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Pearl

The origin story of Ti West’s X. On a remote farm, Pearl (Mia Goth) lives with her embittered, sick father and her controlling mother and dreams of a more exciting life.

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(A short note on spoilers: PEARL is a prequel of Ti West‘s X (2022). You can watch the two films independently, but PEARL is more amusing if you already know X, and X profits from knowing as little as possible about what to expect from it. This is why I recommend watching X before reading on.)

PEARL is set in the same farm as Ti West‘s previous film X, which was the site for sex and violence. Six decades before that, in 1918, the financial situation is bad and a lot of work falls on Pearl (Mia Goth) and her mother (Tandi Wright) ever since Pearl‘s husband Howard has been fighting on the European front. To the disappointment of her mother, Pearl likes to get distracted from her duties and daydream about a career as a dancer. Pearl is sure that she will soon show the world what a big star she is, and likes to sneak into the local cinema to see her role models on the big screen. The projectionist also says that Pearl will soon be dancing at the big film revues. She just has to practice enough then she will be discovered at an audition that her sister-in-law tells her about and her comet-like rise to stardom will begin. If not, things could end badly. Pearl named all of the farm animals, who have been her only loyal audience members up to now, after her favorite film stars. If one of them doesn‘t show enough dance appreciation, they quickly land in alligator Theda‘s pond. Maybe there‘s a good reason why her mother doesn‘t want Pearl to be around people.

While the images of X were influenced by the washed out colors of films like TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, PEARL‘s aesthetic is a homage to the technicolor exuberance of musicals like THE WIZARD OF OZ. The film places the protagonist in scenes as if she was already a star, including a practically never silent pompous orchestral accompaniment. At the same time, it is clear from early on that Pearl‘s belief in her “X factor“ is more in her head than reflective of reality. Pearl actress Mia Goth, who also co-wrote the screenplay, however, is indeed the star of the film and is the focal point of everything. PEARL‘s plot is rather episodic, and gives Mia the opportunity to be the most extreme element, even in the heightened mood of the film that oscillates between musical glamor and gothic horror. Subtlety and subtext are rather negligible. Instead, there are impressive sights to see: blood splashes, a pig is rotting and the finale includes an uninterrupted prestige monologue lasting several minutes, as if Ms. Goth was vying for an Oscar nomination. However, shortly thereafter, this impression is taken to the bizarre and exaggerated, and the audience get a nightmarish last image.


Overall, X is a rounder film, but two hours with PEARL provide excessive entertainment, somewhere between disgust and cringe, and already fuels the anticipation for what the announced sequel MAXXXINE will offer.

Christian Klose

Translation: Elinor Lewy

Credits

USA 2022, 103 min
Genre: Horror
Director: Ti West
Author: Ti West
DOP: Eliot Rockett
Montage: Ti West
Music: Tyler Bates, Tim Williams
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Cast: Mia Goth, David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland, Emma Jenkins-Purro
Release: 01.06.2023

Website
IMDB

Screenings

  • OV Original version
  • OmU Original with German subtitles
  • OmeU Original with English subtitles

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