#like it's more of a genre trope at this point than a commentary on suicide itself

[llycaons]

hm yeah forgive me if this is blindly obvious to everyone/not really unique but um I don’t think lwj ever wanted to die with wwx or particularly wanted to give up his life, even if he risked it when he fought for what he believed in. I think he would die for wwx if the circumstances called for it, but unlike wwx I see him as such a continuously life-affirming character for himself as well as people he’s close to. he’s selfless but not self-sacrificial to the degree that we see other characters. he just never comes to a point where he would give up on that, on living that life that’s filled with good things he loves, or at least on living a life he can be proud of. he fights for that. he persists in his actions and values even in the face of the death of the person he loved the most, a situation where other characters in the series absolutely just lose it. he wants the people he loves to thrive and he wants to be by their side...he wouldn’t accept dying with them or after them. for both their sakes

[flipflap-flipflap]

Wasteful Days of High School Girls was great

It’s a slice of life comedy, like the halfway point between Komi Can’t Comunicate and Asobi Asobase.  What makes it distinctive to me is its weirdly serious social commentary.  All while still being absolutely hilarious.

It backhandedly addresses how damaging the most common slice of life tropes have become by flipping some of its worst tropes.  Notably, the creepy teacher, the loli, and the predatory lesbian.  It’s trying to show that these tropes can exist in a respectful, healthy way that is still funny to watch.

My favorite character in the show is the “creepy homeroom teacher.”  Despite being this consistently off-the-rails weird guy, you never get a sense of danger or secondhand discomfort with him, because he establishes literally in his introduction that he is not interested in high school girls despite how weirdly socially acceptable that is.  He even has a great arc where a student has unknowingly fallen in love with his celebrity alter ego.  He realizes that this fan of his must be, by some impossible coincidence, one of this students, and has a crisis about how to ethically handle the situation in a way that won’t shatter her dreams.

The big important character to talk about though is the aptly nicknamed Loli, the high schooler who still looks like an elementary schooler.  She’s naive and sheltered, and very self conscious about her size.  Importantly, she doesn’t want to look “older” for boys (as would typically be the case with this trope).  She wants to look her age so that people will take her seriously.  Interestingly, Loli’s catalyst for changing her appearance was so that she could stand up for an elementary school boy she witnessed being bullied.  This ties with a news report heard in one of the early episodes reporting on the rise of bullying-related suicides in Japanese schools.  Personally, I think they flopped the resolution of the arc, but the Stand Up To Bullies message does get across.

Another important one is Lily, who would classically be the “predatory lesbian” trope.  Not gonna lie, she kinda is, by Western standards.  But as far as anime lesbians (or to be fair, anyone sexual, straight or gay) go, the girl is a saint.  All she does is grope a few times, and even then either catches herself in the act and stops, or stops when told to.  Thinking about consent is not really a “better late than never” thing, but in the context of anime the fact that it’s even an afterthought is astounding.  But importantly, violating people is not her defining personality trait, as is otherwise the case.  She’s a kind, intelligent person.  She has two main arcs: helping Loli build self esteem by adopting a more age-appropriate appearance; and helping Majime come to terms with her own budding attraction toward another woman.  And they’re both great!

Despite how important I think this anime is for any fan of the genre, I get why it coasted so far under the radar.  There’s no English localized manga, for one.  But also, the dialogue is so fast paced that I found myself having to constantly pause just to read everything on the screen.  It’s really bad at times.  But I still absolutely recommend the watch.

[chicagoindiecritics]

New from Every Movie Has a Lesson by Don Shanahan: MOVIE REVIEW: Knives Out

(Image courtesy of Lionsgate)

Festival Centerpiece and Gala Presentation of the 55th Chicago International Film Festival

KNIVES OUT— 5 STARS

In a film of perplexing puppetry like this, the most engrossing quality of Knives Out is character creation. Half of that strength happens on the scripted page where writer-director Rian Johnson has created a deplorable and decadent cobweb of villainy. The other half of that draw comes from the ingenuity of the assembled ensemble. This cluster of spidery characters could have been stock archetypes played by obvious actors. Instead, there’s nuance dripping like venom from thirsty fangs all over the performance stage of Johnson’s cinematic charade.

