Normal People (2020)

After reading the novel, I’m rewatching Normal People, and I forgot just how beautiful this series is. It has some stunning wide and extreme wide shots. It uses them to establish emotional space rather than location. These shots reminds us how lonely both Connell and Marianne feel.

The show also finds a unique way to shoot the character, so rather than placing the camera at eye level, these shots position it somewhere unexpected. In the classroom shot, the camera sits well above the students, making Connell seem swallowed by the room.

He’s surrounded by people, but this angle emphasizes absence. The room feels larger and emptier because Connell is looking for Marianne and she isn’t there.

The second shot with Marianne the camera is placed low on the dining on the travel and Marianne is out of focus in the distance while the book is in sharp focus.

It’s an unusual angle that creates layers within the shot. This moment occurs after Connel asks to borrow Marianne’s book.The perspective makes the book feel like a bridge between Connell and Marianne. It’s in focus because it’s they had an important quiet moment.