Whilst directors and cinematographers frequently take their visual inspirations from feature films, Hall says in this case the muses were of a more literary nature.

“I created a small reference book for Steven in pre-production, with film stills from A Touch Of Evil, The Third Man, Chinatown, Citizen Kane and Road To Perdition, as well as still photographs by Thomas Ruff, Joel Meyeorwitz and Saul Leiter. The only movie I really considered was Roman Polanski’s Knife In The Water (1962, DP Jerzy Lipman), for its exceptional camera placement and blocking entirely on-board the boat, which creates intense dramatic tension and realism.

“However my main references turned out to be from literary sources. The natural light in Mauritius is quite unique, with a soft purple in the shadows of the dusk light that penetrates the water and infuses it with a wonderful quality. Whilst we were out scouting on the boat one evening, Steven referred to Homer’s description of the ocean in ‘The Odyssey’, as “the wine dark sea”. It inspired me to read ‘The Odyssey’ as we began principal photography, and I began to see Baker Dill’s character as somewhat of a sea-bound hero on an epic voyage. During production, this drew me to frame him in lower-angle compositions, often against the wide sky or the taller architecture of his vessel.”