I really liked it at first. It is quirky, strange, offbeat, unexpected. Much of the film is shot with a fish-eye lens, which gives it extra weirdness. And some of the settings look like they are inspired by a favorite artist, Hieronymus Bosch. It seems, at first, not unlike a riff on Rapunzel. From amusing baby steps we watch an adult woman who has been given an infant's brain try to grow up and makes sense of the world. It's funny. It's charming. It's a very nice acting job from Emma Stone (not to mention William DaFoe and Mark Ruffalo, who are brilliant and almost unrecognizable). But then it takes a turn. Sexual awakening I get. But after that understandable, and well-done moment, the sexual adventures become pervasive. All of a sudden, this woman trying to "get it" is only trying to "get it". In a Victorian period she seems to always wearing see-through clothing and shorts reminiscent of a "sexy school-girl". She runs off with a lothario, then becomes a French whore. Because every woman in the world really wants to be debased in order to find her self-worth. It is exploitative and demeaning. And not exactly the female empowerment tale the film seems to be trying to project. So, in the end, a wild premise is undone by turning the whole thing into soft porn. Of course, this male director has been nominated for an Oscar. Unlike the female directors this year, who nearly all got iced out.
No comments:
Post a Comment