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I never thought that the movie was taking itself seriously. And if you want a different example, Visiting Hours is a genuinely great horror-thriller, but no one would ever critique it by saying that the main male character needed to learn about his dysfunctional relationship with women.
And her wanting love is the lynchpin of the whole film. What does love look like for a "liberated", independent woman? That's why the whole climax of the film is
.
When you break away from a conventional power structure, you have to create your own definitions for what certain things look like (respect, family, love, sex, loyalty, etc). In this film, the main character is trying to construct her own version of love, but the version she has created is inherently flawed and she makes herself crazy (and acquires a body count!) trying to achieve it. In a film that is deliberately evoking a very specific, stilted style, I'm not sure how much more into her psyche we need to get.
I don't think it is anti-feminist, but I do think that it takes aim at a certain type of feminism where the idea is something like "Men hurt women, so women hurt men. Equality!!", where the desire of most feminists would be that no one is hurting anybody. I think that it also critiques structures that purport to free women from patriarchy, but are themselves patriarchal and exploitative in their own way.
And her wanting love is the lynchpin of the whole film. What does love look like for a "liberated", independent woman? That's why the whole climax of the film is
WARNING: spoilers below
the detective breaking her brain by making it clear that her concept of love--a man over whom she has power but who also is somehow not dependent on her--cannot exist.
When you break away from a conventional power structure, you have to create your own definitions for what certain things look like (respect, family, love, sex, loyalty, etc). In this film, the main character is trying to construct her own version of love, but the version she has created is inherently flawed and she makes herself crazy (and acquires a body count!) trying to achieve it. In a film that is deliberately evoking a very specific, stilted style, I'm not sure how much more into her psyche we need to get.
I don't think it is anti-feminist, but I do think that it takes aim at a certain type of feminism where the idea is something like "Men hurt women, so women hurt men. Equality!!", where the desire of most feminists would be that no one is hurting anybody. I think that it also critiques structures that purport to free women from patriarchy, but are themselves patriarchal and exploitative in their own way.
Actually, I sometimes do think men should have some sort of comeuppance in many cases.
Take My Fair Lady for example. Couldn’t stand Higgins. Treated Eliza like crap and then realized too late he did need her after all. And she comes back to him. It would have been far better had he been left alone realizing that his confirmed bachelorhood isn’t a choice of his but rather a constraint he has put upon himself by his behavior.
Good film, a tad overrated, disappointing ending, and the main saving grace was Audrey.
Another example, In the Company of Men, which is a great film, but leaves me disappointed with how Chad seems to have been completely unscathed of his treatment of Christine. If there was one guy who deserved it……
Each film is viewed on a case by case basis, of course, and I may not always be consistent.
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Pretty much what I expected. I swear, these algorithm-based movies are like cinematic LaCroix: they only have a faint hint of anything satisfying paired with a lot of fizzy, unremarkable nothing. It makes you want to game the algorithm by paying thousands of people to stream...I don't know, hippopotamus videos just to see how it will affect our entertainment.
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Those are actually some good points. But overall, the film didn’t work for me.
Actually, I sometimes do think men should have some sort of comeuppance in many cases.
Take My Fair Lady for example. Couldn’t stand Higgins. Treated Eliza like crap and then realized too late he did need her after all. And she comes back to him. It would have been far better had he been left alone realizing that his confirmed bachelorhood isn’t a choice of his but rather a constraint he has put upon himself by his behavior.
Good film, a tad overrated, disappointing ending, and the main saving grace was Audrey.
Another example, In the Company of Men, which is a great film, but leaves me disappointed with how Chad seems to have been completely unscathed of his treatment of Christine. If there was one guy who deserved it……
Each film is viewed on a case by case basis, of course, and I may not always be consistent.
Actually, I sometimes do think men should have some sort of comeuppance in many cases.
Take My Fair Lady for example. Couldn’t stand Higgins. Treated Eliza like crap and then realized too late he did need her after all. And she comes back to him. It would have been far better had he been left alone realizing that his confirmed bachelorhood isn’t a choice of his but rather a constraint he has put upon himself by his behavior.
Good film, a tad overrated, disappointing ending, and the main saving grace was Audrey.
Another example, In the Company of Men, which is a great film, but leaves me disappointed with how Chad seems to have been completely unscathed of his treatment of Christine. If there was one guy who deserved it……
Each film is viewed on a case by case basis, of course, and I may not always be consistent.
