The Pitch: I
don't imagine that many people saw The Handmaiden, but just in case,
let's add music to it.
A former cellist prodigy forms a relationship with
the cellist who took her place. But what are her intentions?
At this point, this movie has been out for a while.
It didn't catch on the way it looked like it would for a hot minute. Still, I'd
rather not spoil the movie. The thrill of The Perfection is how much it
plays on our expectations.
First of all, there's the casting of Allison
Williams as a former music prodigy who had to drop out of her prestigious
conservatory education to take care of her dying mother. This is the exact role
you'd expect from Williams. She represents an intersection of privilege and
Protestant work ethic. She's an actress who could pull off a line like "I
don't have to be lucky. I just have to work hard." with absolute conviction*.
Now, I don't think that's how she really is, but it's absolutely how she's
thought of. She brings all her baggage to The Perfection and has fun
playing into and against what we think of her. It's a vital casting decision,
and I love how the subtext of her entire performance is "I know what you
think of me".
*Note: That isn't a line from a movie. It's just a
line you can believe any character she's ever played would say.
Then there's the way the movie plays with timelines
and perspectives. The movie occasionally rewinds so it can show you a different
version of the story. In some places, it goes exactly where you'd expect. In
others, I'm not sure anyone could predict where it goes. The similarities to The
Handmaiden are undeniable. In fact, when I Tweeted something about that,
one the screenwriters actually replied to confirm this*. I love The
Handmaiden, especially the first time, since all the twists caught me so
off guard (even though I knew it was a twisty movie). The same goes for The
Perfection. The movie hints at so many different directions it can go in.
Is it a sexy thriller? Is it a revenge movie? Is it body horror? Is it a
stalker movie? Is it Science Fiction horror? The less you confirm beforehand,
the better.
*Btw, shout out to
the creative team behind this for doing the dirty work to engage the fans. I
made one tweet about it, and within the hour had a like from the director and a
reply from a screenwriter.
Allison Williams gets the headlines about the movie,
but Logan Browning's role as the other gifted cellist who Williams appears to
target is just as important. I mainly know Browning for playing the lead role
in the series Dear White People. I'd never want to get in an argument
with her, even if I'm right. She can ooze poise and confidence even when she's
being completely driven by emotion. The Perfection uses that too and
plays with it.
This has no bearing on how I felt about the movie,
but I would like to mention that this movie has some great strategic non-nudity
in it. I already knew from Girls what Williams' limits were. Apparently
Browning's are the same. I enjoyed how far the filmmaker pushed the limit of
what they were comfortable with because it was so obvious that there was a
limit.
The movie isn't perfect. I found some of the ADR in
outdoor scenes distracting. The direction the story goes in is going to turn
off a lot of people. The violence is weirdly silly and there are times it
almost moves into camp. At 90 minutes long, it's pretty lean, especially since
it replays several scenes. I liked it and recommend it for the surprise factor
(even if you are looking for the surprises).
Verdict: Weakly Recommend
No comments:
Post a Comment