James Laxton on the Visual Scope of Beef

Cinematographer James Laxton has revealed how the visual language of Netflix’s ‘Beef’ evolved for its second season, explaining that the series expanded its cinematic scope through the use of 65mm film to deepen the emotional and psychological landscape of its characters. In an interview with IndieWire published on April 18, 2026, Laxton discussed the technical and artistic choices behind Season 2, particularly highlighting a pivotal single shot that visually unites the estranged protagonists, Danny and Amy, in a moment of quiet convergence.

Laxton, known for his work on ‘Moonlight’ and ‘If Beale Street Could Talk,’ explained that the decision to shoot Season 2 on 65mm film was driven by a desire to amplify the internal states of the characters through texture, depth, and light. “We wanted the image to feel almost tactile — like you could reach into the frame and feel the weight of what they’re carrying,” he said. The larger negative format allowed for greater resolution and dynamic range, which the cinematographer used to emphasize isolation in wide landscapes and intimacy in confined spaces, mirroring the characters’ emotional oscillations between detachment and yearning.

The most discussed sequence in the season, according to Laxton, is a dawn-lit wide shot that brings Danny (Steven Yeun) and Amy (Ali Wong) into the same frame without direct interaction. Set against a desolate stretch of highway near the Mojave Desert, the image captures both characters at opposite ends of the composition — Danny walking toward the horizon, Amy paused in her vehicle — united by light, geometry, and silence. “It’s not a meeting,” Laxton clarified. “It’s a recognition, felt more than spoken. The 65mm negative holds that space between them with a clarity that smaller formats couldn’t sustain.”

This visual approach marks a deliberate shift from the first season, which was shot primarily on digital Alexa LF cameras and leaned into tight, claustrophobic framing to reflect the escalating tension of the road rage incident that ignites the feud. For Season 2, Laxton and showrunner Lee Sung Jin sought to externalize the internal — using the expansive quality of 65mm to visualize how trauma, guilt, and the search for meaning ripple outward, affecting not just the central figures but the world around them.

The use of 65mm film is rare in television due to its cost, logistical demands, and limited availability of equipment and processing labs. Laxton noted that the production worked closely with Kodak and a specialized lab in Los Angeles to develop custom workflows that allowed for daily dailies review without compromising the film’s integrity. “It was a commitment,” he said. “But the format rewards patience. There’s a grain structure, a roll-off in highlights, a way the shadows breathe — it becomes part of the storytelling.”

‘Beef’ Season 2 premiered on Netflix on April 5, 2026, continuing the anthology format with a new storyline while retaining the core cast in transformed roles. Yeun and Wong reprise their characters but are now portrayed as individuals attempting to rebuild their lives after the events of Season 1, only to be drawn back into psychological entanglement through circumstance and unresolved inner conflict. The season also introduces new characters played by Maria Bello and Joseph Lee, whose intersecting storylines expand the series’ meditation on rage, redemption, and the quiet desperation beneath suburban life.

Critics have noted the season’s heightened visual ambition, with several pointing to the 65mm cinematography as a defining feature. The series has been described as a “cinematic tone poem” that uses landscape and light to explore the limits of communication and the possibility of connection in a fractured world. Laxton’s collaboration with production designer Jade Healy and cinematographer’s assistant Kira Evans was cited as instrumental in achieving the season’s cohesive visual tone, particularly in the careful selection of locations that naturally convey emotional subtext — abandoned motels, frozen lakes, and endless stretches of asphalt.

When asked about the influence of still photography on his approach, Laxton referenced the works of Gregory Crewdson and Edward Hopper, noting how their use of staged stillness and psychological tension informed the composition of key scenes. “We weren’t illustrating dialogue,” he said. “We were trying to make the silence between words visible.” This philosophy extends to the sound design, which often recedes to allow the image to carry emotional weight — a choice Laxton described as “trusting the frame to speak.”

As television continues to blur the lines with feature film in both ambition and execution, ‘Beef’ Season 2 stands as a notable example of how streaming platforms are enabling cinematic experimentation within episodic formats. By embracing 65mm film — a format traditionally reserved for prestige cinema and large-scale productions — the series asserts its commitment to visual storytelling as an equal partner to narrative and performance. For Laxton, the goal was never simply to look beautiful, but to use the medium’s unique properties to reveal what words cannot: the space between anger and understanding, isolation and the faint hope of being seen.