Pearl
A24Should Ti West devote the rest of his life to the making of an X cinematic universe, he would not be wasting his time. While the prequel to that feature, Pearl, is not as strong, or cathartic, as the theatrical experience of X, it still is a magnifying picture that warrants a trip to the cinema just to see the acting talents of lead actress Mia Goth alone.
Goth’s multi-layered portrayal of Maxine and Pearl in X is a career-best performance, but she delivers something truly spectacular in Pearl that any potential Oscar chatter shouldn’t be dismissed. No, really – her almost ten-minute-long monologue near the end of the feature is what aspiring actors and actresses dream to do so well, being quite fitting and ironic that the crux of the movie is about Pearl wanting to become a star by auditioning for her church’s dance traveling troupe. Pearl desperately wants to get out of her farm life, away from her mother (Tandi Wright), who consistently berates Pearl from her aspirations, and her invalid father (Matthew Sunderland), whom she doesn’t want to take care of anymore. She madly falls in love with a projectionist (David Corenswet), who shows her a “darker”, or “edgier” side to motion pictures that are legally shown. However, the cracks start to fall down when Pearl desperately tries to impress him, and the church by adopting the façade of a star, and her psychopathic nature starts to show.
Revealing more about Pearl would ruin the experience for the viewer, just like it was best to see X as cold and in the dark as possible. And while its pace is much slower and more deliberate than X, it is still a fun experience to watch with an audience who has no idea what’s in store for them. West constantly tries to subvert audience expectations during many scenes, especially when he introduces a clichéd love interest. The chemistry Goth shares with Corenswet is great, but it’s even better when he begins to see Pearl for who she is, which results in one of the movie’s most terrifying scenes.
Every kill is seen a mile away, but part of Pearl’s fun is seeing how the person will get killed, or just how the protagonist will snap. Obvious comparisons to Todd Phillips’ Joker will be made, but this is a far more complex film than the Joaquin Phoenix-led DC spinoff, solely because its message isn’t in-your-face. This isn’t about how “society” has ostracized a lonely man with psychopathic tendencies, but how Pearl’s façade starts to break apart when everyone around her get to go places, and she can only stay in her farm with parents who don’t seem affectionate towards her.
It’s a rather tragic film to watch, but her descent into madness is high camp. It’s even more campy than X, because the aesthetic is far more elaborate and lavish. While X had a deliberately “trashy” B-movie/softcore porn aesthetic, Pearl was shot in 2.35:1 and emulates the classic look and feel of many 1950s “technicolor” productions. The cinematography doesn’t necessarily blend into the kills seamlessly, but that’s the point. There’s a disjointed feel between the glossy technicolor tone to the dark, almost unintentionally hilarious, way the characters get brutally murdered by Pearl. It’s part of the reason why the movie works so well with an audience, who will laugh at the sight of a character getting stabbed repeatedly with a rake, or clumsily falling down as Pearl chases them with an axe.
It also helps that the music from Tyler Bates and Tim Williams belong in a completely different vibe from what West is establishing. Its grand, and operatic tones feel highly reminiscent of the work of Ennio Morricone in Once Upon a Time in the West – there’s even a camera pan that feels plucked out of Sergio Leone’s film – and then switches into Bernard Hermann from Psycho when Pearl starts to snap. It’s brilliant, and a perfect accompaniment to the descent into madness the character – and the audience – has near the end of the movie.
And while Pearl doesn’t give all the answers to the character introduced in X, it’s a great companion piece to West’s film. The film is worth watching alone for Mia Goth’s magnifying performance as Pearl, which should seriously be a contender for the Best Actress Oscar. As soon as she appears on screen, it’s hard not to want more out of her. Thankfully, MaXXXine, the third and perhaps finale feature in this unexpected trilogy will be released soon, which only signals the fact that Ti West and Mia Goth should continue making X movies for as long as cinema lives.