One of the best performances I have ever seen.
If you're reading this, you probably know it's a midwestern Gothic about a split personality. A guy in a small midwestern town who upon the death of his abusive mother, invents a second personality, a woman who puts on mom's wig and dresses and cooks, cleans, gives him grocery lists, etc from behind the tall wooden fence of their gloomy house on the edge of town. An accident unveils the female to the town, they never guess she's him, and as she gets drawn out into the doings of the town, the two personalities battle for control.
The movie is patient and atmospheric, seemingly inspired by those psychological and wonderfully strange early Polanski movies, Repulsion and The Tenant. There are shots through lace curtains, and just an overall creepiness in lieu of the JUMPS (!) and SCARES (!) of modern movie-making. I liked that. It was a character study. It was subtle, maybe too subtle for the ADD generation. You really have to pay attention or else you miss critical story beats, which are offered subtly.
Sure, split personality is gimmicky. Aren't we tired of movies using severe mental/psychiatric conditions as the premise for a movie, especially a dark one? The saving grace here is Murphy who brings humanity to the situation. You understand that he was abused on childhood and believe the psychotic break could have occurred. And he humanizes both characters. John, the guy, is a great performance in its own right, one that would get lots of attention if it weren't for the other character, who is kind of a jaw-dropper, Emma.
You buy her as a totally separate character, you believe the town buys her as a separate character, and somehow, and I don't really understand how Murphy did this, but you also find yourself sympathizing with her agenda, even as you understand it is selfish and dangerous. You just somehow LIKE her. It's a strange to have your own morality turned on itself by sympathy. Quite a trick.
Page is strong, too, as is Sarandon. But Murphy's performance is as good as any you'll see anywhere ever. He's an actor's actor, and this is the role of his career, so far.
How does this not get released? How does this not go to Festivals like Sundance, Toronto and Tribeca? That seems a crime, I so wish I could have seen this on the big screen. Beautifully photographed and designed, the resumes of the people involved are strong. I wish I could have seen it with a nice crowd at the Angelika, would have made for a memorable night.
Well, great that it exists. Go Cillian.
If you're reading this, you probably know it's a midwestern Gothic about a split personality. A guy in a small midwestern town who upon the death of his abusive mother, invents a second personality, a woman who puts on mom's wig and dresses and cooks, cleans, gives him grocery lists, etc from behind the tall wooden fence of their gloomy house on the edge of town. An accident unveils the female to the town, they never guess she's him, and as she gets drawn out into the doings of the town, the two personalities battle for control.
The movie is patient and atmospheric, seemingly inspired by those psychological and wonderfully strange early Polanski movies, Repulsion and The Tenant. There are shots through lace curtains, and just an overall creepiness in lieu of the JUMPS (!) and SCARES (!) of modern movie-making. I liked that. It was a character study. It was subtle, maybe too subtle for the ADD generation. You really have to pay attention or else you miss critical story beats, which are offered subtly.
Sure, split personality is gimmicky. Aren't we tired of movies using severe mental/psychiatric conditions as the premise for a movie, especially a dark one? The saving grace here is Murphy who brings humanity to the situation. You understand that he was abused on childhood and believe the psychotic break could have occurred. And he humanizes both characters. John, the guy, is a great performance in its own right, one that would get lots of attention if it weren't for the other character, who is kind of a jaw-dropper, Emma.
You buy her as a totally separate character, you believe the town buys her as a separate character, and somehow, and I don't really understand how Murphy did this, but you also find yourself sympathizing with her agenda, even as you understand it is selfish and dangerous. You just somehow LIKE her. It's a strange to have your own morality turned on itself by sympathy. Quite a trick.
Page is strong, too, as is Sarandon. But Murphy's performance is as good as any you'll see anywhere ever. He's an actor's actor, and this is the role of his career, so far.
How does this not get released? How does this not go to Festivals like Sundance, Toronto and Tribeca? That seems a crime, I so wish I could have seen this on the big screen. Beautifully photographed and designed, the resumes of the people involved are strong. I wish I could have seen it with a nice crowd at the Angelika, would have made for a memorable night.
Well, great that it exists. Go Cillian.