Film Review - Strange Darling
JT Mollner's twist-laden thriller features a tour-de-force performance from Willa Fitzgerald that papers over a nagging superficiality
Strange Darling opens with a caption informing us the film was shot entirely on 35mm. Twenty years ago, that would have been greeted with snorts of “well-duh”, given that 35mm was the standard format. However, because so many films are shot digitally today, it’s a mark of prestige. It’s doubly a mark of prestige for a low-budget independent filmmaker like writer-director JT Mollner, considering these days 35mm tends to be reserved for directorial royalty like Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, and Quentin Tarantino.
Speaking of Tarantino, there’s much in Strange Darling that reminded me of his work. For one thing, the non-linear narrative (cheekily pretending to be based on fact). For another, the various twists and turns. This is a film best approached with no prior knowledge. Having been told as much, I studiously avoided reading any US reviews before its release here in the UK. Now I’ve seen it, I must confess I mostly predicted what would happen, but that’s mainly due to an inevitable familiarity with cinematic sleight of hand that comes after decades of cinemagoing. Familiarity with the films it references — not just Tarantino but vast swathes of exploitation cinema — also primed me to figure out what was coming. Another factor that perhaps spoils my ability to be surprised is my own fiction writing endeavours, especially given my primary genres are mystery, horror, and thriller. But I digress.
To maintain the film’s surprises, whether you predict them or not, I’m eschewing any plot synopsis here, except to state that Strange Darling is described in onscreen captions as a thriller in six chapters. The principal characters are “The Lady” (Willa Fitzgerald) and “The Demon” (Kyle Gallner). Their interactions amid the Oregon countryside are gripping from the word go, and it is only fair to warn that this contains some pretty nasty bloody violence, some of it sexualised, as well as drug use and strong language. In short, the film certainly earns its “18” certificate (the UK’s equivalent of R, for American readers).
At the same time, all this is tempered by a vein of jet-black satirical humour. What’s being satirised? Hot-button topics like sexual consent, for a start, as well as transgressive sexual behaviours, sexist assumptions, and other issues I’ll not get into here, again, for fear of spoilers. This satire isn’t subtle or deep, but the film is well-directed throughout, with fine cinematography from Giovanni Ribisi. The opulent 35mm colours certainly pop, though it would look even better if projected the old-fashioned way rather than digitally. Clever use of sound adds to the suspense, and Christopher Robin Bell also deserves a shout for his deft editing, which preserves many of the twists (assuming one doesn’t predict them). There’s even a nod to The Exorcist (1973) in the use of subliminal frames.
As for performances, they are decent, with Barbara Hershey, Ed Begley Jr, Eugenia Kuzmina, and Breaking Bad’s Steven Michael Quezada also cropping up in solid supporting roles. But of the two leads, special praise must be given to Willa Fitzgerald, since her turn is something of a tour-de-force. Indeed, she is the best thing about the film, since, for all its narrative bravado, superficial satirical sideswipes, and gleeful exploitation cinema-style bad taste, one has a nagging sense throughout that this has very little depth. Unlike the Tarantino films that may have inspired it, Strange Darling offers little to no insight into the human condition. But it is a well-made non-linear exercise in suspense and keeping the audience guessing. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then I’d cautiously recommend this, assuming you can cope with the violence.
(Originally published at Medium.)
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