But in The Love Witch, she isn't seeking revenge for poor treatment. Any man who falls in her sight is going to get the same treatment.
I'm not saying that disliking this film is misogynistic. What I'm pointing out is that there are many horror films with anti-heroes or villains who are men and we watch them torment or rape or murder women, and those films just don't get some of the critiques that are leveled against The Love Witch.
Have you seen Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer? (Checking because I don't want to drop spoilers on anyone). If you have, I would say that there are some parallels between that film and The Love Witch. But would you ever say "I was frustrated because he never figured out that he didn't need to rape and murder women." No, because the character's demented and damaged worldview isn't something that the film wants to fix, it's merely something the film wants to explore. (And sidenote: could you imagine someone writing a review of it and complaining that they didn't get to see Michael Rooker's penis?)
I myself didn't think that the film was perfect. I think I gave it a 3.5/5 or a 4/5. I felt that the film brilliantly evoked that 60s B-movie look. But that's a double-edged sword because the deliberately stilted sequences and dialogue create some distance between the audience and the characters. But does the film accomplish what it set out to do? I think that for the most part it does.
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But what you are referencing are specific men. I think we can all agree that there are male characters (and female characters!) who more than deserve their comeuppance.
But in The Love Witch, she isn't seeking revenge for poor treatment. Any man who falls in her sight is going to get the same treatment.
I'm not saying that disliking this film is misogynistic. What I'm pointing out is that there are many horror films with anti-heroes or villains who are men and we watch them torment or rape or murder women, and those films just don't get some of the critiques that are leveled against The Love Witch.
Have you seen Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer? (Checking because I don't want to drop spoilers on anyone). If you have, I would say that there are some parallels between that film and The Love Witch. But would you ever say "I was frustrated because he never figured out that he didn't need to rape and murder women." No, because the character's demented and damaged worldview isn't something that the film wants to fix, it's merely something the film wants to explore. (And sidenote: could you imagine someone writing a review of it and complaining that they didn't get to see Michael Rooker's penis?)
I myself didn't think that the film was perfect. I think I gave it a 3.5/5 or a 4/5. I felt that the film brilliantly evoked that 60s B-movie look. But that's a double-edged sword because the deliberately stilted sequences and dialogue create some distance between the audience and the characters. But does the film accomplish what it set out to do? I think that for the most part it does.
But in The Love Witch, she isn't seeking revenge for poor treatment. Any man who falls in her sight is going to get the same treatment.
I'm not saying that disliking this film is misogynistic. What I'm pointing out is that there are many horror films with anti-heroes or villains who are men and we watch them torment or rape or murder women, and those films just don't get some of the critiques that are leveled against The Love Witch.
Have you seen Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer? (Checking because I don't want to drop spoilers on anyone). If you have, I would say that there are some parallels between that film and The Love Witch. But would you ever say "I was frustrated because he never figured out that he didn't need to rape and murder women." No, because the character's demented and damaged worldview isn't something that the film wants to fix, it's merely something the film wants to explore. (And sidenote: could you imagine someone writing a review of it and complaining that they didn't get to see Michael Rooker's penis?)
I myself didn't think that the film was perfect. I think I gave it a 3.5/5 or a 4/5. I felt that the film brilliantly evoked that 60s B-movie look. But that's a double-edged sword because the deliberately stilted sequences and dialogue create some distance between the audience and the characters. But does the film accomplish what it set out to do? I think that for the most part it does.
I haven’t seen Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer yet, and yeah, complaining about the lack of nudity isn’t a legitimate crtitique, even for The Love Witch.
I get your point over the misogyny vs feminism treatment, but I’ve seen it go both ways. So really, I just go from film to film and don’t worry if I’m being consistent or not because it really depends on the movie. *
For Love Witch, I do think it took itself a tad too seriously considering it’s theme, love and her attempts to gain it and particularly the detectives accurate analysis he delivers towards her. Trying to be campy about it didn’t work, and really wasted a good performance by Ronson. My opinions on the film is that yes, i would have preferred she had some self realization about her because I never really viewed her as the “bad guy”, but rather she was just searching for someone to love her and was never able to find that without the help of a potion. She didn’t kill anyone purposely, but rather recklessly, with one big exception. I view her different from slashers who kill women because of their issues towards them, and quite purposely.
