very pure. It highlighted kids just being kids and in that very brief scene, there was beauty in just being young.
The movie itself was more about what you saw then what you heard. Although I liked the script, it wasn’t overly profound. This made the movie seem heavily reliant on aesthetic which I surprisingly liked. Normally I wouldn’t and I think audiences wouldn’t but for those that do appreciate aesthetic, I believe this would be a movie for them.
If a picture really is worth a thousand words then I think that, if done right, a lot can be done with a movie that is more vibe based than script based. Often we heavily criticize a script on its depth because, well, who wants to watch a movie that sounds like a Beavis and Butt- Head conversation?
So, let’s not underestimate the use of aesthetic. Aesthetic is not an easy thing to do. It takes time, patience and a well planned image. In my mind, it’s an art. So next time you’re watching a movie and you’re thinking, “wtf?” Take a good hard look at the subliminal messaging in the aesthetic. If you still come up with nothing, then just turn it off because it’s probably just a crap movie.
Wrayson 