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THE DEAD GIRL
2006
During my viewing of The Dead Girl I wasn't exactly the alive boy I hoped to be, being completely obsessed and impressed with what I was seeing, but instead I think my expectations alienated my mind a bit – both in terms of themes, message and story. Because of what I had heard, read and imagined, I expected this movie to be a mystery of sorts, with suspense and tension throughout. Instead I got a drama with an underlying thriller atmosphere, but the mystery angle was second-hand to the emotional elements, which is what this movie is really about… We are introduced to a dead body when a young girl stumbles over it by chance, but what follows is a cascade of loosely connected stories that all have an emotional though not necessarily essential connection to the dead girl…
The Stranger
As all of you know, this is an anthology of stories and the first segment is about a young woman, who has lived her entire live quietly and without much connection to the outside world. A lot of that has to do with her mother, who she is taking care of. The mother is very dominating and almost devilish, which would explain her upbringing and who she has grown into as an adult. So when she becomes a minor celebrity after discovering the dead girl, the fame gets her attention in ways she isn't used to. This segment was probably my least favorite, but it did set up the whole story, and the psychological state of the woman was interesting though slightly off-putting to say the least. I did like how this story tricked us with a simple title, where The Stranger quickly turned to the murderer in our mind and the man she met was definitely unstable enough to convince us. But as I said, the dead girl was simply a spark to ignite the story of a woman's personal struggles and state of mind, which is also the basics of how this movie progresses.
The Sister
The next story, dubbed The Sister, is about a young woman and her family, whose life is turned upside down, when the dead woman from the first segment is brought to the morgue and has a striking similarity with the sister of the leading woman in this story, who disappeared several years ago. The family has never given up hope, after their little girl disappeared fifteen years ago, which have them prepping posters and the likes to keep her spirit, and theirs too, alive. This segment deals with the struggles and inner pain of people directly related to a (possibly) dead body such as the one the movie depicts. We don't know if the dead and the missing girl are the same, at least not at the beginning, but that isn't important. Again, the importance lies with the psychological and emotional state of each and every character, with this one being on a more personal level and deal with the thoughts and feelings of not knowing for so long and all of which has built up inside you, which is then forced to be front and center after all these years, when the smallest of chances come forward. I liked this segment and thought it was a great aspect of the story in terms of the emotional drive and what happens to people when they lose someone close to them.
The Wife
The third segment flips the story on us, with the first segment being that of a woman coincidently finding the dead body, the next about the people possibly connected to the dead body and this segment about the person who purposely put it there to begin with. That said, we don't know that for sure yet, but as it was the case with the previous segment, the importance is what aspect of the case this story presents – and this is about the (possible) murderer of the dead body. The story focuses on the double life of a killer and how he must keep things hidden for The Wife, but he has been doing it for so long that he begins to get both old, sloppy and also indifferent towards his wife's opinions when he leaves the house. The two of them clearly had a long relationship, which hasn't been functioning for years, and the story is about the challenges faced by the killer, his life companion and their past, present and future. I actually liked this story a lot, because it felt relatable and real to me. The state of the killer's role as a murderer, a husband and as a person are all falling apart, and when the wife finds out, it also tests the love for her husband – which has clearly been crumbling, yet surely it seems like they had countless of years together, which does make decisions hard to make – especially since the story clearly shows her far from dominate role in the relationship. It is obvious the thing about the husband going out has been a long time thing, yet it is also clear she hasn't been doing anything about it either. This segment really tests the limits of love, life and human emotions and the slow-burning subtlety of the story is great.
