‘The Aesthetics of Whimsy’, A Look at the Unique Visual Style of Filmmaker Spike Jonze

“The Aesthetics of Whimsy” is a video essay by filmmaker Jacob T. Swinney (previously) that examines the elements that form filmmaker Spike Jonze’s unique visual style. From 1999’s Being John Malkovich onward, Jonze’s films have a well-defined look that finds the fantastic in the banal.

Making the most out of simple elements such as lens flares, floating camera movement, centered framing, and wide-angle close-ups, Jonze creates an atmosphere that appears to be lifted straight from the pages of a fairytale storybook.

Brian Heater
Brian Heater