When The Lonely Island’s film “Palm Springs” premiered at Sundance in January 2020 it sold for $17.5 million dollars - and 69 cents. No one knew what life would look like a few months later, when the entire planet would be brought to a stand-still by a deadly pandemic.
In Palm Springs, Nyles get’s trapped in an endless time loop. He lives the same day over and over again filling his time with otherwise insane shenanigans. His routine is interrupted when Sarah accidentally enters the time loop and the pair must figure out how to coexist.
The film reflected pandemic life perfectly, everyone on Earth was liking the same day over and over again just like Nyles. The film was critically acclaimed and got a 96% Rotten tomatoes rating.
To tell the story of sameness - that also feels new with every scene the team leaned on primary colors and soft textures. Nyles wears one red shirt the entire time (it’s 2018 Ralph Lauren Summer Collection) and Sarah wears one blue tank top (it’s custom). The scenes are designed to have large blocks of solid color - a big blue sky, a shiny teal pool, a bright pink and yellow tubes call come together to bring a sense of comfort to this weird world.
The filmmakers cleverly set these colors against the natural and neutral colors of the Palm Springs dessert. The story stands out against the endless dessert and makes us all fall in love.
References:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/palm-springs-hulu-set-design
