In Rounders director John Dahl and cinematographer Jean Yves Escoffier explore New York's secretive, subterranean poker scene.
Director John Dahl (Red Rock West, The Last Seduction) is known for his stunningly atmospheric neo-noir thrillers, but he speculates that, in terms of the look, Rounders may be his darkest film to date — even though, as he quips, "No one gets shot and no one dies." A character-driven drama set in the high-stakes world of New York's underground poker clubs, the story takes place predominantly at night or in dimly lit bars and card clubs. To obtain the look and tone he wanted, Dahl turned to French-born cinematographer Jean Yves Escoffier (Les Amants du Pont Neuf, Trois Hommes et un Couffin, Good Will Hunting).
Born in Lyon, Escoffier knew by the age of 7 that he wanted to be a cameraman. "My parents were activist Catholics and had a passion for filmmaking," he recounts. "They would organize screenings for people in the neighborhood, and we'd watch the movies at home." Escoffier fulfilled his dream, studying cinematography at L'ecole Louis Lumiere in Paris.
His first film as a camera assistant starred the legendary Jean Gabin and a young, up-and-coming actor named Gerard Depardieu. Escoffier's credits as a director of photography include several pictures with Leos Carax, including the widely admired Les Amants du Pont Neuf. His first American picture was Nick Kazan's Dream Lover, which he followed with Excess Baggage, The Crow: City of Angels, Gummo, and Grace of My Heart. The cameraman recently wrapped Tim Robbins's The Cradle Will Rock.
Rounders is about a young man with a talent for playing poker who must choose between his passion for the game and a more legitimate road to success via law school. At the beginning of the film, Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) bets his entire bankroll of $30,000 in a high-stakes game against seedy Russian card shark Teddy KGB (John Malkovich) — and loses it all. He gives up poker and enters law school, which he attends until his best friend, Worm (Edward Norton), a card cheat convicted of credit-card fraud, is released from prison and has to pay off a huge gambling debt. McDermott returns to the game to help him win the needed money.
The movie is set — and was shot — almost entirely in New York City, where underground card clubs abound, albeit clandestinely. The filmmakers wanted a rich, dark look — very atmospheric, but nothing too clever or designed. Walls and clothes were kept dark; yellows, reds and browns were the predominant colors used. Escoffier relied heavily on practicals; one scene, set in Teddy KGB's club, utilized 47 of them. "I like dark walls because film is about people; each time you have a bright wall, the wall is stronger than the character. I like the reverse [situation]," explains the cameraman. "I also like the lighting to be in intimate relationship with the set. I don't like anything artificial. The ideal situation would be if we could shoot the way the light is naturally, but obviously, if you do that, you would have too many cosmetic problems, and it would be impossible to read the subtle expressions in the actors' eyes. However, I like to go as close to natural as possible. I like to design the tension, the darkness and the brightness the way life would give it to you."
Escoffier made extensive use of Kino Flos on Rounders, carrying 12 Wall-O-Lites as well as two full carts of other Kinos. Just before production got underway, Kino Flo came out with a 2900° Kelvin bulb, which is a bit warmer than their tungsten fixture. Escoffier replaced all of his 3200s with the newer bulbs.
Kino Flos can be set up quickly, and they also save an enormous amount of grip work. The Wall-O-Lites consists of 10 fluorescent tubes mounted in a reflector-backed frame, making a perfect square of illumination and providing a uniform direction of light. To keep the light from spilling everywhere, Kino Flo came up with the idea of putting an egg crate over the entire fixture. "Normally, you would put a diffusion frame around it and use the source like a lamp," explains Escoffier. "But it spills everywhere and the grips have to put flags all around." The egg crate eliminates all of the cutting and flagging. For reasons Escoffier can't fathom, Wall-O-Lites aren't used as widely as one might expect; he has been a fan since their introduction back in the early 1990s, and on Rounders, they were used for almost every scene.
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