Pearl (2022) Dir: Ti West
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Having recently revisited the first film in Ti West's modern horror trilogy; 'X', it was high time I got around to watching the equally well received prequel. It's a film that has good ratings from critics and audiences alike, which is usually a pretty good sign. What also set this film in good stead is that I enjoyed the previous one.
Like many A24 productions, this film had a flair for the unique and quirky. Much of the film pays homage to classic Hollywood, especially the soundtrack, which mixed classic romantic blockbuster with sinister horror very smoothly. A lot of the film felt nostalgic and sentimental - a twisted love letter to the golden age of Hollywood.
It was an interesting film from a mental health perspective, with much of the focus of the story being on the protagonist's mental state. There was a clearly an effort to give her several traits of some severe mental health issues, such as BPD, sociopathy and egotistical narcissism.
The effect of all this is that the film seems to answer the question; "what if Dorothy was extremely unstable and hated her farm life?" I'm not entirely sure it casts these mental health issues in the best light, although, it's hard to say it romanticises them either. Either way, it certainly isn't the first film to do such a thing.
There's a lot about this film that struck me as unconventional and unique. For one thing, I really liked that the film didn't function as a horror, for the most part. It had an atypical approach, which focused more on characterisation than it did scares. The horror comes from the demise of its protagonist's state of mind.
Mia Goth was once again a star. She is remarkably good at being unhinged, and she was able to show all kinds of versatility in her performance. Goth has solidified herself as one of the premier scream queens in cinema today. Her work in these films has been exemplary.
Goth definitely owned the screen, but there were still some really solid performances from the supporting cast. I think Tandi Wright stood out the most, while David Corenswet, Matthew Sunderland and Emma Jenkins-Purro also gave decent enough accounts of themselves.
Overall, I thought this was a brilliant prequel which both showcased the evidently fantastic acting of its star, as well as providing a hugely disturbing yet fascinating origin story for one of the previous film's most integral characters. If these first two films are anything to go by, the upcoming third film should be a showstopper.
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