That nuance spins subversion that decidedly warps any perceived predictability one has about this silver screen species of film. Knives Out electrifies the whodunit genre with dastardly glee and self-aware perception. From piercing stares and cutting words to the ever-present stabbing threat of the forged metal weapons themselves, the blades of entertainment slash and thrust every single second of this standout romp.

Filthy rich crime author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) lays dead in his study from a knife wound thought to be from his own hand on the night of his 85th birthday party. With the arrival of the police investigators Detective Lieutenant Elliot and Trooper Wagner (Sorry to Bother You’s Lakeith Stanfield and Rian Johnson good luck charm Noah Segan), the suspicion of murder must be disproved to rule this case a suicide. The flails of shock, grief, outrage, and, ultimately, selfishness to seek their golden parachute among the many gathered family members at the family mansion in New England ignites the game and keeps the puzzle open.

Commanding the top of the Thrombey family tree is the eldest daughter Linda Drysdale (Jamie Lee Curtis) flanked by her husband Richard (Don Johnson). They constantly chase and chastise their rebel socialite son Ransom (Chris Evans), who conveniently left the party yearly. Next is Linda’s younger brother Walter (Michael Shannon), Harlan’s only surviving son who has stewarded the publishing empire alongside his father while toting his snobbish wife Donna (Riki Lindhome). The final tag-along from that generational layer is Joni (Toni Collette), the widow of Harlan’s deceased son.

LESSON #1: FAMILY WILL GLADLY SCREW OVER OTHER FAMILY — Start your shifting guesses and begin picking out the liars. These are horrible, entitled people who would eat their own young to survive, which, take it as you will, can be interpreted as biting social commentary of our times. Be it murder or suicide, the intensity of Christopher Plummer’s patriarch to have his mind made up about his future bequeathed fortunes is clear. It’s like Harlan sensed the vultures, tasted the poison, and saw this coming.

Other than Elliot and Wagner, there are two non-family outsiders observing this prideful pecking order. One is the smartest guy in the room and the other is the linchpin who could be the chief witness or the chief suspect. The top-billed Daniel Craig is the Kentucky-fried Benoit Blanc, a storied private investigator of the rich and famous who was invited to observe this case by an anonymous thick envelope of cash and the promise of a lurid story. Lastly, there is Harlan’s personal nurse Marta Cabrera, played by Blade Runner 2049’s Ana de Armas, the person arguably closest to the victim in time and proximity.

LESSON #2: TRYING TO GET AN ACCURATE IMPRESSION — As they always say, “the devil is in the details.” With a dash of Rashomon-esque rewind storytelling, the cauldron of little cues and clues create the brilliance of the previously espoused nuance. The name card introductions of the investigation interviews grant opportunities for overt lines to be drawn out loud while the characters (and actors) blur those boundaries in flashback. Costuming and makeup add further depiction trickery. Above all, there is steep dramatic irony at work when the audience learns early on the true events of Harlan’s death ahead of Benoit Blanc. At that point, it is less about solving and more about surviving.

All it takes to stand out in this loaded ensemble is a glimmer of camera space and a trait or two that evokes a quizzical or humorous response which shakes any certainty about their true colors. Nothing about this role calls for Ana de Arma’s beauty, which is a change of pace for the rising-star, when Marta’s silly personal quirk is automatic vomiting when telling a lie. Jamie Lee Curtis’s perfect white hair and designer glasses holding back coiled rage with trained composure instead of the actress’s signature flabbergast played side-by-side with Don Johnson’s cool charm failing to shield red-faced inadequacy. You’ve got Michael Shannon’s uncomfortable fidgets and improvised lines of vitriol, Toni Collette’s imitation tan and doubly fake crocodile tears, and even Riki Lindhome’s monstrous martini glass. All churn with contempt that elevates even more when Chris Evans waltzes in much later eating cookies like an asshole with a dismissive laugh against every verbal confrontation.

