The Beekeeper Cinematographer Gabriel Beristain Talks Achieving The Best Shots In New Movie
David Ayer is known for his gritty realism and action movies, with an impressive roster of action-packed and heart-pounding films such as Fury, Suicide Squad, and End of Watch. Ayer’s latest film The Beekeeper is about one man’s brutal campaign for vengeance. After finding the one woman (Phylicia Rashad) who cared for him dead, Adam Clay (Jason Statham) takes on national stakes and is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as the “Beekeepers.”
The Beekeeper is filled with Statham’s authoritative action scenes followed with tense monologues and stouthearted one liners – perfect for any action film aficionado. It’s human nature to want the bad guys to get their comeuppance, and The Beekeeper delivers on just that. Statham’s character Adam is unstoppable in his violent retributions to avenge the death of the women he cared for. And hey, if you don’t like violence, the performances of Hollywood’s It Boy of the Year Josh Hutcherson, who plays the villain Derek Fanforth, and the man we can credit for leading the resurgence of action films Jason Statham were enthralling and fun.
Pop Culture Planet’s Danielle Forte sat down with the film’s Director of Cinematography Gabriel Beristain, whose resume spans from the 80’s to present day. He’s proved he’s a force to be reckoned with in the industry. Beristain's first feature film as a cinematographer was the Colombian horror film Carne de tu carne (Bloody Flesh), for which he won the Best Cinematography Award at the Bogotá Film Fest in 1983. And David Ayer isn’t the only director who has had the opportunity to work with Beristain, he’s also worked with renowned filmmakers David Mamet, Roland Joffé, Guillermo del Toro, and Antoine Fuqua, just to name a few. You may have also seen his work with Marvel Studios productions, where he had been one of the regular Directors of Photography, having worked on films and series such as Blade II, Blade Trinity, the Iron Man trilogy, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Ragnarok, Hawkeye, and Black Widow, among many others.
When asked about how Beristain collaborated with Ayer to get the perfect shots for this film he referred to Ayer as a very “action-oriented director with a vision,” allowing for Ayer to easily work with everyone on set, including Beristain, to achieve the vision he has for the film. Beristain and Ayer sat down before filming began and discussed the vision and concept for this particular storyline, adding that there was going to be an understood metaphor throughout the film. The metaphor being that bees take care of each other in their hives. To achieve this, Beristain utilized colors in every shot, applying a particular lighter color when Statham’s character is taking care of his bees in the beginning and moving to “garish and chaotic colors” when his character is on the hunt for vengeance. Beristain also explained that working alongside Ayer is not like working with any other ordinary action-centric director. “It’s the fact that he wants to elevate the mechanics [of an action film] to an art form, which is very needed for films over time,” said Beristain, exclaiming that films as a whole need to not only focus on the mechanics but the art form to ensure that films go “beyond that” in their overall meaning.
Being in this industry since the 80’s has its challenges, given that a lot has changed and evolved, especially for cinematographers. The Beekeeper uses its fair share of CGI and special effects to achieve the bad-ass action scenes you see on screen, but Beristain said he’s embraced the use of it all in his position, explaining it’s been “fascinating [to know] that we can do that” in a shot. He went on to explain that the evolution from film to digital has actually “been great” and allows for filmmakers to find their own “voice and language.” In an industry that has been doomed with talks of AI and what seemed like a never ending entertainment strike this past year, Beristain was optimistic stating that “we are using technology in the right way.”
To feel the sting and see Beristain’s work on the big screen, The Beekeeper is in theaters now.