She wasn’t really evil, as opposed to misguided, and maybe altruistic.
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I never really viewed her as the “bad guy”, but rather she was just searching for someone to love her and was never able to find that without the help of a potion. She didn’t kill anyone purposely, but rather recklessly, with one big exception. I view her different from slashers who kill women because of their issues towards them, and quite purposely.
She wasn’t really evil, as opposed to misguided, and maybe altruistic.
She wasn’t really evil, as opposed to misguided, and maybe altruistic.
She justifies her actions with a vocabulary of empowerment, but at the end of the day
WARNING: spoilers below
she is drugging people (negating their consent), betraying friends and acquaintances, and killing three people (even if one of them is an oopsie murder).
I think it's fine to sympathize with her and hope that she'll achieve some self-realization. But at the end of the day, that isn't the story the writer/director is telling. This is a story of someone following her own flawed, contradictory worldview on an inevitable downhill slide. She does have a moment of truth, but her reaction to it is not, um, positive or productive. Feminism (or this weird variation on feminism) is the framing device for how the character has developed her worldview.
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Maniac is far from brilliant, but we’ll just have to disagree with that. The comparison to a Taxi Driver is laughable.
We are talking about the original I presume? I haven’t seen the remake.
I take your second point, but that can reversed back as well in my experience.
I don’t support misogyny, to be clear, before that enters anyone’s mind.
Edit: it should be noted that I’m pretty sure it was reviled back in the day for its deprivation of violence towards women as well, as were many slashers, so thinking back, the point doesn’t hold up as no one defended it, as much as you seem to, considering you think it’s a classic.
We are talking about the original I presume? I haven’t seen the remake.
I take your second point, but that can reversed back as well in my experience.
I don’t support misogyny, to be clear, before that enters anyone’s mind.
Edit: it should be noted that I’m pretty sure it was reviled back in the day for its deprivation of violence towards women as well, as were many slashers, so thinking back, the point doesn’t hold up as no one defended it, as much as you seem to, considering you think it’s a classic.
As for it being reviled, it was controversial, certainly. As were many movies that are now considered classics (I think Maniac falls under the cult classic archetype). Pearl clutchers outraged by the graphic violence weren't confused by the film's depiction of misogynistic violence, they objected to the very nature of it being on film. Tak is discussing an analysis of the film. Nobody watches Maniac and thinks that Spinell needs someone to didactically explain that what he's doing is wrong. The film knows it and audiences know it, even the haters.
But go on with the condescension. It's a good look when basic comparisons are beyond your comprehension.
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White on White (Théo Court, 2019) 6/10
Sangam (Raj Kapoor, 1964) 6/10
Youth Runs Wild (Mark Robson, 1944) 5/10
Shree 420 (Raj Kapoor, 1955) 6/10
Romance and social commentary about class in a Bollywood musical with catchy songs.
The Twinkle in God's Eye (George Blair, 1955) 6/10
Delinquent Daughters (Albert Herman, 1944) + 4.5/10
The Frontier (Oren Shai, 2015) 6/10
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Questlove, 2021) 7/10
Among those performing at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival are Sly and the Family Stone. Combine that with a historical examination of the black community's thoughts and feelings now and at the time.
Nadia, Butterfly (Pascal Plante, 2020) 5.5/10
Flight That Disappeared (Reginald Le Borg, 1961) + 5/10
Boy Slaves (P.J. Wolfson, 1939) 5.5/10
The Tomorrow War (Chris McKay, 2021) 6/10
Complicated sci-fi actioner about veteran Chris Pratt who tries to save his family and the world from aliens through time travel.
Being Natural (Tadashi Nagayama, 2019) 6/10
The Mayor of 44th Street (Alfred E. Green, 1942) 5.5/10
SoulMate (Derek Tsang, 2016) 6/10
Fragment of Seeking (Curtis Harrington, 1946) + 6/10
Early Harrington surrealistic short about a weird young man (the director).
Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (Leigh Janiak, 2021) 6/10
Evil Nun (Multiple Directors, 2018) 5/10
Boys' Ranch (Roy Rowland, 1946) 6/10
No Sudden Move (Steven Soderbergh, 2021) 6/10
Crooks Benicio Del Toro and Don Cheadle get in way over their heads when they get involved in a complex scheme in 1950s Los Angeles.
