Cinematographer Sam Levy Captures a Portrait of a Family with His Three Daughters

When taking a family portrait, the right photographer can be the difference between just another picture and something that’s truly unforgettable. His Three Daughters, the acclaimed new film from writer-director Azazel Jacobs, captures one of the most dramatic chapters in the story of any family: the passing of a parent. The choice of a cinematographer had to be perfect, and Jacobs certainly put the right set of eyes behind the camera when he called Sam Levy. 

“I’ve been a fan of Aza Jacobs’ films for years,” Levy says. A seasoned master of his craft, Levy has served as director of photography on films for such celebrated directors as Kelly Reichardt, Rachel Miller, Noah Baumbach, and Greta Gerwig. When Levy met Jacobs at a screening in New York, the two formed an immediate connection and a collaboration was almost inevitable. Jacobs, whose previous films include The Lovers (2017) and French Exit (2020), shot a commercial with Levy before contacting him for weeks later about stepping behind the camera with him again for His Three Daughters. “We just went for a walk,” Levy says. “We hung out in the park on the Lower East Side where we both lived, and he described his concept for the film that he wanted to make.” His Three Daughters tells the story of three grown-up sisters–Katie (Carrie Coon), Christina (Elizabeth Olsen), and Rachel (Natasha Lyonne)–who reunite for a turbulent three weeks spent together in a their ailing father’s New York apartment as he approaches the end of his life. Jacobs envisioned a film in the style of the French new wave filmmakers such as Jean-Luc Goddard, using a small crew, a single camera, and shooting on 35-millimeter film.  “He was describing my great dream project,” Levy says. “It was exactly what I’d hoped would come to fruition.”  While only a small number of movies are shot on film in the modern digital age, the prospect of shooting on 35-millimeter appealed greatly to Levy and was a must for Jacobs.  “It was his vision. It was important,” Levy says.  The director and cinematographer agreed that film would bring a more visceral quality to the movie that would serve it visually, thematically and spiritual. “It’s a film that deals with mortality and the human condition,” Levy says. “There’s the interplay between life and death that the characters are inhabiting and discussing. And film really does meet up with all those themes incredibly well because of its tactile quality, and because of how it renders faces. And it’s like a kind of voluptuous unpredictability.”

Levy and Jacobs started scouting locations, looking at apartments in New York before setting on place that really spoke to them. As it happened, the place they chose was only a 10 minute walk from Levy’s home, and the cinematographer took advantage of this opportunity to become intimately familiar with the small dwelling that serves as the setting, and almost as a character of its own, in His Three Daughters. Kendall Anderson, a friend who worked as a set decorator on Confess, Fletch with Levy in 2022, served as production designer on His Three Daughters, and didn’t mind Levy invading her space during pre-production. “She did a beautiful job,” Levy says. “And while she and her team were designing and decorating the apartment, I would just walk over there and take photos and, you know, sit in the chair and look at the light and live with the light and just dream a little bit…. you really savor each moment of prep.” The time spent at the location allowed Levy to give a great deal of thought to the lighting of the film while he was right there on the spot, which proved incredibly valuable. “I would study the light at the different times of day, and study the light that would come from adjacent buildings at night.” Levy says.  And when, when cars would sometimes drive by, what was important was to elevate beyond that. Levy wanted a butterscotch amber color for the lighting inside the apartment, which he achieved by I would pushing Tungsten lamps through sheets of unbleached muslin.

This coloring was particularly important to Levy for a pivotal sequence where the three sisters are embroiled in a fierce argument. “I really wanted that color to be very distinct and kind of unnatural,” Levy says. “It’s like they’ve gone into like a glowing orb of conflict.”  When the footage for the sequence came back from being processed in the lab, the color was more pronounced than Levy has even intended it to be, and worked perfectly for desired effect. The few sequences that take place outdoors are centered on Rachel, who goes to the parking lot to smoke marijuana. “There’s some great night exterior moments,” Levy says. “She’s in a big courtyard, and those are some of our bigger lighting setups. And those, I wanted to be this kind of absinthe green.” The final section of the film, which takes place in the early morning hours, was given a soft blue hue. “Sometimes it’s not necessarily ‘Which lights am I gonna use to get this effect?’” Levy says. “Sometimes the question is more like: ‘What color could this be?’”

As His Three Daughters debuts on Netflix following a limited theatrical run, it joins Wendy (2020) and Lucy (2008) and Lady Bird (2017) as one of Levy’s most acclaimed films. Whether seen in theaters or at home, the film leaves a lasting impression, and the vivid imagery of Sam Levy’s pictures with remain imprinted on the minds and hearts of audiences everywhere.

Read more film reviews:
Film Review: His Three Daughters 
Film Review: Milk & Serial