All the while, there’s Daniel Craig’s “last gentleman sleuth” and “ornamental presence” carrying on like a grand host. Craig is a hoot from the moment Blanc is introduced hitting piano keys like a bullshit-detecting alarm during Elliot’s questioning sessions. Rolling with a sense of surly surprise bellowed by his over-the-top southern accent, he’s liberated from his James Bond steeliness.

Every cast member flaunts these question marks and more. The editing of action specialist Bob Ducsay (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) gives every facet a timed choreography of sorts within all the misdirection and juggling of sequences and perspectives. Even scenes of slowdown can induce audience panting, and that is such an enjoyable wringer to feel.

Equal to the actors, Rian Johnson attacked this black comedy with artistic fury. Ambiance is everything and it all starts with the scene of the crime. Hand the Production Design Oscar out right now to the team of production designer David Crank (The Master), art director Jeremy Woodward (Live By Night), and set decorator David Schlesinger (John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum). The striking balance of gaudy nooks and dark corners of this practical set is phenomenal. In his fifth collaboration with Johnson, cinematographer Steve Yedlin lurks his camera all over that house with amusing zooms that inch you closer to the danger and provocation. Composer Nathan Johnson (the director’s cousin) adds spark and intrigue with an interesting and flighty musical score.

LESSON #3: HOW TO SUBVERT AN ENTIRE GENRE — The trope-filled mechanics of most murder mysteries create an antagonist while Knives Out has you pining for the killer instead. In flipping the rooting interests from the pursuing authorities to the identified perpetrator, the dexterous filmmaker shifted goals and bolstered energy to a different gear. Where the typical pulse rate of this kind of story opens and ends with a bang between a tedious, saggy middle, Knives Out is all about that rich center. What an equally delectable and sinful treat it is!

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[katesattic]

Heathers: Homosexuality, Suicide, and Humour

When I hear people complain about Heathers (either the film or the musical, but usually the musical) I generally see these complaints centred around two things: the humorous way homosexuality and suicide are handled in the narrative. The complaints are that the film/play makes light of suicide or that people assume Kurt and Ram are actually homosexual, and this is simply not the case.

Now there are differences between the film and the musical, but their main themes and plots remain the same. Veronica and JD frame 3 murders to look like suicides. Two other students at Westerberg are shown to have attempted suicide. And the supporting characters (Pauline Flemming in particular) find ways to profit off of these deaths, making themselves the focus rather than the loss of a student.

These works are not making fun of suicide, rather they are a commentary on society’s treatment of suicides. I think this is made much more evident in the film. Because it is a film and not a staged production, it allows for more subtleties than the other adaptation can employ (such as events occurring in the background, facial expression, and minor set dressings that cannot be replicated on stage). Both the play and the film are less about how these characters died than about the aftermath surrounding their deaths. 

Heather Chandler, aside from being pressured into performing oral sex at Remington University, was very confident and very happy with her life before she downed that cup full of liquid drainer and smashed through her glass table. JD saw a cliffnote’s copy of The Bell Jar on her that table as well as a magazine titled “The Fall of The American Teenager” which provided him with the idea of making the murder appear to be a suicide. From there, they created a suicide note that made Heather C seem deeper than she was, thus providing her with a new identity after her demise.

The same can be said for Kurt and Ram. They weren’t deeper than their stereotypes. In fact, in the film, you can see Ram date raping Heather McNamara as Veronica’s leaving the cow pasture after their double date. JD doesn’t like the way Kurt and Ram act, and as he’s leaving Heather C’s funeral on his motorcycle, you can see he gets the idea to kill Kurt and Ram. It is this double date that he catches Veronica on that solidifies this idea in his mind. Kurt and Ram do nothing but make AIDS jokes and date rape other students. They are misogynistic and homophobic, and this is why they are framed to be gay lovers.

