Coming off from the surprise success of "X", Ti West once again surprises and delivers with "Pearl". Like its predecessor, "Pearl" was able to bring another creative and refreshing way to tackle the slasher genre. This time, it's an ode to golden age films like "The Wizard of Oz". And as weird as that might sound, it actually works well in this film. The bright and cheerful exterior in contrast to the darkness that was literally building up inside is an experience audiences should experience themselves first hand.
It's 1918 and the Spanish Flu outbreak and the First World War has deeply affected the German immigrant family of a young woman named Pearl (Mia Goth). While Pearl dreams of making it as a star one day, her mom (Tandi Wright) disapproves of her naive outlook on life. She wants Pearl to stay on the farm and to make best whatever hand life has already dealt her. But when Pearl meets a Bohemian projectionist (David Corenswet) and finds out that there's a dance troupe audition arriving in town soon, she decides that she is willing to risk everything to be famous.
Mia Goth is the main reason why you should watch "Pearl". She delivers a nuanced and creepy performance as the innocent on the outside yet psychotic on the inside Pearl. But beyond Mia Goth, "Pearl" was a very interesting tragedy. We're labeling this as a tragic tale because it was a harrowing character study of Pearl's innate evil that she wasn't fully aware or in control off. Best as she did to be good, that evil and deviation from reality just found a way too slowly creep up on her and eventually transforms her into the Pearl that we know off from "X". Another strong point for the film was its cinematography. This was a stark contrast from "X" which was dark, gory, and grimy but on "Pearl", everything was eerily vibrant. Even in its most disturbing scenes, the film stays bright and colorful which makes the whole experience much more memorable. In essence, "Pearl" delivers an extremely different kind of slasher film that proved to be effective and creepy and tense-filled in ways you could never have imagined.
Pearl Movie Review: The Wizard of Gore
Watch this movie right now:Comments
Post a Comment