(Imagens cortesia de Sid Gentle e Ian Johnson Publicity/Dezeen/CASACOR)
Released in 2018 by BBC America, Killing Eve is a British drama acclaimed by critics. It won the award for Best Series at the Golden Globes in 2019 and the Emmys for Best Actress for Sandra Oh (Eve) in the same year, and Jodie Comer (Villanelle) the following year (2020). Based on Luke Jennings' book, "Codename Villanelle" (2018), several points in the series deserve attention, such as the set design, a task assigned to Casey Williams. "Each scenario is character-driven," Williams told Dezeen , explaining how setting and location choices were used to express the radically different lifestyles of the two main characters. Compare drab investigator Eve Polastri to decadent assassin Villanelle was key to creating the visual mood of the series. "Eve's world is always so lifeless. It's never colorful. It's a bit boring," she said. In the series, Sandra Oh's character is an investigator for MI5, the British intelligence service, who hunts the assassin played by Jodie Eat. "This contrasts with Villanelle's world, which is always colorful, exciting, rich and sumptuous." Williams worked alongside production designer Laurence Dorman on the set design for the series, which ran for three seasons. A cocoon apartment
Restaurante coreano em que Eve trabalha. (Imagens cortesia de Sid Gentle e Ian Johnson Publicity/Dezeen/CASACOR)
The end of the second season saw Polastri abandoned by her husband and shot by Villanelle after the investigator refused to go on the run with the assassin. In the third season, Polastri takes refuge in a small, dark and cluttered apartment in New Malden, London. Born in the US , born to a Korean mother, Eve finds work at a family friend's Korean restaurant in the southwest suburbs, which has one of the largest Korean communities outside of Korea. "The idea with Eve is that she's back in the womb," Williams explained. "She is submerged. She returned (to New Malden) to hide and heal." The apartment was built from scratch, with the goal of creating the look and feel of college life, Williams revealed. "It's an old, worn-out apartment — maybe it was a family one — that was a little bit neglected, and she just took her most precious belongings or most needed, probably filled one or two taxis and put the rest in storage." Glamour in Barcelona
Apartamento de Villanelle em Barcelona. (Imagens cortesia de Sid Gentle e Ian Johnson Publicity/Dezeen/CASACOR)
In contrast to this is one of the series’ most eye-catching residences in Barcelona, loaned to Russian Villanelle by the Twelve – an organisation that hires assassins. Filmed in the city, the luxurious Catalan apartment boasts Moorish-style interiors with colourful decorative glass windows. that bathe the rooms in light - another aspect that plays "an important role" in choosing the location. "The layout of the location or building is extremely important as it creates the geography of how the scene unfolds, so this is a very important decision made between the designer, the cinematographer and the director." Williams then takes these rooms as the skeleton of the scene and adds texture, color and shape. Apartamento de Villanelle em Barcelona. (Imagens cortesia de Sid Gentle e Ian Johnson Publicity/Dezeen/CASACOR)
As with Eve, Casey's other protagonist's personality served as a reference. "Villanelle also has this childlike compulsion for things that are special - everything she's drawn to has something like that," she added. "So it was a real pleasure for me." In addition to buying furniture in Barcelona, Williams also shipped objects from other locations in Europe, including France and Italy, making sure to use a mix of high-end antique and furniture pieces and props. "It was never going to be a cheap set, that depended on me," she explained when asked about the budget. "I have to choose pieces that, if you see them up close, you will want them too. The quality needs to be read on camera." “I spent a lot of money on her bedroom,” she added, referring to the room that featured a four-poster bed purchased new but repurposed to look like an aged Moorish piece, complete with “elegant Villanelle-style silk sheets.” She also said that used the Russian's wardrobe to incorporate items like fringes, roses and jewel colors into the decor. Modern British sobriety
Casa de Carolyn em Prestwood. (Imagens cortesia de Sid Gentle e Ian Johnson Publicity/Dezeen/CASACOR)
Less extravagant than the Barcelona apartment, but not as simple as Eve's abode, is the home of Carolyn Martens, head of the Russian division at MI6. Set in a 1960s-style house, the property is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. be preserved, and was designed by architect Peter Aldington in Prestwood, Buckinghamshire. The Clayton House, also known as the Quilter House, features contrasting brick, wood and concrete details both inside and out. These earthy tones extend throughout the interior spaces. “We gave it a very modern, clean home, but it was important to bring in the slightly more traditional aspects of her character as well,” Williams explained. To do this, she mixed mid-century modern art and orange hues with more classic kilim fabric pillows. Casa de Carolyn em Prestwood. (Nick Wall/BBCA/CASACOR)
These were just some of the locations where the series was filmed. One of the biggest challenges for Williams was keeping up with the countless trips as she chased Villanelle and Eve around the world, from London and Spain to Poland and Russia. “I was so tired,” she said. laughs as he remembers. "I think I flew out of the country most Sundays and then flew back on Wednesday... But it was so much fun! Breaking the stereotypes
" One of her favorite sets to decorate was Villanelle's family home in Russia, featured in episode five - the exteriors were filmed in Romania, while the interiors were built in London. "It was really important to make sure we didn't caricature that," Williams said. "A lot of people, when they think of rural Russia, they think of old babushka-style ladies with headscarves and frilly clothes. It wasn't about that." Casey Williams did a lot of traveling and research to make sure the representation in the rooms was believable. "With Killing Eve, the whole thing is that it's very grounded in reality. The socioeconomic background of the characters is very important, so that's something we really considered when build and decorate the scene." Casa da família de Villanelle na Rússia. (Ludovic Robert/BBCAmerica/Sid Gentle/CASACOR)
And he went deeper, because "the devil is in the details," getting caught up in the smallest particulars. "I'll hunt down these tiny visual details that show reality, like what jar they put the sugar in, how they close the curtains - things that show people normal in a normal way." This involved her traveling extensively to post-Soviet countries to find specific wallpapers, flooring and carpets that conveyed the Russian ambiance. "In the UK, we don't see many Soviet pieces around, so it's like finding a treasure trove, because once it's gone, it's gone," she said. "Obviously we could find the right kind of wallpaper and print it, but would be much more complicated." Williams concludes with what he considers to require more attention: "The key is in the textures and the way they reflect light and are preserved - textures are very important." The series Killing Eve (2018) is available in full on Globoplay and, due to the pandemic, there is still no release date for the next season. 