The Mother
The next segment is close to the second segment about the sister, yet still flips it around. They are similar in the way that they both deal with possible family relations to the dead body, only this one turns out to be a sad cold fact. The Mother is also different since it focuses on a mother's thoughts and feelings rather than the more youthful and sibling-based segment of The Sister. And of course, being the actual truth is something very different. This segment also focuses on the unknown, but not whether the dead body is connected to the main character or not, but the part about not knowing as much about your own child as you thought. The segment sees the mother of the dead girl go out and seek answers, which makes her run into her work partner, roommate and implied lover. Things about both past, present and future are revealed and the mother struggles to overcome grief while also having to face facts, that are not exactly easy to endure. It really is a story about a mother picking up the puzzle pieces of a daughter she hardly knew and the challenges she faces about how to move on, especially since she finds out her "little girl" has a daughter somewhere out there too – the only thing that is truly connected to the spirit of her dead daughter. I liked this segment quite a bit too, especially the bleaker and more helpless approach to grief and the mother's situation.
The Dead Girl
The last segment, which is also the title of the movie, is about The Dead Girl herself, though focusing on the time before her death of course. This segment is in many ways the most important one, at least in terms of what the basics of the story sets up in the first segment and what every other segment has been either loosely or directed related and leading up to up until now. Of course, as stated earlier, it became obvious that the story was more about each and every individual and how such a situation personally effected them, rather than the situation itself, yet it is obviously still important to close the case and reveal the actual "mystery". But that is also the problem for me; the last segment felt like an epilogue that was more important than enjoyable and the conclusion was more obvious than overwhelming or surprising. The director chose to end the film a little too safely for my taste, but I guess it is fitting for the film and story after all. However, I kind of wanted some of the underlying mystery surrounding the depths of her death to be revealed and the tension relieved, instead of just ending the movie as dead-on direct as the actual beginning – and with the anthology-style filmmaking, the movie doesn’t really have a curve of tension or proper progress either. Again, predictable and pale as it may be, the important elements are everything in between and the individual pieces rather than the bigger picture. That was something I really enjoyed despite wanting a more complete cinematic conclusion.
To be honest, the movie actually grew on me right after the end credits, and furthermore as I discussed the film throughout this review, as well as doing so in this manner. By realizing the purpose and pointing out every individual element to the story, I actually enjoyed the character puzzle piece and acting showcase that this movie turned into. I still wished for a better mystery, but in a way, the depths of the human heart and mind might actually be the biggest mystery of them all…
+
2006
During my viewing of The Dead Girl I wasn't exactly the alive boy I hoped to be, being completely obsessed and impressed with what I was seeing, but instead I think my expectations alienated my mind a bit – both in terms of themes, message and story. Because of what I had heard, read and imagined, I expected this movie to be a mystery of sorts, with suspense and tension throughout. Instead I got a drama with an underlying thriller atmosphere, but the mystery angle was second-hand to the emotional elements, which is what this movie is really about… We are introduced to a dead body when a young girl stumbles over it by chance, but what follows is a cascade of loosely connected stories that all have an emotional though not necessarily essential connection to the dead girl…
The Stranger
As all of you know, this is an anthology of stories and the first segment is about a young woman, who has lived her entire live quietly and without much connection to the outside world. A lot of that has to do with her mother, who she is taking care of. The mother is very dominating and almost devilish, which would explain her upbringing and who she has grown into as an adult. So when she becomes a minor celebrity after discovering the dead girl, the fame gets her attention in ways she isn't used to. This segment was probably my least favorite, but it did set up the whole story, and the psychological state of the woman was interesting though slightly off-putting to say the least. I did like how this story tricked us with a simple title, where The Stranger quickly turned to the murderer in our mind and the man she met was definitely unstable enough to convince us. But as I said, the dead girl was simply a spark to ignite the story of a woman's personal struggles and state of mind, which is also the basics of how this movie progresses.
The Sister
The next story, dubbed The Sister, is about a young woman and her family, whose life is turned upside down, when the dead woman from the first segment is brought to the morgue and has a striking similarity with the sister of the leading woman in this story, who disappeared several years ago. The family has never given up hope, after their little girl disappeared fifteen years ago, which have them prepping posters and the likes to keep her spirit, and theirs too, alive. This segment deals with the struggles and inner pain of people directly related to a (possibly) dead body such as the one the movie depicts. We don't know if the dead and the missing girl are the same, at least not at the beginning, but that isn't important. Again, the importance lies with the psychological and emotional state of each and every character, with this one being on a more personal level and deal with the thoughts and feelings of not knowing for so long and all of which has built up inside you, which is then forced to be front and center after all these years, when the smallest of chances come forward. I liked this segment and thought it was a great aspect of the story in terms of the emotional drive and what happens to people when they lose someone close to them.
