Writer/Director Ti West returns to his world of ‘X’ with a prequel about the now titular character ‘Pearl’ who we were introduced to in ‘X’. ‘Pearl’ is an origin story of the sorts. Mia Goth returns to play a much younger Pearl and also serves as co-writer.
‘Pearl’ is a bit more unhinged and even more bizarre than ‘X’ and that comes with mixed results. The genre clash is the most exciting thing about the film next to Mia Goth’s phenomenal performance. The film is a character study more so than a slasher and it is a slow paced slow burn at times. At one point, there’s a several minute, unedited, medium close-up, monologue from Pearl and Mia Goth absolutely killed it with her performance.
If ‘X’ was an homage to slasher’s like ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and ‘Friday the 13th’, ‘Pearl' is a new take on romance films of the 50s/60s. 'Pearl' was comically advertised as a Technicolor film, a throwback to films as far back as even the 30s. There are shots that are constructed almost identical to ones from ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ but with the vibrant color pallet more akin to ‘The Wizard of Oz’ or 'The Sound of Music'.
Even the score for ‘Pearl’ takes its cues from romance films of a bygone era. The fact that Pearl is obsessed with becoming a dancer on screen is similar to the plots of romance and musical pictures of yesteryear. In this case, the obsession goes too far with brutal results. Pearl's overly romanticized view of motion pictures and obsession with becoming a star is not only the key to her undoing but also what links her to Maxine (also played by Mia Goth) from ‘X’
While ‘X’ focused on themes of sexual repression in many of its forms, ‘Pearl’ deals with the corrosive nature of isolation and obsession as well as the effects of generational trauma. ‘Pearl’ makes it very clear that Pearl herself was a sociopath, but the film does toggle with the idea that maybe she wouldn’t have become a murderous psychopath had she been in a different environment.
'Pearl' takes place in 1918 during the Spanish Flu pandemic, so the film also conveys parallels between that and Covid-19 which we have not seen on screen.
‘Pearl’ isn’t quite as impactful or streamline as ‘X’ but it is a bold film that is quite a bit different than its predecessor- which may cause some divisiveness for those who wanted to see something more like ‘X’. Regardless, I'm looking forward to the next film in this sordid universe entitled 'MaXXIne', which was recently announced by A24 studio.'
MY STAR RATING 3.25/5
Check out 'X' as well a slew of other suggestive films available at The Brown Deer Public Library.
留言