Thread by @tonytost

The worst thing about cellphones is that they look so boring. Ordinary phone calls used to be pretty cinematic.

I think there's something about a character being tied to a specific physical space during an emotionally-charged moment that helps make for a more interesting frame.

Modern cellphones can work for horror or comedy, I guess. But I don't know how to make them cinematic. Same with modern cars. There's something about the efficient sameness of the design that empties these things of real cinematic value.

EUPHORIA probably most successfully makes cellphones and cellphone calls fairly cinematic -- I think they have some of the best cinematography going, so that makes sense.

This EUPHORIA shot in particular -- the screen of a cellphone reflected in Cassie's eye -- takes the innate limitations of the cellphone and harnesses it for really interesting, inventive visual storytelling.

I've been meaning to see DECISION TO LEAVE, so I'm glad to have an added reason to hurry up and do so since it's brought up the most often as a counter to my "cellphones in movies are boring" complaint.

A few people point out that the landline phones themselves don't make the shots visually interesting. That it's the framing. But I guess that's part of my point. With landline phones, the spatial limitations force the DP, director, actors, & design folks to be more creative.

Visually, being stuck in one spot can be a blessing because you're often forced to spend more time & creative energy on the blocking (how to make an actor reveal character in a limited space), as well as camera placement & design elements (if just the phone & cord colors).

And of course a director *should* be able to manage all this with a cellphone. But I think it happens less often -- partially because a modern cellphone is often just a black rectangle, but mostly because the lack of spatial limitations can lead to uninspired blocking & framing.

It's a sign of an especially gifted director to find ways to use cellphones like Bong Joon-ho does in PARASITE. A scene like this is not just visually & dramatically interesting, but also revelatory in terms of the film's class divisions. So, it can be done.