olivermoss | Observations on Gentleman Jack

Observation 1: How much does this look like an era painting?

(I just grabbed the first kitchen scene as I scrolled through an episode and cropped out Anne's back)

A lot. The lighting in this show is ... insane. The interior shots are lit to look like 1800s paintings. It makes the clothing feel a lot more natural. The outside lighting to inside lighting transitions are amazing. The camera work is meticulous.

Observation 2: The narrational style reminds me of Virginia Woolf's Orlando, or at least the film adaptation. I should re-read the book. From the first time Anne Lister addresses the camera, I kept thinking about Orlando.

Observation 3: Characters matching versus not matching their backgrounds.

Here we have a match:

Even though Ann Walker is dressed lighter than the dark surroundings, the colors match. The pink of her dress and the red of the dark wood have the same tones. She is a contrast, but she doesn't clash. She visually fits into Anne Lister's home.

In general, people's clothes tend only match their own spaces, whether it's a servant or a visitor. I don't know how much of it is an artistic statement by the creators and how much of it is era affectation.

For example, her everything matches her drapes:

Did people really do this? Coordinate dresses and parlors?

Anne Lister's clothes never clash with any space she's been in so far. Black and white don't really clash with anything, so again I don't know how much is cleverness by the art director and how much is just following the story. Still, it's interesting.

Anyway, just the visual things that jumped out at me about the show.