Written and Directed by Ryan Coogler. Cinematography by Maryse Alberti.
One annoying thing about having a two-year-old is you miss a lot of movies you want to see in theaters. I tried every thing I could short of dressing my toddler up in a monkey suit and dropping him off at the zoo. In retrospect, it would have been worth it. What stood out to me was how 'Creed' contains the grittiness of the early 'Rocky' films. It feels like a return to Rocky's
egalitarian roots. This is best demonstrated by comparing the first and last shots of 'Creed'.
Let's break down the shots a couple of ways. First look at the position of the characters in the frame. Heavy to the left side in the beginning, and ending on the right side in the shot below. It's a clever way to show the story of Adonis (that name though...) coming to a close. It also illustrates his transition from a child to an adult.
Next look at the line of sight. In both scenes we have long shots from the camera with with visual lines drawing our eyes to the center. But there are a couple of key differences affecting the meaning of the shots. Number one is the size and depth of Adonis in the frame. In the first shot the jail shrinks him, in the lower shot he stands tall over the city.
The jail itself shrinks in the frame to a claustrophobic point. The city, in contract, expands and grows out of frame. Adonis has gone from existing in a world the size of a jail cell to a man of limitless potential.
Maryse Alberti was the cinematographer for another film I loved, 'The Wrestler'. Something about her eye knows how to keep the viewer in the ring and in the match. The first bout offered us no respite and changed the tone of Adonis' character. He went from being a plucky upstart to a warrior thanks to the one-take feel Maryse used.
The second fight was about the story, but the first was was about the brutality. Every punch to the
encephalon was wince inducing. I also love how they recall Rocky's eye injury with Adonis' very own eye cut.
Coogler makes use of a mirror motif to drum home the theme of the movie, the biggest impediment to success is yourself. Rocky blatantly explains it below, which again is in line with the older films, they were not subtle about themes or messages.
Rocky, as is the fashion of this series, lays the theme bare in the scene above. It's reinforced in the hotel room before the big fight. You'll notice in both shots we only see the reflection indicating Adonis isn't fully formed as a character yet.
Below is the only instance I remember of shaky-cam/handheld usage. It's during a emotional scene where Adonis rejects Rocky as a father figure. The camera work reflects the raw emotion of the scene.
Highly recommended. Everything came together on this one. I could not have been more into the film, completely lost in it's world.
