Michael Rymer makes tense, actor-led genre drama, and we rate his work on Battlestar Galactica highly. His documentary-style approach makes the science fiction convincing, though the seriousness can become wearing.
Fi1m perspective
In Battlestar Galactica (2004), the documentary-style photography helps make the tension credible. Michael Rymer established that approach in the 2003 miniseries and carried it into his work on the series. It suits his strength in ensemble drama: the science fiction has people worth paying attention to. We found the persistent gloom wearing, even while the tense storytelling and the ensemble led by Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell kept us watching. That is a substantial achievement, though not always a comfortable evening.
He came to television after writing and directing his Australian debut, Angel Baby (1995), then making US features including In Too Deep (1999) and Queen of the Damned (2002). The last of those is a useful warning about his limits: busy, fragmented storytelling with too little substance to support it. It nevertheless led to the Battlestar Galactica opportunity. Television gave his ability to handle ensemble genre drama a more substantial outlet, without requiring us to pretend that the features were a steady march of progress.
His work with actors explains why the shift makes sense. He encourages truthful behaviour and improvisation, drawing on his own acting training. That is useful in a complicated genre story, where an actor still has to persuade us to care about someone whose circumstances may need considerable explanation. Writer-producer Ronald D. Moore and producer David Eick are among his collaborators; there is no need to give Rymer sole credit to value his contribution. The documentary look in Battlestar Galactica would count for little if the performances felt posed.
On Hannibal (2013), his direction of multiple episodes, including season finales, put his ability to handle complicated stories to further use. Those assignments make sense for a director who can establish a programme's tone and remain useful once the story is under way. Start with Battlestar Galactica, provided its persistent darkness sounds like something to settle into rather than endure.
Biography
Michael Rymer is an Australian film and television director and writer. Born in Melbourne, he studied at the University of Southern California film school.
Rymer directed the 2003 Battlestar Galactica miniseries and multiple episodes of the 2004 series, on which he also received writing credits. His other feature film work includes Queen of the Damned (2002) and In Too Deep (1999). He has directed episodes of series including American Horror Story, Hannibal, Jessica Jones and The Man in the High Castle.
His directorial debut Angel Baby (1995) won seven Australian Film Institute Awards, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
