Category: Film

A Fantastic Woman is a strange and sometimes uncomfortable film to watch, but one that is also often beautiful and moving. The film follows its protagonist’s Marina, a transwoman living in Chile, whose older male lover, Orlando, dies unexpectedly. His death brings the wrath of both the family and the state against Marina, though she had nothing to do with it. From that moment, viewers watch as she attempts to navigate the fallout, often alone and in peril, as again and again, someone questions or attacks Marina’s identity and intents. The film, though only a little over 100 minutes, feels long, because viewers are given little reprieve–Marina always seems to be moments away from danger. And for the most part, she is.

Though the plot of the movie revolves around the fallout surrounding Orlando’s death, the movie might better be described as a series of scenes showcasing the varied reactions different people have to Marina, and her reaction, in turn. While Marina is certainly not a stoic, she is powerless in many ways, and it is the other characters in a scene who determine how things play out. When Marina returns Orlando’s car to his ex-wife, she stands there and allows that woman to study her, to tell Marina how she thinks she is some sort of sex deviant; likewise, when a policewoman takes an interest in Marina’s role in Orlando’s death, she forces Marina to go to a police station and undergo an invasive physical examination. Marina does not tolerate these actions because she is weak, but because she has to, and again and again during the film, viewers are shown how resilient she is.

Not everyone reacts badly to Marina. She is shown to interact with many people at her job or on the street who either fail to notice or don’t care that Marina is trans. Refreshingly, there are also people in her life who support her, such as her boss, her sister, and of course, Orlando. Though the film could have shown a real hellish life for Marina, it does allow the audience to breathe every once in a while.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this film to everyone but the faint of heart. It showcases and important and very real identity that is often attacked (especially in Chile). The film continues to play at the State Theatre and student tickets are $8.

A Wrinkle in Time, the readapation of basically everyone’s favorite childhood book by Madeleine L’Engle, chronicles the adventure of young Meg Murray (Storm Reid), on a quest to find her father. In the process she unwilling becomes a warrior for the light against the evil of the universe. Calvin (Levi Miller) and her younger brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) accompany her, guided by three seriously peculiar goddesses/guardians/celestial beings. In truth, the whole adventure is simply a coming of age story for the relentlessly teased Meg. It came so close to being a fantastic film, but tried to combine too many ideas in the space of two hours. (spoilers below)

This film felt so ordinary. Protagonist goes on a journey of self discovery and learns to love themself, aided by a corny love interest and powerful guiding forces who do nothing but offer unhelpful advice. To be clear, I have no problem with self discovery journeys. I do have a problem when the film relies on tropes and fails to add anything new. I was waiting anxiously for some plot twist or great reveal that would bump the film up the extra step it needed to greatness… aaaand nothing happened. I’m pretty sure I predicted about 96% of the film accurately.

So, the second problem. I think part of the reason it felt so discombobulated was because there were really cool elements that had the potential to be really interesting, but were kept at surface level. For example, Meg’s father discovered the tesseract, a higher dimension (???) which enables people to teleport across the universe when they tap into the right frequency. And I have so many questions!! How did her father learn this? He’s been missing for four years, so why didn’t he just tesserate back? What even is this higher dimension?? I understand this is a fantasy/science fiction movie, so I’m already suspending a lot of belief. But, it can only go so far. Like, if I’m going to accept people can tesserate across the universe there better be flawless worldbuilding that backs it up.

A lot of the film felt progressive; major lines were dropped about accepting oneself both as a woman and/or a woman of color. Aspects of these deeper themes peeked out from the plot, but were then smothered by insanely corny lines and childish dialogue creating a push and pull between a more mature film to one aimed at little kids. (Literally, my friend and I were hard-core cringing half the film from second hand embarrassment). To be fair, the kids were splendid actors and the inclusion of Oprah was a definite bonus, but I wish the director had dug deeper and explained more. Director DuVernay had the right pieces in the puzzle but they didn’t stick together well.

Image: Disney

SPOILER FREE REVIEW:

From the opening scene to the final shot, Thoroughbreds is consistently off putting like yogurt you eat one day too late. Something isn’t right with these characters, any of them, who propel the plot forward with their antics. Scenes as mundane as a long walk in a hallway or a friend tutoring another friend become moments of high tension, not because there’s a killer on the loose, but because there isn’t. Suspense is not created through jump scares or off-screen suggestions, but by the slow way viewers have to watch these characters perform this strange and agonizing dance. This effect, though it is in part the brilliant actors, is largely the music and how the scenes are shot. We watch these scenes unfold like madmen, we are unable to step outside of the teenagers’ twisted vision. There is no avenue out of the insanity.

Though certainly not for everyone, the film is a refreshing, if uncomfortable, take on teenage amorality.  If you are at all interested in watching two girls crawl across suburbia’s secrets to the spilling of blood, then this is a movie you should watch.

SPOILERS BELOW:

There are two protagonists in this movie, Lily, the rich girl with a wicked stepfather, and Amanda, a “creepy” teenager who “feels nothing.” In contrast to the stoicness of Amanda, Lily is shown to be an emotional creature–she cries, gets angry, and panics almost every step of the way. Early on, it is revealed that Amanda is reviled in their suburb because she killed her own horse–but, later, when Amanda tells that story, she says she did it because the horse was injured and unable to walk, that though the deed was bloody, it was done out of mercy and necessity. It was, in other words, a moral decision. This is the approach Amanda takes to the murder of the stepdad: not something they should do because Lily hates him, but because it is “right.” For her cold and blunt attitude, and near-psychopathic levels of manipulation, Amanda is still a moral creature, perhaps not in spite of, but because of, her inability to feel. And at the end of the movie, it is Lily who murders her stepfather and frames Amanda for the crime (with Amanda’s permission because Lily convinces Amanda her life is not worth living–though she initially plotted to do it without telling Amanda). After committing this deed, Lily is shown sobbing in Amanda’s lap; although she cries (for either the murder or the betrayal she just committed–it is unclear) she still goes through with it, still betrays the friends who was just shown to have been willing to sacrifice her freedom for Lily. It is Amanda, numb to the world, who emerges at the end of this film as a martyr, and Lily, feeling every slight, who becomes the Judas.

Part of the reason this film has left many feeling uncomfortable is because it is partially an attack on emotions and a defense of traits we usually consider psychopathic. Our understanding of what makes us good or bad is being challenged and we should consider the points Thoroughbreds raises.

The movie will continue to play at the State Theatre. Student tickets are $8.