The two students actually shown to be suicidal are Heather M and Martha, neither of whom are successful in their attempts. Heather M’s plans to down a bottle of pills get foiled by Veronica who won't allow her friend to become a statistic. And Martha gets hospitalised after walking into oncoming traffic while wearing a suicide note (or jumping off a bridge in the play). The characters who are shown to be genuinely suicidal are either talked out of it or befriended by Veronica. Thereby showing that Veronica genuinely cares for these people and doesn’t want any more people to die.

The humour for the play and the film come through in the way the secondary characters act. Pauline Flemming’s crusade is more about herself than it is about helping her students. Other students, like Heather D, are only showing concern because they want to be featured on the news, Dennis (film only) is more obsessed about the “Heather Chandler Yearbook Spread” and doesn’t realise that putting the suicide note in the yearbook is extremely distasteful. The song “Teenage Suicide (Don’t Do It)” by Big Fun is a running gag in the film for the way the media and society are glorifying suicide.

TL;DR: The musical and the film are not making light of suicide or homosexuality. If the jokes on that topic make you uncomfortable, then good. That’s the whole point. Characters are acting so cavalier about the situation to make you uncomfortable, to make you think, to help you see that suicide is a real issue that isn’t being treated with the gravity it deserves. The musical and the film are, to different degrees, providing a social commentary on very serious topics that aren’t always taken as seriously as they ought to be. If the subject matter made you uncomfortable, good, it brought awareness to this topic, especially at the time the film was written (in the 80s) when suicide was being played for laughs. The musical and the film belong to the Dark Comedy genre for a reason. They are subverting some tropes that were present in film and television in the 80s and pointing out flaws of the mentality of the time. So, be uncomfortable with they gay jokes and the suicide jokes, after all that’s kind of the point.

[nerdynformed-blog]

Logan is a superhero movie - Part II: the ‘superheroism’ in Logan

I am going to try to be more concise this time around, I promise. This is going to take more parts than I originally planned. I am currently looking at 4 parts total: Part I was about what a superhero movie is. Now in Part II I will try to show that Logan is a superhero and the movie actually concentrates on that more than we might have noticed. Part III is going to be about how the movie uses that and to what effect. Finally, Part IV will be why superhero movies matter and why we need more good ones.

Even if you have not read Part I (and why would you), what I am going to talk about here is not hard to follow. Basically, you just have to know three things:

A)     Superhero is not a movie genre. It is a subject and a kind of character that movies of any genre can and should explore to different effects.

B)      A superhero movie is therefore a movie of any genre that centers itself on a character endowed by the traits that define a superhero.

C)      The way the movie explores the subject defines the kind of movie it is.

(now that I am writing this, I see that I really could’ve been more concise in Part I - if you still whant to read it, you can click this link: https://nerdynformed.tumblr.com/post/158824439050/loganisasuperheromoviepart1).

With that in mind, le me just talk about how the superhero traits not only appear, but also are prevalent in Logan. They are in fact the main subject. The movie is a drama about the redemption of a fallen superhero: how it happens and why it is important.

So if you think that Logan is not a superhero movie, read own.

Lets talk about justice, secret identities, superpowers, uniforms and the ‘X’ factor.

 Motivation

As I said before, a superhero (like the cowboys and detectives) fights for what is right not in service of (and sometimes despite) a higher authority, but following his own moral instincts.

It is not a behavior that he has to perform since the beginning of the story – some of the best stories are about the learning of that behavior through example, empowerment or even trauma.

Now, in the beginning, Logan only agrees to help Laura in exchange of money. Many American hero (see Part I) stories actually begin like that. Towards the end of the movie, however, his motivations change to the point that he refuses to take the money. His motivation becomes helping her and her friends/family. In the final showdown, he even dies doing that.

The entire internal journey of the character in this movie is the rediscovering of this motivation – heroism. It is not the first “superhero return story” movie out there, but it might be the best one we have so far. He begins jaded, cynic and having given up, but ends up living his most super-heroic moment right before dying. He reembraces the most important part of himself.

