Yes, the movie was a bit weird. Yes, the movie was surreal with its winding time line. But there were two smaller stylistic decisions that attracted my attention- one for the betterment of the film and the other as a distraction. A brilliance on the film is the use of shadow and darkness within the bedroom scenes. Where as many times the outside world is lit significantly softer, in a pastel pallet. It is reminiscent of Goya palette within his court painting, and stirred a fair amount of emotion, which is his fingerprint upon the Spain art scene.
The stylistic choice I had the largest issue with was the disparaging interplay between a contemporary aesthetic and the romantic empire style of the set. When Goys interacts with the outside world either in his memory or in his current time, the style is historically detailed. However, there are scenes in which Goys enters his own mind, either speaking with himself in the past or future, and at that moment we find ourselves within a set with distinct and clear contrast between a utter blackness and a graphic representation of Los Caprichos for example. These images, and their source of inspiration/imagination were not molded into any wondrous dreamscape. Rather they were plopped down into place outside of time or place, outside of any contextual setting and blown up in a presentational style that would suit instillation art, not the mind of a 19th century artist. They were plotted down into an empty mind dressed as a blacked-out sound stage.
