This post was written by Joe Anderson.
The pilot for Mrs. Davis was co-written by Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof, whose respective work I had long been a fan of. Damon’s previous series, Watchmen, was really important to me because of how prescient it was in its examination of our country’s history with racial inequity while being surreal and unexpectedly thrilling.
This depth of storytelling was also present in Mrs. Davis, with challenging questions, like: are we losing free will and individuality in the pursuit of comfort, and what is the role of faith today, in an increasingly contradictory world?
What made this story compelling was that these serious themes were wrapped in an enormous amount of fun, with sword fights in 14th century France, a shipwreck survivor and his cat on a deserted island, shady magicians in Reno, a mysterious falafel shop, dart guns, motorcycle jumps, and in the middle of all this, a nun who is desperately trying to avoid interacting with a world-manipulating AI technology.
I was hooked after reading the pilot script and not only wanted to help create this story but also needed to know what happened next!
DP Joe Anderson on the set of 'Mrs. Davis'Credit: Colleen Hayes
I’d grown up with artist parents who surrounded my brother and me with books about art, which has been an amazing source of inspiration for me. I remember my dad teaching me about James Rosenquist, a postmodern artist who hijacked images from advertising to create billboard-sized paintings that forced the viewer to reconsider the messages they are being influenced by.
Rosenquist's work seemed to really vibe with the screenplay that Damon and Tara had created, and when I began brainstorming reference images for the show, Rosenquist’s work was always present, even when it was not an explicit reference.
With the spirit of Rosenquist in mind, my early talks with director Owen Harris were great fun. We didn’t rush into deciding things like what lenses or tools we needed to tell the story. Instead, we compiled photographs, music, painting, and, of course, shots from other movies and TV. After several days of this, the style of the show began to emerge.
DP Joe Anderson on the set of 'Mrs. Davis'Credit: Colleen Hayes
We shot on grainy 16mm film, and I lit the movie in a way that was slightly period accurate to the early 1980s. The result felt charmingly handmade and hopefully unique among a lot of technically pristine modern films.
Since one of the main themes in Mrs. Davis is humanity vs AI, this handmade quality is exactly what was needed. We chose to use a widescreen ratio—its ability to juxtapose characters and their environments within one frame emphasizes the surreal and comedic aspects of the story, while Caldwell Chameleon anamorphic lenses helped us to achieve a pre-digital look that gave the series an epic feel.
'Mrs. Davis'Credit: Peacock
Cinematography can have a similar power when the audience is aware they are watching a work of fiction yet are still drawn to the emotion and drama of a show. I think filmmakers try to erase all evidence of fiction by creating work that is technically perfect but unrelatable when they ignore that relationship, and the audience loses its connection to the storytelling.
For a complex project shot over two continents with storylines spanning centuries, the series was a lot of fun to work on. It was inspiring to shoot in medieval castles and gorgeous Gaudi buildings in Spain and in surreal, sun-soaked vistas full of pianos in southern California.
DP Joe Anderson on the set of 'Mrs. Davis'Credit: Colleen Hayes
The camaraderie that the huge crew and cast of over two dozen nuns managed to create was something I am very proud to have been a part of, and I think you can feel this on screen.
This post was written by Joe Anderson.
BAFTA Nominated Cinematographer Joe Anderson's credits include Mrs. Davis, Persuasion, Top Boy, The Old Man and the Gun, Christine, and Simon Killer.
