After the Wedding cinematographer Julio Macat talks to us about the beauty of the film

After the Wedding is a new drama film starring Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, and Billy Crudup. We spoke with the film’s cinematographer, Julio Macat.

If the name After the Wedding sounds somewhat familiar, you may have seen the 2006 film of the same name that starred Mads Mikkelson. The 2019 film is a remake of the movie, but the roles have been swapped to make the two leads female instead of male.

Isabel (Michelle Williams) is the co-founder of an orphanage in Kolkata. She travels to New York to meet with a potential benefactor named Theresa (Julianne Moore). The day of their meeting happens to fall right before Theresa’s daughter is set to be married. Isabel winds up in attendance at the wedding and suddenly finds her past coming back to haunt her.

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With such an esteemable cast and dramatic story, it’s hard to resist the allure of a film like After the Wedding. Accomplished cinematographer, Julio Macat, whose work you’ve previously seen in movies like Home Alone, The Wedding Planner, Pitch Perfect, and A Walk to Remember, chatted with us about the process of crafting an intimate and meaningful film and what it was like working with incredible actors like Moore and Williams.

Hidden Remote: What attracted you to a project like After the Wedding?

Julio Macat: Bart Freundlich [the film’s director] is a friend of mine. He’s been a friend of mine since we did the Kristen Stewart film, Catch That Kid. I wanted to do a dramatic movie. When he got the chance to adapt the story for After the Wedding, and he told me about it, I jumped at the opportunity.

HR: For a dramatic movie with such a strong ensemble cast, can you tell us what it was like working with Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, and Billy Crudup?

JM: It was like driving a Ferarri. It was unbelievable. Julianne is just so good. I knew Julianne, but I didn’t know Michelle Williams. I got to know her. We did a make-up test at the beginning of the shoot. I wanted to make sure that she knew I’m a cameraman who is concerned about making actors look good.

In this film, especially, we wanted to make sure the camerawork was conducive to enhancing the performances. We chose to shoot with a wide-screen format. We shot with the ALEXA 65 camera – the equivalent of a 70 mm camera. So, we could do two main things: Make sure the film had a big-film scope in the wide angles and also to use the wide format to get very personal with the close-ups so that we could connect to the actors.

HR: I think that makes sense. The film has an intimate nature, and you guys wanted to create a similar feeling with the camera.

JM: That’s right. We were careful to make the camera physically close enough to the actor to be able to play that wide-frame to the advantage of conveying solitude or a personal moment relevant to the scene. Do you know those movies from the ’80s that were personal and story-driven? We wanted to ensure the camera didn’t get in the way of the storytelling.

HR: The movie is a remake, did that factor into your approach? Did you want it to stand apart from the original or emulate it?

JM: The film was done so well by Susanne Bier, and in a fashion that was popular in 2006 – which was with a handheld camera. It was immediate and incorporated the audience into the movement.

It was done so well that we wanted to go in a completely different direction. We went in the direction of classical storytelling. We wanted to create frames that were strong to hold the audience’s attention and give an indie film more of the feel of a bigger picture.

HR: What was the most rewarding part about working on the film?

JM: The most rewarding thing for me is that it was the first time I cried behind the lens. There is a scene where Julianne loses it towards the end of the film. I was so involved in the story. Both times she was so convincing in her performance, I was weeping through the lens, and that has never happened before. It got to me, as I hope it does with the audience. Have you seen the film?

HR: No, unfortunately, not yet! Hopefully, it will be available here soon.

JM: Well, you’ll have to take a girlfriend and bring a hankie! It’s just wonderful to see two powerful women characters take the lead of the film. It’s a nice throwback, again, to the movies we used to make that we don’t make enough of anymore.

HR: I read that you guys were able to film in both New York and in India. Do you feel the different locations helped access the story better?

JM: Definitely because the film starts out establishing an orphanage in India. Interestingly, we only had four days of filming in India.

We prepared for a week, but we had to go to South India where it wasn’t raining because there were monsoons in August. We ended up in a little place about 100 miles from Sri Lanka.

The people there were so well-dressed and adorned with beautiful outfits. We had a hard time finding an orphanage that was dilapidated in the way it was written in the story. We had to create our own. So we did film there for four days, and then the rest of the shoot was done in New York.

HR: That sounds like a great experience. I hope the film does really well for you guys.

JM: I hope so. It exposes the secrets sometimes that families have and how people try to do the best they can under the circumstances. It’s nobody’s fault, life just happens, and I love the way that the film unravels the reasons behind peoples’ actions.

I thought Michelle Williams did an amazing job of portraying so much with her expressions, her eyes, and it was important for the camera to be there as a silent witness. Of course, Julianne Moore is amazing at everything she does. She’s fully committed. Billy Crudup was also really on top of his performance. I think Abby Quinn was rounding it off. The young actress rose to the occasion. She wrote the song at the end of the movie. It’s a beautiful, haunting tune.

I’ve done 40 movies in my career, and it’s only happened twice that you have the combination of a script that’s really strong, performances that are beautiful, top-notch, and the photography and editing follow and the music beautifully scored by Mychael Danna. It doesn’t often happen in your career, the opportunity for things to come together like a beautifully composed piece of music. I’m happy I was able to be a part of it.

HR: I can’t wait to see the film, and I wish you guys all the luck with the movie and with your future projects!

JM: Wonderful, thank you, Madison.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

After the Wedding is now playing in select theaters nationwide.