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page
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Another Year (2010)
Low key offering from Mike Leigh with a seemingly ideal couple dealing with workmates and friends who are in worse places than them. All the performances are spot on (particularly liked the wonderful David Bradley's monosyllabic introduction). It fell into twee as Leigh films often do but overall a nice snapshot of other lives without really being too interesting.
Low key offering from Mike Leigh with a seemingly ideal couple dealing with workmates and friends who are in worse places than them. All the performances are spot on (particularly liked the wonderful David Bradley's monosyllabic introduction). It fell into twee as Leigh films often do but overall a nice snapshot of other lives without really being too interesting.
Saying stuff like "your comparison is laughable," especially when you're factually wrong, as even the casting of Spinell was motivated by his inclusion in Taxi Driver, makes you seem arrogant and ignorant in one fell swoop. May wanna chill with the blow hard attitude a bit.
As for it being reviled, it was controversial, certainly. As were many movies that are now considered classics (I think Maniac falls under the cult classic archetype). Pearl clutchers outraged by the graphic violence weren't confused by the film's depiction of misogynistic violence, they objected to the very nature of it being on film. Tak is discussing an analysis of the film. Nobody watches Maniac and thinks that Spinell needs someone to didactically explain that what he's doing is wrong. The film knows it and audiences know it, even the haters.
But go on with the condescension. It's a good look when basic comparisons are beyond your comprehension.
As for it being reviled, it was controversial, certainly. As were many movies that are now considered classics (I think Maniac falls under the cult classic archetype). Pearl clutchers outraged by the graphic violence weren't confused by the film's depiction of misogynistic violence, they objected to the very nature of it being on film. Tak is discussing an analysis of the film. Nobody watches Maniac and thinks that Spinell needs someone to didactically explain that what he's doing is wrong. The film knows it and audiences know it, even the haters.
But go on with the condescension. It's a good look when basic comparisons are beyond your comprehension.
His inclusion in Taxi Driver being what lead to his casting doesn’t support your insistence on Maniac being like Taxi Driver, not in the least.
But as for your response, I do thank you for your exemplary example as well. Especially since I’ve seen more then a fair share of condescension from you on several occasions.
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Huh. I mean, to me she is at the very least an anti-hero if not a straight-up villain.
She justifies her actions with a vocabulary of empowerment, but at the end of the day
I think it's fine to sympathize with her and hope that she'll achieve some self-realization. But at the end of the day, that isn't the story the writer/director is telling. This is a story of someone following her own flawed, contradictory worldview on an inevitable downhill slide. She does have a moment of truth, but her reaction to it is not, um, positive or productive. Feminism (or this weird variation on feminism) is the framing device for how the character has developed her worldview.
She justifies her actions with a vocabulary of empowerment, but at the end of the day
WARNING: spoilers below
she is drugging people (negating their consent), betraying friends and acquaintances, and killing three people (even if one of them is an oopsie murder).
I think it's fine to sympathize with her and hope that she'll achieve some self-realization. But at the end of the day, that isn't the story the writer/director is telling. This is a story of someone following her own flawed, contradictory worldview on an inevitable downhill slide. She does have a moment of truth, but her reaction to it is not, um, positive or productive. Feminism (or this weird variation on feminism) is the framing device for how the character has developed her worldview.
Regardless of the intent, I wish it did delve deeper into her psyche.
But that would have been too deep for what she intended.
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Snooze factor = Zz
[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it
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Man, I wanted to like The Love Witch as its obviously a labour of love and Biller seems to like the same kind of films I do, but I found it a complete chore to watch. For every potentially incisive point the movie made on paper, it delivered it in a completely leaden manner. Every joke felt like it came with a bunch of citations to some fat gender studies textbook and landed with a thud. I wonder if Biller's aesthetic is a little too studied, as I found the stilted line delivery painful to listen to. I suppose you could hold that against its inspirations, but at their best, those movies moved with unusual, arresting rhythms. Biller is too busy showing her work for her movie to sing or for her jokes to land.
Glad people gelled to it, but probably one of my least favourite movies from the past decade.
Glad people gelled to it, but probably one of my least favourite movies from the past decade.
