Commander Mills #3 (look at me)
Adam Driver as Commander Mills from the upcoming film “65,” long hair in damp tangles, brows furrowed over light-struck eyes round with intense concern, cheeks shining with sweat, the soft brush of his whiskers framing chapped lips pursed around a shuddery slow exhale. It lasts all of 6 seconds, only has two lines of dialogue containing three words that are repeated twice by the same person, and yet, even after the steeply rising tension of the last 90 seconds, this moment immediately grounds the audience as well as the characters. I predict that the ENTIRE theater is going to be breathing with them when we go see this, and I’ll also bet you that 90% of them won’t even realize they’re doing it.
A still doesn’t do this tiny moment justice, because we can’t see the fine trembling that shivers the tendrils of his hair as he does his best, despite the adrenaline coursing through him, to calm his young companion. Koa is huddled in the shadowed shelter of an enormous, half-eaten carcass’s rib cage, Mills kneeling in front of her. She’s clearly in the grips of a spiraling panic attack, breathing in rapid, tiny whooping gasps, her gaze fixed on something over his shoulder. “Look at me,” he says. It’s a stern, but kind command, hands firmly fisted in the bulk of her oversized clothes, giving her a tiny shake, his eyes never leaving hers as his voice lilts quietly to plead again, “Look at me.” Seeing he has her attention, unblinking gaze never wavering, he lifts his chin as he takes a deep shaking breath in, purses his mouth, and lets it go in a long, shuddering exhale as he tips his chin back down. Watching his face, we see how the breath focuses Mills, and Koa immediately understands, mirroring him, the frantic energy of her panic whooshing out with her breath, leaving a fear she can face. That they’re doing their impromptu breathing exercise while hiding in a space that held the lungs of another animal is an irony that was not lost on me.
Now, I am not generally a fan of horror, or of most action films (my ‘cancel me’ opinion is that the original “Jurassic Park” was… ok), but if this movie is edited to manage the tension as well as this trailer does? It’s going to leave us all gasping in the best way, and you should feel free to put as many entendres on that as you want. *smirk*
Reference used was a screencap taken & edited by me from the second trailer for “65.” About 17.5 hrs of painting time, and again, the color kept me guessing as to whether it would work right up until the very end. I would have been happy enough with monochrome, but really wanted to capture the way the bloody glow of the background is reflected on the dark side of his face, lighting up the underside of his brows, and emphasizing the color of his lips, as well as the colors the sunlight was catching in his irises, so I’m delighted that I did eventually manage to make it happen. But since monochrome also always has it’s own quiet energy I’ve included that version too. Other tiny details I loved include how the light is catching on the hairs on his face, like the inner corner of his left eyebrow & his moustache, as well as that hint of light falling across his irises & through the lens, leaving a faint glow on the far side of the whites of his eye, and the peek of his ever so slightly crooked lower teeth. And, of course, I do love that the camera focal depth was set such that the only part of his face in clear focus is his right eye and cheek, with everything else softened by shadow and blur. (Don’t ask how much lip balm I applied while painting this. It was a lot.)
