Much can be done and discussed through the craft of cinema, but at the end of the day it’s a visual medium above all else. It’s always refreshing, then, to see a truly visual work on the silver screen, something that capitalizes on the beauty of the world around us, taking us to parts of Earth that are wholly new to us. Garth Davis’ new feature Foe, now in theaters, brings us to the picturesque Australian countryside, with the help of Oscar-winning production designer Patrice Vermette and acclaimed cinematographer Mátyás Erdély (Son of Saul, Sunset).

We recently caught up with Erdély to learn more about the creative process behind visualizing the script and source material, a novel of the same name by Iain Reid (I’m Thinking of Ending Things). Starring Paul Mescal (Aftersun), Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird), and Aaron Pierre (The Underground Railroad), Foe is a dark love story about a disparate couple named Junior (Mescal) and Hen (Ronan). It’s set in the year 2065, with the government sending folks to space to help humanity start anew elsewhere, and becomes a dystopian ride that ultimately makes us question our own place in society. And Erdély was on-hand to tell us a whole lot more from a behind-the-scenes vantage point.

Defining the ‘Reality of the Movie’

At first, Foe might seem like just another science-fiction entry, but it extends its reach by becoming more than just a solitary genre. “Obviously it’s not your typical sci-fi,” Erdély told MovieWeb. “It’s a sci-fi that if you watch it, you barely notice it’s a sci-fi. Most of it looks like a period movie. And this was something that Garth and Patrice, our amazing production designer, and myself spent a lot of time talking about, like, ‘What is the world that we want to show? How much of this is futuristic, and how much of it is almost timeless?’ This feels like it could be anything from the ’70s to the 2030s or ’40s, or whatever. So it was a very important conversation about, ‘What is the world that we are portraying?'”

Related: Why Paul Mescal Is Going to Be Huge Star

Foe is a thought-provoking end result that may befuddle us at times, but that’s often the point as we become an active part of the story, piecing together certain standout elements within the film. This applies down to the inanimate objects found throughout Hen and Junior’s home. “Some of the production design, down to the props and everything, they had what you can call a retro-futuristic look to them, but super subtle,” said Erdély. He elaborated:

“Even Terrance’s car is something that looks like the DeLorean, something that is such a clean shape that it is almost timeless. So that’s a very important thing to define because that affects everything, like my approach, ‘What are the lighting fixtures? Are they going to be colorful?’ Down to all these little details that really define the reality of the movie. So most of our conversations were based around this.”

Creating a ‘Very Organic’ Film Universe
Amazon Studios

As previously mentioned, Foe brings us to Australia to see the countryside, a nice change of scenery for city dwellers. Hen and Junior live out in the middle of nowhere, but the house they occupy is home to many little secrets. “We built the exterior of the house, but the first level of the house was built in a studio,” said Erdély. “I feel that we were quite successful of merging these scenes together. When I graded the film, I wasn’t even sure which one was shot on location and which was in the studio. And this is basically how amazing Patrice and his team were, to create these sets.”

Related: Best Cinematography in 2022 Movies, Ranked

Erdély continued detailing the house for Foe where most of the film’s events transpire, utilizing quite clever methods to achieve certain through-the-window visuals:

“Whatever you see outside these windows, we had these massive photographs taken on the location and then blown up, and then we lit them in a way that would match whatever lighting conditions we had on those scenes. But I feel that they are very, very organic. And I’m super happy with the quality of work that Patrice and his team were able to pull off, and I’m grateful to them because without them, and without their level of professionalism, we would have had a lot of issues in the post work.”

At the end of the day, Foe is a tale about a conflicted marriage and thus becomes a very intimate affair by the end. “It was more about making sure that these very emotional scenes are shot in a way that is the least obtrusive to the actors,” says Erdély, who also expressed excitement about another project of his that’s already in the can. “Sean Durkin and I made a movie called The Iron Claw that is going to come out later this year,” said Erdély. “We’re working on the post-production of that. So that’s still in the pipeline.”

But in the meantime, from Amazon Studios, Foe is now playing in theaters.