What's Going To Happen Next

David Lowery has a command of the medium. It shows in every second of footage I've seen from 'Ain't Them Bodies Saints'.

Anne Thompson did an interview with the director (very worth watching) in which he said he wanted each shot to have a purpose, and you certainly feel that. I haven't seen pure fluff shots from Lowery.

Lowery shoots so that you want to know what's just out of frame. How that is an indicator of good camera work I don't know, but I've noticed the same sort of thing in (good) movies that aren't shot with classical camera technique -- ones that use a lot of hand-held camera. Conversely, if you're wondering what's out of frame in a movie with classical camera work, it's often a sign of poor framing (although there must be times when everything is done just so and you still want to know what's out of frame).

Thompson mentions how Lowery has been compared to Terrence Malick. You can see the similarity but, to me, Lowery's work has more forward motion. You wonder what's going to happen next.

Malick's camera often meanders. Lowery's camera just looks like it's meandering when, really, it's purposeful and precise.