The Wife
The third segment flips the story on us, with the first segment being that of a woman coincidently finding the dead body, the next about the people possibly connected to the dead body and this segment about the person who purposely put it there to begin with. That said, we don't know that for sure yet, but as it was the case with the previous segment, the importance is what aspect of the case this story presents – and this is about the (possible) murderer of the dead body. The story focuses on the double life of a killer and how he must keep things hidden for The Wife, but he has been doing it for so long that he begins to get both old, sloppy and also indifferent towards his wife's opinions when he leaves the house. The two of them clearly had a long relationship, which hasn't been functioning for years, and the story is about the challenges faced by the killer, his life companion and their past, present and future. I actually liked this story a lot, because it felt relatable and real to me. The state of the killer's role as a murderer, a husband and as a person are all falling apart, and when the wife finds out, it also tests the love for her husband – which has clearly been crumbling, yet surely it seems like they had countless of years together, which does make decisions hard to make – especially since the story clearly shows her far from dominate role in the relationship. It is obvious the thing about the husband going out has been a long time thing, yet it is also clear she hasn't been doing anything about it either. This segment really tests the limits of love, life and human emotions and the slow-burning subtlety of the story is great.
The Mother
The next segment is close to the second segment about the sister, yet still flips it around. They are similar in the way that they both deal with possible family relations to the dead body, only this one turns out to be a sad cold fact. The Mother is also different since it focuses on a mother's thoughts and feelings rather than the more youthful and sibling-based segment of The Sister. And of course, being the actual truth is something very different. This segment also focuses on the unknown, but not whether the dead body is connected to the main character or not, but the part about not knowing as much about your own child as you thought. The segment sees the mother of the dead girl go out and seek answers, which makes her run into her work partner, roommate and implied lover. Things about both past, present and future are revealed and the mother struggles to overcome grief while also having to face facts, that are not exactly easy to endure. It really is a story about a mother picking up the puzzle pieces of a daughter she hardly knew and the challenges she faces about how to move on, especially since she finds out her "little girl" has a daughter somewhere out there too – the only thing that is truly connected to the spirit of her dead daughter. I liked this segment quite a bit too, especially the bleaker and more helpless approach to grief and the mother's situation.
The Dead Girl
The last segment, which is also the title of the movie, is about The Dead Girl herself, though focusing on the time before her death of course. This segment is in many ways the most important one, at least in terms of what the basics of the story sets up in the first segment and what every other segment has been either loosely or directed related and leading up to up until now. Of course, as stated earlier, it became obvious that the story was more about each and every individual and how such a situation personally effected them, rather than the situation itself, yet it is obviously still important to close the case and reveal the actual "mystery". But that is also the problem for me; the last segment felt like an epilogue that was more important than enjoyable and the conclusion was more obvious than overwhelming or surprising. The director chose to end the film a little too safely for my taste, but I guess it is fitting for the film and story after all. However, I kind of wanted some of the underlying mystery surrounding the depths of her death to be revealed and the tension relieved, instead of just ending the movie as dead-on direct as the actual beginning – and with the anthology-style filmmaking, the movie doesn’t really have a curve of tension or proper progress either. Again, predictable and pale as it may be, the important elements are everything in between and the individual pieces rather than the bigger picture. That was something I really enjoyed despite wanting a more complete cinematic conclusion.
To be honest, the movie actually grew on me right after the end credits, and furthermore as I discussed the film throughout this review, as well as doing so in this manner. By realizing the purpose and pointing out every individual element to the story, I actually enjoyed the character puzzle piece and acting showcase that this movie turned into. I still wished for a better mystery, but in a way, the depths of the human heart and mind might actually be the biggest mystery of them all…
+