Editor’s Note: The following interview contains spoilers for the series finale of “Euphoria.”
Over the course of three seasons, HBO‘s “Euphoria” has showcased some of the most ambitious and original filmmaking of its era, not just on television but on screens of any size.
It’s become a cliché to describe TV shows as “cinematic” (especially since the vast majority are still limited to the kind of pedestrian coverage that has barely evolved since the days of D.W. Griffith), but “Euphoria” is one of the few shows with a genuinely sophisticated and innovative visual language thanks to creator, writer, and director Sam Levinson‘s ability to synthesize influences as varied as “Magnolia,” Sam Peckinpah, and “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman” and then build on those reference points to create something truly singular.
One reason the show’s visual style has been so consistently ambitious is Levinson’s work with collaborators at the top of their game, from cinematographer Marcell Rév (who shot much of Season 3 using a new 65mm film stock) and production designer François Audouy (who joined the show this season and created audacious set pieces like the “50-foot woman” sequence) to supervising editor Julio C. Perez IV, who orchestrates the show’s wild tonal shifts and myriad plot lines. For Levinson, collaboration is a circular rather than a linear process, in which his scripts guide the department heads but then evolve in response to their choices and input.
”I think people do their best work when they feel free to dream,” Levinson told IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “I know I do, so I try to replicate the circumstances that I give myself to all of my department heads. I’m very upfront about the idea that there are no bad ideas. Swing for the fences, and if something doesn’t work, we’ll find a new idea. At the same time, because I’m writing and directing it, there’s not a number of layers I need to go through in order to make something happen. It’s pretty easy to tweak something if need be.”
With that in mind, Levinson tries to keep an open mind throughout the process so that he can be receptive to the happy accidents that emerge in prep and on set. “I think it’s really important to remain open to the mistakes and inspirations that happen while shooting,” Levinson said, noting that the shorthand he has developed with his actors over the course of nearly 10 years helps create an atmosphere in which everyone feels free to take risks.
“They arrive on set with a certain comfort and security knowing that I’m not going to allow them to fail, which I think gives them a baseline of confidence,” Levinson said. “On top of that, I try to work the performance until it’s better than I imagined in my head. I studied method acting for four years. I know all of these characters’ backstories, everything that has happened, so in my head, I’ve got a pretty good sense of what a great performance is. But I will keep going, and keep working it until it surpasses that.”
As wild as “Euphoria” can get — part of the design of the show from its inception was to mirror the hectic, unpredictable nature of the internet — Levinson insists that everything is based in those performances first and foremost. “Performance trumps everything,” Levinson said. “It trumps logic, it trumps tone. So that’s the baseline, and in terms of the irony and humor, I think it’s always important for it never to feel cartoonish or forced. If a scene is funny, it needs to come from an authentic place emotionally. As soon as they become cartoon characters, that’s when I tune out.”
Although the series has inspired strong reactions since the beginning, Levinson says he tries to block those out when writing and directing. “I know the noise it creates, but it doesn’t influence my creative process. I think it’s really important to make sure that the intentions of the show come from a pure and honest place. I know that people are attached to certain characters. I know that, in general, people want the characters to live happy, wonderful lives because they love them. But that’s not true to who these characters are. These are characters that make poor decisions.”
In the series finale, lead character Rue’s (Zendaya) poor decisions finally catch up with her when [spoiler alert] strip joint impresario Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) gives her a lethal dose of fentanyl, an action that leads Rue’s sponsor Ali (Colman Domingo) to seek revenge at Alamo’s Silver Slipper club. The pervasive Western influence on Season 3 reaches its apotheosis in this sequence, an elaborately choreographed shoot-out with echoes of Peckinpah and Akira Kurosawa. Like Kurosawa, Levinson is a master of acclimating the viewer to the space in which he’s shooting — meaning that his action set piece is complex without ever becoming confusing.
“I couldn’t wait to shoot that sequence,” Levinson said. “We had somewhere around 10 or 12 actors in this space, and we needed to understand the geography of it and tease it out so the stakes could cumulate.” Levinson took inspiration from an old Western, “Day of the Outlaw,” and built the set piece around a bottle rolling on a bar. “I knew that’s what I needed to build toward, but in terms of the planning, it’s Marcel and I sitting down and writing a loose shot list and doing a light rehearsal.”
Although the sequence is meticulously choreographed, Levinson said most of that work is done on set rather than in prep. “I don’t want to lock it in too specifically, because I want to allow the actors a certain kind of freedom,” Levinson said. With that in mind, he shot the scene in chronological order so that it could evolve organically. “We just continue to build it and make sure that every single shot is advancing the story. We’re not just doing random coverage, we’re really trying to make sure that it’s progressing.”
Levinson said that he wanted to emulate what Steven Spielberg does in films like “Jurassic Park.” “I think of how my son, who’s nine years old, watches a movie,” Levinson said. “I took him to the Hollywood Bowl to see ‘Jurassic Park’ with John Williams conducting a live orchestra, and it’s just fascinating to watch him experience that movie, because Spielberg is so good at allowing every shot to answer a question and pose a new question. My son would turn to me: ‘What’s going to happen?’ And the next shot answers it.”
Levinson shot Season 3 of “Euphoria” like one long movie, with an epic shooting schedule: 178 days, not including prep. “It’s a really intense experience, physically and emotionally,” Levinson said. “But at the same time, there’s nothing in the world I’d rather be doing. It’s the best job in the world, and I try to keep a certain amount of humility while shooting. I always ask myself, ‘Am I getting it? Is this the best version?’ I tell my wife, who’s also my producing partner, ‘If I ever feel too confident, tell me I’m missing something.’”
Now that “Euphoria” is behind him, Levinson said the primary feeling he’s left with is one of gratitude. “I’m deeply proud of the work we did, and I’m also really proud of all of our departments and all of our actors,” Levinson said. “There’s an enormous amount of gratitude that we were able to even tell this story. It wasn’t easy. There were quite a few obstacles, but I think we did something pretty radical and thrilling. Anytime you come off of a long shoot, your adrenaline starts to dip. But I’m happy with the work, and I get to spend a little more time with my wife and kids, and that’s what matters at the end of the day. I’m excited to watch some Marx Brothers and Jackie Chan with them and start to dream about the possibilities of what’s next.”
“Euphoria” is now streaming on HBO Max. To hear the entire conversation with Sam Levinson and make sure you don’t miss a single episode of Filmmaker Toolkit, subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.
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