Directed by: Alex Ross Perry.
Written by: Alex Ross Perry.
Starring: Elisabeth Moss (Catherine), Katherine Waterston (Virginia), Patrick Fugit (Rich), Kentucker Audley (James), Keith Poulson (Keith), Kate Lyn Sheil (Michelle), Craig Butta (Groundskeeper), Daniel April (Warlock).
Queen
of Earth is about two female friends – Catherine (Elisabeth
Moss) and Ginny (Katherine Waterston) who perhaps don’t really like each other
anymore. The film mainly takes place over a week in the countryside home of
Ginny`s family, where she has invited Catherine to stay for a little while as
she tries to get over the twin blows of losing her father to suicide, and her
boyfriend to a breakup. To make matters worse, her father was a famous artist,
who employed Catherine as his assistant – she says she is an artist herself,
but just how good she is open for debate. Throughout the week, Ginny pushes all
of Catherine`s buttons – driving her further and further towards madness, which
was never really Ginny’s intention. She just wanted revenge on Catherine for
the previous summer, when she needed Catherine there to support her, and
instead she brought her boyfriend along on their girl’s week to the same summer
house. Ginny is doing the same thing to Catherine this year – inviting her
neighbor (Patrick Fugit) over all the time, although he is openly hostile to
Catherine. It’s only in the third act where it becomes clear to Ginny that
perhaps she has pushed Catherine too far – or more accurately, Catherine isn’t
strong enough to deal with the same pain Ginny did the previous summer.
There are several things that keep Queen of Earth from
being a cheesy melodrama. The first is the performances by Moss and Waterson
(and Fugit, really). Moss did great work for years on Mad Men and in recent
years has been delivering a series of strong performances in indie movies like
The One I Love and Listen Up Philip (for the same director as Queen of Earth –
Alex Ross Perry). This is probably her best film work to date. Perry loves to
keep his camera in close on Moss face – opening with a close up of Catherine in
the throes of emotional upheaval – raccoon eyes from tears, arguing with her
boyfriend who stays in the background. It is, oddly, perhaps the most outward
emotion Moss will show in the whole movie – from there on out, she doesn’t let
her guard down quite so much, trying in vain to cover up her descent into
madness – especially around other people, where she has a tendency to come off
as stuck up, rather than sick. For her part, Waterson is just as good as Ginny
– and doesn’t have the same kind of showcase role as Moss does. She really does
remain quiet through much of the film – so much so, you can argue that what she
does to Catherine isn’t intentional (but I'd disagree with that). She pushes
Catherine's buttons expertly – and it’s only in the third act (where Waterson
does her finest work) when she realizes just how far she has pushed her friend.
The other thing that sets Queen of Earth apart from
other melodrama is the fact that Perry shoots the film almost like a horror
film. The obvious inspiration is Roman Polanski's 1965 masterpiece Repulsion,
with Catherine Deneuve alone in her apartment slowly going insane for reasons
that are only hinted at throughout the film.
Others will be reminded of Ingmar Bergman's Persona, where two women,
alone on an island, push each other. Persona isn’t really a horror movie – but,
Perry, like Bergman, isn’t afraid of using some genre stylistic elements in his
film.
Queen of Earth is a film that is deeply unsettling, as
we know more than anyone in the movie just how far gone Catherine is – and we
are waiting for her to completely snap (what form that will take, we do not
know). Perry continues to grow as a filmmaker – or at least experiment. Listen
Up Philip last year was very much a comedy in the Woody Allen vein (although
more misanthropic than even Allen gets). Now he does a Roman Polanski inspired
thriller and melodrama. Both are much better than his debut, The Color Wheel, an
80 minute exercise in navel gazing that had one of the best endings of any
movie I've ever seen, which saved the movie. He remains a filmmaker whose next
film I cannot wait to see.
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