Rose Glass directs a pulp film with veins, a non-random term, fantasy, the ditch is immediately framed which evokes Lou's dark past and the place where the father hides his crimes, with a movement of the camera we first go into the depth of the moat which then flows into the starry sky thus playing between low and high, descent and ascent, it is no coincidence that a shooting star is shown from the sky which symbolizes the beginning of the story but also the dreams and desires of Lou and Jackie.
Through an alternating montage, the loneliness of both protagonists is shown until their meeting.
Lou is a lesbian girl who runs a gym, she hates her father who operates in illegal arms trafficking, her mother has disappeared and The only reason he doesn't leave his hometown is because he wants to try to protect his sister Bet. Jackie also has a traumatic family past, she was adopted and dreams of becoming a bodybuilder, a dream not supported by her family.
The film is therefore a suburban story, the alchemy between Lou and Jackie works and Rose Glass does not outline its characters as positive.
The dynamic is beautiful where Jackie asks Lou to leave together, why Lou has never moved from her city and the following scene shows the two girls are having lunch together with Beth and to the latter's boyfriend, J.J.
The direction makes it clear that the reason why Lou doesn't move is Bet, wanting to protect her from J.J. who beats her up, in fact Beth is always shown with bruises and wounds, all of which will then be made explicit both in gestures and words.
The love between Lou and Jackie is sincere, the film shows their intimacy but the situation Lou's family will degenerate by involving the two girls and despite the mutual affection of the protagonists, the narration shows the mistakes, Lou however invites Jackie to take steroids to try to make her win the bodybuilder competition and subsequently she will carry out controversial acts and the same Jackie will be guilty of crimes.
The competition sequence of the bodybuilder competition is well done, games of focus, the lights that start to move, the depth of field is removed, the suit to sensorially alter the dynamics and Rose We can see that Glass comes from the genre, he has no hesitations in showing surreal touches and moments as he had already done for Saint Maud.
The staging is good, there are single shots almost reminiscent of cosmic horror, the sky is focused a lot dark at night and there is a strong use of the color red which also appears in small details from scene to scene.
The red clearly evokes blood, there is no shortage of direct shots totally surrounded by the color red but also moments of almost violence from horror.
The film begins at night as does Jackie's journey, the moments in the car, of movement, are at night and therefore shrouded in darkness as is the story of the two girls, the return from Las Vegas is emblematic , where the competition for bodybuilders is held, where the horizon is totally black. In the finale, the car journey will instead be at dawn to mark the new beginning.
The above-mentioned play of perspective between high and low is very present in the film, the shots from above also symbolize the different calls to destiny of the film and the low angle shots, especially on Jackie, are clues as to what will happen, the showing of the Gulliver cartoon on television is appreciable which is indeed a very strong signal for what will happen.
In fact you can also read the film as a sort of birth of anti-heroines, perhaps some will turn up their noses, but personally I appreciate when one dares even in these terms.
Yes, it is a film that wants to tell a lot, the relationship between Lou and Jackie, the dynamic Lou's family with his sister and father, Jacke's broken dream and not everything is fully centered, even in Saint Maud for example some references to the protagonist's past were a bit quick, just as some moments could have been better managed, for example, there is a reaction from Lou's father that is a little too comical.
However, the core of the film is spot on, the direction is good as is the narration between Lou and Jackie who are the fulcrum of the film, the final scene with flashes of black comedy to seal the birth of the two anti-heroines, both in fact complete the mutual narrative arc where, during the narration their actions and reactions, even when extreme or controversial, are always motivated.
Rose Glass confirms herself as an interesting director, who loves the genre in which she inserts her surreal touches.
Good film.