He is not just fighting for a group, but protecting innocent children from evil doers – just look at the people he is facing. They are your typical super-villains: immoral mercenaries working with an evil scientist that creates evil clones and does experiments in children.

In the end of the day, that is what the movie is on its surface: a lone man, fighting to protect innocent people against the actions of evil agents.

Plus, the fact that this is not another “will he save the world” superhero movie is GREAT. Fewer movies should do that scenario. A superhero doesn’t have to save the world, just save someone. But I digress.

 Double identity

Logan not only has a double identity, he has a secret one.

It is just a very badly kept secret. He is flying low so people don’t recognize him as the Wolverine, as an X-Men (X-Man? Ex-X-Me? Ex-X-Man?). Not only that, but there is a clear distinction between his “human” and super personas.

One is a limousine driver down on his luck and just trying to survive and getting a way out. He has some very human worries. He doesn’t have money, he needs to keep his father figure medicated, he wants to buy a way out of it.

During the movie he alternates between fighting “the bad guys” and pretending to be just a normal person – he even dines with a family at their farm pretending to be Charles’ son and Laura’s father. In that moment, he is living a fake identity and giving excuses to cover up his superheroic quest. That is what most superheroes do.

He is not just someone pretending to be someone else. Sure, he hides his superhero side, but his “normal” persona is not even that fabricated: there are references to his past as a bad student and his relationship with Xavier is actually an honest depiction of the real thing. It is a real part of him.

His super persona is also present and important throughout the movie. “Wolverine” doesn’t just reemerges in the end, but is constantly haunting him, since before the movie even begun. He tries to keep it in the past, but it is such a big part of him that he can’t. Again, the return of this super persona in the last minute is what the movie is all about.

I have to mention something. The theme of a superhero trying to keep his identity in the past but ultimately failing to do so is reminiscent of my favorite graphic novel of all times – The Dark Knight Returns.

 Superpowers

Now let’s talk about the superpowers. One of my favorite thing is how they dealt with that in the movie. His powers are not only showed in an array of ways and functions in the movie, but they play a more than significant role in the narrative and character development.

First we see them failing: his claws jam and his healing factor is too slow. His powers are older and more tired. That does not keep him from using them time and time again – in almost every fight, honestly.

Near the end of the movie, he takes some drugs and we see him in his old powerful self – clawing, fighting and healing violently fast. Finally, right before the movie ends, his powers scale down again so we can see him face the odds without the enhancement.

The powers demonstrate how much of who and what he is he cannot avoid. Using his powers is an instinct. It is part of him. They show his innate violence, the decrease of his resilience and, ironically, how weaker he feels now.

Not only that, his powers play other roles. The adamantium in his bones (kind of a superpower if you ask me) is maybe what is killing him. His strongest and scariest antagonist has the same powers and in a much better shape. And the enemy is only defeated with his personal break-the-glass-to-commit-suicide kryptonite: the adamantium bullet.

His powers are what initially connect him to Laura – the first evidence that they are related. Laura plays a commentary in the figure of the sidekick and the powers help the movie do that.

On that note, when they fight Evilverine, they do it together. Sure, the other kids help, but is the cooperation between the two that becomes the high point of the fight.

You have three people with the same powers: a kid, a tired Old Man and an evil terminator. That kind of conflict between similar powers has appeared sometimes in movies and is a common trope in comic books – and for a good reason.

It brings more risk and raises stakes so we can be worried about a character that seemed so powerful. It inverts the feeling of security the superpowers bring when we see the hero wield them, especially when the villain is more able with them.

This scene also shows how cooperation can be the defining factor in a conflict, once Laura and Logan are weaker than the villain.

Almost every character is affected by their superpowers, some in very original way. It is why the kids were created and are being persecuted. Caliban is captured and tortured so he will use his powers and track Logan. Xavier has become an impossible to calculate liability because of the combination of his superpowers with something that is very human: mental disease.

