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Rachel Morrison

Rachel Morrison

Cinematographer and director, also producer · Born April 27, 1978 (48) · Massachusetts, USA

Oscar nominee · Primetime Emmy nominee · 1 other major award body

Rachel Morrison (born April 27, 1978) is an American cinematographer and director. For her work on Mudbound (2017), Morrison became the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. She has twice worked with director Ryan Coogler, as a cinematographer on the films Fruitvale Station (2013) and Black Panther (2018). Morrison's feature film directorial debut is the biographical sports drama The Fire Inside (2024). Description above from the Wikipedia article Rachel Morrison, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
April 27, 1978 (48)
From
Massachusetts, USA
Works as
Cinematographer and director, also producer
Titles
25 on MovieCove · 33 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Up 12% in 30 days

What are Rachel Morrison's films like?

Across their 18 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.

Genres

Drama8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 67th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Biography4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 75th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 43rd percentile
: browse their Comedy movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
29%
Society
18%
Morality
18%
Bonds
16%
Survival
12%
Power
6%
Ideas
1%
Family bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition4 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 16 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 9

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 13 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 3 · Charged 5 · Intense 8

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 11 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 12 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 4 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 3

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 3 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 10

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 8 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
9
Melancholic
7
Hopeful
6
Contemplative
5
Warm
4
Other
15

How their films linger

Hopeful7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteInfuriating3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet10
  • Tragic2
  • Ambiguous2
  • Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Rachel Morrison's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 22 of their 25 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Rachel Morrison's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

33 credits, 25 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Love of Your Life(2026)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • The Fire Inside(2024)

    Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • They Call Me Magic(2022)

    Show 4 episodes · Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows

  • Homemade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Writer

  • Hightown(2020)

    Show 4 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows

  • Seberg(2019)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • The Mandalorian(2019)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows

  • The Morning Show(2019)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all shows

  • Black Panther(2018)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Mudbound(2017)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Confirmation(2016)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • American Crime Story(2016)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • Quantico(2015)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all shows

  • Dope(2015)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • The Harvest(2013)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • American Crime(2015)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows

  • What Happened, Miss Simone?(2015)

    Additional Photography

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Cake(2014)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Little Accidents(2014)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • Druid Peak(2014)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Fruitvale Station(2013)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Some Girl(s) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Cinematographer

  • Dorfman in Love(2011)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • Any Day Now(2012)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie(2012)

    Camera Operator · Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • Last Words of the Holy Ghost (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Cinematographer

  • The Terrys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Cinematographer

  • Sound of My Voice(2011)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Palo Alto, CA (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Cinematographer

  • Redemption Maddie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Writer

  • Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County(2007)

    Show Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all shows

  • Just an American Boy: A Film About Steve Earle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Cinematographer

  • The Savant (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

Career shape

A full career of 32 titles, 31 of them dated from 2003 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Black Panther (2018)

$1.3B worldwide

Highest rated

Fruitvale Station (2013)

Midcredits 95th

Most popular right now

Love of Your Life (2026)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing10 of 32: 8 only directing, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score74thWriting2 of 32: 1 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing1 of 32: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleCinematography21 of 32: 19 only cinematography, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score73rdEditing1 of 32: 0 only editing, 1 with another roleOther crew2 of 32: 1 only other crew, 1 with another role

32 titles, 3 with more than one role — cinematography and directing overlap on 1 of them.

By decade

2000s3 · crew2010s23 · crew2020s5 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

4 major nominations and no wins, 2016–2019.

  1. 2019
    • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Cinematography
  2. 2018
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Cinematography
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Cinematography
  3. 2016
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Rachel Morrison's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 73rd percentile, the median of all 17; across their 16 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 68th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 16

Approval · how many liked their films

65thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 16

Reach · how many have seen their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 16

Midcredits score across 25 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up11
  • 50th to 74th6
  • 25th to 49th7
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

12 of their 25 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved6
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser12
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · cinematographer

Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County (2007)

98th percentile spread · 37% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

The Mandalorian (2019)

Midcredits 98th · 93% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 68/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles; fans 72, detractors 58. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Rachel Morrison's work okay for kids?

Across up to 9 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity, alcohol & drugs and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore7 titles33–84 · median 62 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity9 titles25–67 · median 36 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity7 titles47–93 · median 80 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs8 titles44–86 · median 61 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense7 titles43–80 · median 59 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Rachel Morrison work with?

People who share at least 2 of Rachel Morrison's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Rick Famuyiwa shares the most, 3.

Directors

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers