Line #9 Creator/DenisVilleneuve


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/denisvilleneuve_2.jpg]]
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3	Denis Villeneuve (French: [dəni vilnœv][[note]]sounds like "duh-NEE vil-NUV"; his surname is ''not'' pronounced[=/=]spelled [[RougeAnglesOfSatin "Villenueve" or "Villanueve"]][[/note]]; born October 3, 1967 in Bécancour) is a Canadian director and screenwriter from French-speaking UsefulNotes/{{Quebec}}.
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5	Since the 2010s, he has earned continuous critical praise for the films he's directed, many of them revolving around the {{thriller}} and {{science fiction}} genres. These include ''Film/{{Prisoners}}'', ''Film/{{Sicario}}'', and ''Film/{{Arrival}}''; for the lattermost film, he received 3 MediaNotes/AcademyAward nominations, including [[MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestPicture Best Picture]] and [[MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestDirecting Best Director]]. He received the prize of Director of the Decade from the Hollywood Critics Association in December 2019.
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7	Similar to Creator/TheCoenBrothers and Creator/SamMendes, common traits of his films include visually inventive and stunning cinematography (often aided by [[{{Chiaroscuro}} dramatic uses of light and dark]]), very deliberate pacing used to build tension, and recurring themes of human trauma and identity captured in unflinching manner, with the end result being a complex, atmospheric filmgoing experience.
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9	From the late 2010s onward following his rise in prominence, Villeneuve has taken on very ambitious directorial challenges in the sci-fi genre building off his experience on ''Arrival'', namely [[Film/BladeRunner2049 the sequel]] to ''Film/BladeRunner'' and a [[Film/Dune2021 new]] [[Film/DunePartTwo adaptation]] of ''Literature/{{Dune}}''. He's also collaborated on ''Series/DuneProphecy'', a live-action SpinOff series [[ExpandedUniverse set in his film's universe]] for Creator/{{Max}}.
10	----
11	!!Filmography
12	[[index]]
13	* ''August 32nd on Earth'' (1998)
14	* ''Maelstrom'' (2000)
15	* ''Next Floor'' (Short) (2008)
16	* ''Film/{{Polytechnique}}'' (2009)
17	* ''Film/{{Incendies}}'' (2010)
18	* ''Film/{{Prisoners}}'' (2013)
19	* ''Film/{{Enemy}}'' (2013)
20	* ''Film/{{Sicario}}'' (2015)
21	* ''Film/{{Arrival}}'' (2016)
22	* ''Film/BladeRunner2049'' (2017)
23	* [[/index]]''Franchise/{{Dune}}'':[[index]]
24	** ''[[Film/{{Dune2021}} Dune: Part One]]'' (2021)
25	** ''Film/DunePartTwo'' (2024)
26	** ''Series/DuneProphecy'' (2024)
27	** ''Dune Messiah'' (TBA)
28	* ''Nuclear War: A Scenario'' (TBA)
29	[[/index]]
30
31	!!Tropes from his works
32	* AssociatedComposer: He worked with Music/JohannJohannsson on ''Film/{{Prisoners}}'', ''Film/{{Sicario}}'' and ''Film/{{Arrival}}''. Jóhannsson was also working on ''Film/BladeRunner2049'' before being replaced by Music/HansZimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch. Jóhannsson sadly passed away in February 2018. Zimmer, who went on to score ''Film/{{Dune\|2021}}'', appears set to take over this role for Villeneuve.
33	* AuteurLicense: Much like Creator/ChristopherNolan, to whom he is frequently compared, the so-far unbroken critically acclaimed streak of Villeneuve's films (his '''worst'''-reviewed film, ''Enemy'' has [[SarcasmMode a measly]] 74% approval rating on Website/RottenTomatoes) means that he basically has a blank check to make whatever kind of movies he wants. Even after ''Blade Runner 2049'', his biggest-budget production to date, [[AcclaimedFlop lost money]], he still got free reins to adapt ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' into another big-budget sci-fi movie aimed at adult audiences, which ended up successful enough to ensure the full adaptation of the novel into two films (the first film covers roughly the first half of the book).
34	* CentralTheme:
35	** A person's individual sanity.
36	** The destructive and dehumanizing effects of violence.
37	* {{Chiaroscuro}}: His films are ''really'' good at this. Many of his films feature scenes set in extremely dark, shadowed interiors (''Prisoners'', ''Enemy''), blindingly bright white sunlight (''Sicario''), or a mixture of both (''Arrival'', ''Blade Runner 2049'').
38	* DeathOfAChild: Child endangerment, child abuse and child murder happen frequently in his filmography, in part due to his obsession with the themes of [[InnocenceLost loss of innocence]] and of parents unable to protect their children from the dangers of the world. Even ''Arrival'' features a child dying of a terminal illness.
39	* NonProtagonistResolver: In ''Film/{{Prisoners}},'' ''Film/{{Enemy}},'' and ''Film/{{Sicario}},'' the film's deuteragonist resolves the central conflict.
40	* OneWordTitle: ''Maelstrom'', ''Polytechnique'', ''Incendies'', ''Prisoners'', ''Enemy'', ''Sicario'', ''Arrival'' and ''Dune''.
41	* SceneryPorn: His collaborations with cinematographers like Bradford Young and Roger Deakins resulted in stunning-looking films, as ''Arrival'' and ''Blade Runner 2049'' can attest (the latter of which finally won Deakins an Oscar after thirteen previous nominations).
42	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: While several of his films fall on the very cynical end of the spectrum, films like ''Arrival'' can be heavily optimistic and ''Blade Runner 2049'' ended on an happy, if slightly bittersweet, note.
43	* ViolenceIsDisturbing: Especially in ''Polytechnique'', ''Incendies'', ''Prisoners'' and ''Sicario''. While violence is infrequent, tension lingers in almost every frame and when violence is shown, it is always ugly, brutal and dispiriting for all involved. He also uses a lot of GoryDiscretionShot to prevent the violence from ever becoming stylized and to make the audience reflect on its aftermath rather than on the violence itself. Even ''Blade Runner 2049'', easily his most stylized and "unrealistic" film yet, contains violence that is only portrayed as painful, grotesque and impactful. And though ''Dune'' has some conventionally awe-inspiring fight scenes, this is counterbalanced by the WarIsHell themes of the movie, and its protagonist's psychological struggle with having to kill.

Context Creator / DenisVilleneuve