At the helm of one of the most visually striking films of the year, “The Brutalist,” was the steady precision of cinematographer Lol Crawley. And after a nearly twenty-year career of bold, celebrated work, he was honored tonight by the Academy with the Oscar for Best Cinematography. This is his first Oscar nomination and first win, and with what he has done with “The Brutalist,” it wouldn’t be shocking to see this be the only time we ever hear the Oscars call his name.
English born, Crawley started his career in television before breaking through into feature films with Lance Hammer’s 2008 film “Ballast,” and won the Sundance Cinematography award. From there on, his work consisted of celebrated work within the last two decades on films such as Chris Morris’ fantastic film “Four Lions,” the biopics “Hyde Park On Hudson” and “Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom,” and star-studded ensemble pieces like “The Devil All the Time” and “The Humans.” He’s also worked with prestige directors like Andrew Haigh’s for “45 Years,” and Noah Baumbach on his most recent film, “White Noise”.
But it’s his relationship with director Brady Corbet that has been the most rewarding, as Crawley has worked on all three of Corbet’s directorial efforts, including 2015’s “The Childhood of a Leader,” 2019’s “Vox Lux,” and “The Brutalist.” And after a decade of working together, Crawley has taken home the Oscar for his work on not just his longest-standing partnership in film but for the best work of his career so far.
READ MORE: ‘The Brutalist’: It’s A “Hard Job” But Brady Corbet Never Gives Up
For “The Brutalist,” Crawley recently won the BAFTA and the British Society of Cinematographers honor for Best Cinematography. He was also nominated for a Critics Choice Award and the American Society of Cinematographers Award.
The other nominees in this category included Jarin Blaschke (“Nosferatu”), Greig Fraser (“Dune: Part Two”), Paul Guilhaume (“Emilia Pérez”), and Edward Lachman (“Maria”).
