Great director-actor relationships can lead to some of the most prolific and successful productions in cinema history, with notable examples including Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan, and Quentin Tarantino and Samuel L. Jackson. However, perhaps even more infamous are the partnerships fans have always wanted to see but never gotten, and one of the most tragic of these is Leonardo DiCaprio and David Fincher. Many believe that the pair’s similarly artistic and passionate approaches to their work would make them a perfect pairing, but, alas, it has never come to pass. However, that doesn’t mean they’ve never worked together in any way, shape, or form. In fact, many years ago, the duo combined for a 36-second camera test that, despite having no context, feels like the teaser for a brilliant thriller. In doing so, Fincher and DiCaprio showed why fans are so desperate for a feature collaboration, as well as the importance of lighting and cinematography.
Leonardo DiCaprio e David Fincher se uniram para testar a câmera RED
Perhaps knowing the uproar such a collaboration would create, the test was never supposed to see the light of day. According to The Fincher Analyst, the footage was posted by RED founder Jim Jannard on Reduser.net and was done as a favor by Fincher and DiCaprio to Jannard. David Fincher estava filmando em Boston para The Social Network, e DiCaprio também estava finalizando Shutter Island na mesma área. De fato, o corredor que foi usado para filmar as imagens, apropriadamente intitulado “The Match”, já que foi iluminado apenas pela chama de um único fósforo, pode ser visto do lado oposto em The Social Network no timestamp 00:07:51, mostrando como isso realmente foi feito no dia, mas isso certamente não significa que não foi filmado com habilidade e atenção aos detalhes.
O teste RED de Leonardo DiCaprio e David Fincher é notavelmente tenso
The 36-second clip is incredibly simple, yet also radiates tension. DiCaprio sits in a dark room and lights his cigar with a match as the camera presses in on him. He seems to see something in the corner, behind the camera, and holds up the match to peer into the darkness before putting it out and leaving only his silhouette. It has no right to be as engaging as it is, and it reflects just how talented Fincher and DiCaprio are at building tension.
Cada filme de David Fincher e Brad Pitt, classificado
Um deles você não deveria nem falar sobre.
The darkness and central framing of DiCaprio as the camera slowly pushes in creates the sense of him being surrounded in a claustrophobic manner, slowly building on a creepy feeling which DiCaprio emphasizes with his intense, squinting stare into the darkness. By using a match, the flickering shadows keep the scene dynamic despite little movement beyond some hand gestures from DiCaprio. It feels like it could easily fit into a thriller no estilo de Fincher, com DiCaprio assombrado por alguns arrependimentos do passado, e tudo isso é feito com um charuto, um fósforo e sombras.
Leonardo DiCaprio pode colaborar com David Fincher em um futuro próximo
It’s always wonderful to see two creatives come together, but this test is almost maddening in how it teases fans by proving just how good Fincher and DiCaprio would be if they worked together. Of course, with Fincher being 63 and DiCaprio being 51, there is still time for these two to find the right project to collaborate on. While DiCaprio poderia se juntar à sequência de Fincher do filme de Tarantino Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, que a Netflix está produzindo e chamando de The Adventures of Cliff Booth, que seguiria o personagem de Brad Pitt do primeiro filme. No entanto, esses apenas relatam o potencial de uma participação especial do Dalton de DiCaprio, em vez de um papel totalmente desenvolvido para DiCaprio.
Pode ser que os fãs tenham que esperar muito tempo antes da próxima oportunidade para esses dois titãs da indústria cinematográfica se unirem e mesmo assim compromissos de agenda ou negociações contratuais podem atrapalhar. Mas considerando quão ótimo foi esse material de teste de 36 segundos, sua parceria valeria mais do que a espera. Pelo menos por enquanto, os fãs têm algo para se aprofundar e há muito mais substância nisso do que aparenta à primeira vista.
The Adventures of Cliff Booth deve ser lançado em 2026.
