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Pearl
Canada / New Zealand / USA 2022
produced by Jacob Jaffke, Harrison Kreiss, Kevin Turen, Ti West, Kid Cudi (executive), Dennis Cummings (executive), Mia Goth (executive), Ashley Levinson (executive), Sam Levinson (executive), Karina Manashil (executive), Peter Phok (executive) for A24, Bron Creative, Little Lamb, New Zealand Film Commission
directed by Ti West
starring Mia Goth, David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland, Emma Jenkins-Purro, Alistair Sewell, Amelia Reid, Gabe McDonnell, Lauren Stewart, Todd Rippon, Grace Acheson
written by Ti West, Mia Goth, characters created by Ti West, music by Tyler Bates, Tim Williams, prosthetic makeup effects by Weta Workshop
X
review by Mike Haberfelner
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It's 1918, and while Pearl's (Mia Goth) husband Howard (Alistair
Sewell) has gone to Europe to serve in the Great War, she's forced on her
parents' farm, and while her father (Matthew Sunderland) is invalid and
needs constant care, her mother (Tandi Wright) is very strict and tries to
educate Pearl to a very Spartan lifestyle. Pearl's only escape is the
movies and she wants to become a dancer once - something her mother would
never agree to ... and much less to Pearl's affair with the projectionist
(David Corenswet) of the local movie theatre. Then Pearl's best friend and
sister-in-law Mitsy (Emma Jenkins-Purro) tells her about an audition for a
local dancing troupe, and Pearl's hell-bent to get the job - even if this
sets off a rather homicidal set of events ... Even though
billed as a prequel to Ti West's X,
knowledge of the earlier film is not required to appreciate Pearl,
and might even be detrimental - which is no disrespect to X,
just my way of saying that Pearl is actually the much better film
of the two ... but at the same time comparing apples with pears: While X
was a slasher with a porn backdrop, Pearl is a very disturbing (and
ultimately very violent) character study that's at the same time a love
letter to vintage cinema, with director Ti West showing an assured hand
regarding both, and Mia Goth, who's in pretty much every scene, carrying
the film rather beatifully. And just the right balance between violence
and (self-)irony, hommage and originality makes this a really impressive
watch for sure.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
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a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
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all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
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