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Enter the Ninja -
This is the first and my favorite of the three Golan-Globus ninja movies. This one's secret weapon - besides caltrops, of course - is its strong character development. I totally bought Cole and Frank's friendship and like how the wartime flashbacks enriched it. Also, your mileage may vary when it comes to sleaze - for me, the third movie has just enough while Revenge takes it too far - but this one is refreshingly free of it. Most importantly, though, the fight scenes are so much fun, and with the reliable "they can't take our land" story and character work, there is just enough of this icing on the cake. Sho Kosugi fans may be disappointed because he probably has the least screentime in this one, but he makes his time count; besides, he's why the opening credits are so awesome. These movies have no order anyway, but if you haven't seen any of them, I recommend saving this one for last. Oh, and if it's comic relief you want, you'll get it in my favorite character, the posh Mr. Parker.
This is the first and my favorite of the three Golan-Globus ninja movies. This one's secret weapon - besides caltrops, of course - is its strong character development. I totally bought Cole and Frank's friendship and like how the wartime flashbacks enriched it. Also, your mileage may vary when it comes to sleaze - for me, the third movie has just enough while Revenge takes it too far - but this one is refreshingly free of it. Most importantly, though, the fight scenes are so much fun, and with the reliable "they can't take our land" story and character work, there is just enough of this icing on the cake. Sho Kosugi fans may be disappointed because he probably has the least screentime in this one, but he makes his time count; besides, he's why the opening credits are so awesome. These movies have no order anyway, but if you haven't seen any of them, I recommend saving this one for last. Oh, and if it's comic relief you want, you'll get it in my favorite character, the posh Mr. Parker.
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Man, I wanted to like The Love Witch as its obviously a labour of love and Biller seems to like the same kind of films I do, but I found it a complete chore to watch. For every potentially incisive point the movie made on paper, it delivered it in a completely leaden manner. Every joke felt like it came with a bunch of citations to some fat gender studies textbook and landed with a thud. I wonder if Biller's aesthetic is a little too studied, as I found the stilted line delivery painful to listen to. I suppose you could hold that against its inspirations, but at their best, those movies moved with unusual, arresting rhythms. Biller is too busy showing her work for her movie to sing or for her jokes to land.
Glad people gelled to it, but probably one of my least favourite movies from the past decade.
Glad people gelled to it, but probably one of my least favourite movies from the past decade.
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By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61651664
Mrs Lowry & Son - (2019)
I have very recently been through a period that included looking after my poor old mother during the last few years of her life. Bedridden, cruelled by rheumatoid arthritis, emphysema, and heart attacks. Her large intestine removed. Her mind careening from lucidness to confusion and worse as she struggled for oxygen. But despite all of this, I had a close, loving relationship with this version of her. It so happens that Vanessa Redgrave's portrayal of L. S. Lowry's mother was so similar to my own that I can't help feel it's coloured my appreciation of Mrs Lowry & Son to the point where it will mean more to me than some others.
The film is set during a short time period - before renowned artist Laurence Stephen Lowry (played by Timothy Spall) had achieved much recognition in the world of painting, and before his mother had passed away. You can tell it was adapted from a play, as most of the film takes part in Mrs Lowry's bedroom - the rest of the house seems to be off-limits - but it takes advantage of being a film by giving us glimpses of Lowry scouring places such as Pendlebury for industrial scenes to paint. At times this takes him through more natural and beautiful landscapes, which he also appreciates yet doesn't feel the need to capture. His mother, who he very clearly loves a great deal, is probably the worst critic he ever had. She tries continually to dissuade him from painting, but at the first sign of an appreciation from outside their household, she begins to open herself up to this vocation of his. It is never a smooth road however.
Venessa Redgrave is terrific in this, and the story has an emotional balance that won't blacken your mood. Timothy Spall shines more during monologues to us, explaining directly what he feels. He holds his emotions in check for the most part with his mother, but on occasion her cruelty cuts deep and he's frighteningly wounded. The film plays briefly with cinematic flourishes such as capturing the faded sunlight on their feet as he lifts her into bed. An hour and a half pass in no time. As I say, this is a film which has a considerable amount of emotional impact for me - even Lowry's birthplace coincides with my mother's and I felt at home inside this story.
8/10
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3/10 The ending was hard to watch but i dont think the hour leading up to that made it any more shocking or emotional. Wasnt much of a film, the cinematography was trying but i think it was a miss and the long shots didnt really work for me.
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Something can critique specific feminist concepts without being anti-feminist, which is what the Love Witch does. The protagonist is a negative example, a femme fatale, of what not to do, and specifically victimizes a much more "modern" woman.
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