The Girl
From Monday (**)
review by Jon
Waterman
Welcome to the future. You will witness an existence where
a revolution has put corporations in charge of everything,
where people are bar coded, and where having sex increases
your personal worth and buying power. Of course, not everyone
likes this system. A group of counter-revolutionaries have
formed to disrupt the conglomeration’s plans. The scheme
goes awry and things get even more complicated when a visitor
from outer space comes down to bring a fellow “immigrant” back
home. Got all that?
Director and writer and composer Hal Hartley brings a vision
of the future that’s slightly reminiscent of Brave
New World. All of the societal differences seen here are quite
viable, and maybe even too scary to think about. So, that aspect
of the story and the writing I enjoyed. However, the subplot
with the aliens and them adjusting to the new culture, etc.
could have been left out or made into a separate movie. The
woman from outer space doesn’t contrast this world with
our own or provide any sort of perspective on the problem at
hand. Instead, she sits in this guy’s apartment learning
how to live on the world, soaking in knowledge like Johnny
5 from “Short Circuit.” Visually the movie isn’t
very appealing either.
This is an example of digital video movie making gone awry.
Cinematographer Sarah Cawley provided some of the most amateurish
camerawork I’ve seen in a professional production. I
can only assume there is some reasoning behind using what appears
to be auto exposure (where the backgrounds are drowned out
in a sea of white) and for staying handheld. The canted angles
were such a regular feature that they hardly seemed representative
of any type of mood or emotion conveyed in the scene, but rather
what looked cool. The frame rate wasn’t even consistent
with the film print, so the video looked grainier and slowed
down so that the soundtrack would match up. It’s very
shoddy production value, but maybe there’s a reason I
just don’t understand (besides keeping the budget low – please
tell me it’s something other than that).
I would say that the acting kinda sucks, too, but I actually
see a bit of purpose behind that (which leads me to think I’m
missing something about the rest of it). The delivery is robotic
and wooden most of the time. However, if you look at their
facial expressions, you’ll see what the characters are
really trying to say. You have Hartley regular Bill Self (playing
the lead character/counter revolutionary boss Jack) with his
bouncy eyes contradicting his stone face. And you have Sabrina
Lloyd as the corporate woman who buys into everything sold
to her that speaks rigidly, yet obviously shows pain in her
eyebrows.
The dry dialogue and interactions create this interesting
noir feeling, which would be helped with a more intriguing
or (necessarily) complex storyline. The science fiction isn’t
as intense or as central to the plot as it could have been,
either. A simple current tale about corporations trying to
take over some aspect of human nature would work just as well.
Yet, it’s still an interesting satirical look at where
our society could be heading that provides some good lines,
but mostly it’s forgettable.
respond to jon@filmbrats.com
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