Superpowers are not some superficial decoration: they are the most important character elements, and they all say something about the human condition. But that is for Part III.

 Uniform

Finally, the uniform. Oh, you got me there, right? Wolverine doesn’t wear a uniform. Yeah, we have the yellow uniform shown in the comics they read, but he never wears it. And we don’t even see the black uniforms from the previous movies.

Well… what if I tell you that he does use an uniform in this movie? What if I tell you, that the uniform he uses is the same he uses most of the time in his other movies? It’s not yellow nor is it black.

Think about it: what are his most famous, cosplayed and recognizable garments? Well, two things.

First of all: the beard and the hair. That is a look that should look ridiculous in any actor by any standards and the guy still pulls it off every time. Only Wolverine wears that. I most movies and even comics, that is the constant in his appearance.

And yeah, it is not a mask, but think about how many superheroes do not wear masks, even if they have secret identities. You can see this hairstyle in anyone and it will be the Wolverine hairstyle.

Ok, but it is just half of it.

The second part is of the uniform: a pair of jeans and white sleeveless shirt.

Yes, everyone remembers that look. It appears in so many important moments to the character, although not always in the best movies. Since the yellow uniform doesn’t appear in the movies, what do you think is more recognizable? The shirt and jeans or the black bodysuit?

Before you say that doesn’t count, think about it: the Punisher and America Chaves wear apparently civil clothes and no masks. However, they do that so consistently that it works like a uniform.

Now, this “uniform” doesn’t just appear in the movie, but it has a very specific function.

To understand it, look at how the movie shows the look to us. It doesn’t appear in the trailers, so we don’t expect it going in. Most of the movie, he doesn’t wear it. His hair and beard are different, just as his clothes.

It is because then he is not a hero again yet. He is hiding and, most of all, suppressing his heroic identity. So Clark Kent puts on the glasses and never takes them off again. That is a uniform not being used.

In a similar way, some superhero movies and series wait until the hero is fully realized or the final fight to show him or her in uniform. We have some movies and series in which they do that and it works for the best – the Netflix Daredevil is a good example.

It is only after his motivations change that he starts to wear both parts of his. The kids shave him and mess with his hair exactly because they know how the Wolverine should look like.

Finally, he wears this uniform only to the last and most important conflict. Then, he is juiced up and doing the same moves we recognize from previous movies, filmed in a way that reminds us of some old Wolverine action sequences.

That is when he is Wolverine again. Same hair, beard, shirt and powers. He is still wearing it when he faces Evilverine and he dies. That is his final “suit”, and it dresses him well.

 Bonus: the X marks the spot

Finally, we have one of the most impactful moments in the movie, that had many people crying and I will not tell you if I did. It was surprisingly unexpected and, against all odds, it was done in a very dramatic motion and in very good taste.

Laura picks up the improvised cross on his grave and turns it into a X.

That is the last piece, the final confirmation. Only X-Men wear that X. It is the iconic, unmistakable symbol of a superhero. And he has earned it back.

In his final rest, he will forever wear the sign that marks: here lies a superhero.

 So, I hope you liked that.

As you can see, this is not just a movie with superhero tropes tossed here and there. The superhero figure defines the narrative and permeates the emotional response the movie gets.

Part III will be about how this movie uses those traits to create drama, emotion, tell a story about redemption and all that stuff – so we can begin to understand why superheroes are a great material for that. Hope you like it. Hope someone reads it, actually…

 And remember, stay nerdly informed.

[nightmareonfilmstreet]

[Review] Hollywood Loses Its Mind In DESOLATION

Des·o·la·tion

anguished misery or loneliness.

a state of complete emptiness or destruction.

Small town girl meets Hollywood actor, the two fall in love and he whisks her off to live in his perfect, fairy-tale life. She’s rescued from her past, from the monotonous life she’s known, and they live happily ever after. We all know the fantasy. Hell, most of us have dreamt of living it ourselves. But we don’t talk fairy-tales here. In David Moscow’s directorial debut, Desolation, we get to see just how sideways the “rags to riches” reverie can go. Starring Dominik García-Lorido and Brock Kelly, Desolation is an insight into personal traumas and how we deal with – or succumb – to them.

