Entrance Romance (It Felt Like A Kiss)
Directed by Ryan McGinley
Produced by The Custom Family
Music composed by Ben Morseberger
Released on June 24, 2010
Distributed by NOWNESS
Shot with a Phantom camera (capable of capturing video at over 1000 frames per second), Entrance Romance sees the all-American beauty, Carolyn Murphy (since 2002, the face of Estée Lauder) cheerfully turning a can of WD-40 into a flame thrower, passionately kissing a dog and smiling serenely as a bowl of goldfish smashes over her head.
click to show Murphy notes: "I think we did the fishbowl scene in just one take. As soon as it cracked against my head, everyone dove down and scrambled to pick up the goldfish. None were hurt in the making of this film!" The film's collision of innocence and thrill should be familiar to fans of the photographer's previous work—carefree, hazy shots of teenagers jumping off cliffs, skinny dipping or cavorting in remote locations (and earlier this year, McGinley debuted a film for Pringle of Scotland featuring Tilda Swinton in a forest and caves)—but here the action is exquisitely drawn out, with the camera registering the most minute changes in Murphy's expression. Despite the relentless focus, her face remains unflinchingly calm, emphasized by soft, beachy makeup, luminous golden lighting, and a meditative, chant-led soundtrack, all of which provide an intriguing contrast to the film's explosions of glass shards. "We thought about going with a really rough punk rock look," makeup artist James Kaliardos says. "But Ryan loved the idea of showing this iconic, fresh-faced Californian girl in an entirely new context, so I did fresh, 70s "no-makeup" makeup. We wanted her to look happy and in control, but still vulnerable." So she does—and her bliss is infectious.
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