Certain films have to walk a fine line between art and trash to achieve their goals. This requires everyone involved to understand both the material and the style in which it is presented. That’s high camp. This is different from camping and knowing about the questionable hobby of human trafficking.
Paul Feig is no stranger to high camp. his 2018 a simple request ‘ was a vulgar masterpiece depicting women’s bad manners. his latest work, housekeeperThe movie, an adaptation of Frieda McFadden’s best-selling book, is in the same vein. housekeeper not as free in style as A simple request. There’s no near-topless Blake Lively serving martinis in the graveyard scene. housekeeper It’s a cinematic celebration of what Pauline Kael called “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” Only here, the characters are moving more than bullets.
The plot, adapted by Rebecca Sonneschein, is exactly the kind of nonsense a story like this needs. Longtime readers will know that I’m tired of plot cells and the belief that plot is important, when in reality it’s not. In some ways, melodramas are an exception, as the plot provides rich subtext for actors to deeply understand. housekeeper Some characters may overfeed or starve others, but that doesn’t matter. Because the actors here are all having a ball, knowing when to give the camera a stoic stare, a searing stare, or a manic expressiveness that could break the nearest pair of glasses.
​housekeeper It’s Howler. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such vulgar pleasure in a movie. Since Steven Soderbergh black bag Has mainstream cinema ever been this sexy or insane? The film’s second half hits the rarefied tier of, to use an all-too-worn adjective, villainy.
Feig and Sonneschein mine McFadden’s material under the soap’s garbage as a slice of exploration into how women are forced into boxes by both society and men. I’m not going to say it housekeeper He plays with identity in the same way that Ingmar Bergman did, for example. Persona. But as evidenced by its two leads, Amanda Seyfried and Sidney Sweeney, this film steps into the sandbox. These two stars could be sisters, or they could be cast as sisters in an unimaginative movie. The parallel here is used to show how both cultures and men view women as disposable or replaceable.
Seyfried’s Nina Winchester plays a seemingly perfect housewife with a troubled past. The cracks start to show early on, and if it weren’t for Sweeney’s Millie’s desperation for her job, she probably would have put it down. But while the two dance around each other in the film with the grace of a bullfighting ballet, it’s never clear just who’s the bull and who’s the bullfighter.
John Schwartzman’s camera makes sure to highlight the similarities and differences between the two protagonists with sly bravado. Seyfried’s modest, classy, ​​and cool exterior hides intense emotions underneath. Sweeney’s rustic sexiness overshadows a cool interior that hides caged animals. Feig and Sonneshine create a fun little dance between them as Nina and Millie appear to be trying to outdo each other. As for Millie, she tries to figure out exactly what’s going on, but it’s not until later that she fully understands the effects of what she’s entered into.
Still, the fun is housekeeper This is how Feig and Sonnesine handle the dynamic between the two of them. Nina’s cold, icy exterior hides a dangerous ferocity, but there’s also a cold, calculated caged animal surface that clashes nicely with Milly’s own steely determination. Nina’s strong-willed, understanding husband, Andrew (Brandon Skrenner), is determined to melt away. The heat between the two melts Millie’s strong defenses.
Sklenar seemed dull and unassuming until I started recording one of its many twists. And I, too, couldn’t help but admire the way he clearly played his part. Everyone has a role to play. Everyone plays what they think other people want to see. Not only that, but they play roles they themselves hate in order to get what they think they want: someone else. Each character hides behind a carefully constructed mask without realizing that they are not alone.
About half housekeeperfor a culture so excited that it’s afraid to even mention anything about it, the sex scene looks like a series of black cats departing. Or maybe I just love sex scenes during heavy thunderstorms. Thanks to Feig, Schwartzman, and Brent White’s relentless editing, the scenes ooze sensuality and breathless desire. These allow you to see Millie’s face, a shocking rarity in many Hollywood sex scenes, and allow you to witness her pleasure. By focusing on Millie’s joy rather than Andrew’s, housekeeper It subtly breaks the male gaze.
It’s a breathtaking sight, but it becomes a breaking point for Millie. The moment she goes from victim to hunter. Until Feig pulls out the story rug again, and housekeeper Revealing sisterhood for what it really is. housekeeper The piece focuses on society and the various ways in which other women uplift and pull each other down.
Feig avoids the trashy, mostly the vulgar, and embraces the absurdity of being a story. He takes great joy in letting his characters reveal their master plans through monologues and flashbacks, takes hilarious care in performances that are tuned to either explode or simmer, and miraculously, never hits a wrong note.
So, yes, housekeeper It’s a silly, soapy movie. But we also understand how women must reconcile the cadre of identities in their daily lives as they try to balance the tightrope of being everything or nothing. Whether a woman is saved or torn apart depends on how she is perceived. I think both Seyfried and Sweeney can relate.
Image courtesy of Lionsgate
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