The film begins with a short prologue of sorts, opening on a scene of a woman dousing herself with lighter fluid and setting herself on fire. Cheery. It definitely let’s the audience know what they’re in for. We then meet Katie, a sexual assault victim, and her friend, Debbie, working in a hotel in Elmira, NY. Don’t know where that is? Neither do most people, and that’s kind of the point. Middle of nowhere, very bleak, just downright depressing. It’s no wonder Katie takes her first ticket out when she meets Jay, a handsome actor in town for a film shoot. 

  The two hit it off, but at first Katie is a bit reluctant to head home with the actor. After an unhelpful appointment with her psychiatrist, a man more preoccupied with his tablet than with the human in front of him, Katie dives headfirst into bed with Jay. It’s worth mentioning that her psychiatrist is only the first in a long line of people diminishing the severity of her issues. 

When it’s time for Jay to return home, he invites Katie to go on a sort of “extended vacation” with him. Sure, they’ve only known each other for a few days at most, but have you seen where she lives? I’d take sunny LA over the depressing hotel business any day. Once in California, they tour the building Jay calls home and we’re introduced to Father Bill, a priest played with just the right amount of creep factor by Raymond J. Barry. We’re also told the building has a history of suicides, setting the film up as a potentially supernatural thriller.

  Everything seems hunky dory with the couple hanging out at the rooftop pool when they start discussing their past suicide attempts. Another moment establishing Katie may be mentally unstable and that Jay is at wit’s end with Hollywood. Their bliss is short lived when Jay gets a gig and has to leave for a few days. He offers to let Katie stay in the apartment and turns a bit rough when she suggests she doesn’t necessarily want to stay there alone. Red flag number one (or five), sweetie.

Katie decides to stay, and all hell breaks loose. Ghosts, visions, triggering phone calls and even a break in all combine to make Katie question her own mind. Father Bill is no help, only asking if she has a history of mental illness, suggesting that her experiences are all in her head. Following the break in, she calls the police, but to say they don’t take her seriously is an understatement. If you’re a victim of assault, you may want to skip this scene as it is pretty graphic. Any form of solace Katie might have does nothing but gaslight and victim-blame her. It’s no wonder she’s beginning to lose her mind.

Rather than following the trope of a Hollywood movie about the dangers of Hollywood, as it hints in the beginning, Desolation becomes a film about a woman who has been pretty much shit on throughout her life and how she decides to fight against powers that are literally betting to see her fail. There’s also an element addressing the plight of a sexual assault victim in a world we know too well as being unsympathetic to victims. There was much more social commentary than I was expecting, though I wish it was pushed a little further and handled with a little more gentleness. Of course in the real world, sensitive subjects aren’t sugar-coated, so I can see why the film didn’t either.

The film may seem slow to some, but with recent horrors like Get Out and It Comes at Night dominating the genre, I believe Desolation is perfectly paced. A descent into madness is not usually rapid, and Katie’s situation is no different. This film is more akin to psychological thrillers of the ’70s than in your face jump-scare flicks. The score, which makes excellent use of an instrument called a yaybahar, is one of the absolute high points for me, and the cinematography is on-point in creating the off-kilter atmosphere of someone who isn’t sure what’s real and what’s not.

It’s an interesting take on voyeurism and our society’s obsession with exploiting pain for entertainment, but these components don’t make much of an appearance until very late in the film. The idea of a world being able to watch and vote on people’s lives is so interesting and unique, but we aren’t given any real knowledge about how it actually works. That being said, this is still one of the most topical horror films of late and definitely worth checking out.  

2.5/4 eberts

  Desolation opens in select theatres today, January 26th, 2018. Check back for our exclusive interview with director David Moscow, here on Nightmare on Film Street!

The post [Review] Hollywood Loses Its Mind In DESOLATION appeared first on Nightmare on Film Street.

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