God Help the Girl

For some reason I expected a little more from Stuart Murdoch who has written some beautiful songs, even though with varying degrees of lollipop. In God Help The Girl he does a few things well. The dance and musical sequences, though possibly jarring to some, are blended into the film reasonably well. But the rest of it is pretty shallow. It's as if he had the idea of jumping into the ocean but got to the edge and just paddled, not really able or wanting to get wet. For example, James is potentially an interesting character but Stuart doesn't develop him beyond the paper thin. At one point in the film, Anton (Pierre Boulanger) describes Eve's music as, and I'm paraphrasing, baby stories for young girls. I think Anton's analysis could equally apply to God Help The Girl.

I remember back in 2008 when I stumbled across the God Help the Girl album. A huge B&S fan, it was recommended by the I Tunes bot, and while i usually pass on those, I couln't help but be intrigued by a musical with music by Stuart Murdoch.

Loved the album, couldn't wait for the movie, though at the time, details were sketchy at best. As years past, the album remained a mainstay on my pod rotation, but I'd essentially forgotten that it was intended as a soundtrack to something.

Then a few months back, I came across the God Help the Girl, the actual soundtrack, and found that it was finally coming out. I knew it was a small Indie movie, and it would be a while before I got to see it, and I expected that. Then last night, the Gods of awesome smiled upon me when my wife told me that it was On Demand in the In Theatres section. And all was well.

Anyway, to the movie. Again, it is what I expected. To some up the story, such as it is, you only need two words; hipsters and music. It is all shot in very retro fashion, and nails that part. Like the Beatles movies of the 1960s, the story is essentially a vehicle to travel from song to song, most of which are essentially music videos, and shot as such. And again, knowing what to expect, that's wonderful. What's even better is that the actors are well aware of this. Emily Browning may mot be Jennifer Lawrence in terms of name recognition, but she's a bigger name than I would have expected here, and effortlessly believable.

The only blemish is that some of the songs feel shoehorned in. Act of the Apostle (which is actually Act of the Apostle II in the B&S catalogue,) feels random and out of place as an opening number. Again, such is the nature of this type of film, but this one feels like they just wanted to eek i in, so used it as an opening number. Also, the title song, as well as my favorite, Perfection as a Hipster are not done justice, especially the later, which plays softly in the background via the radio, though be it in an appropriate scene.

All and all, like the afore mentioned Beatles films, this ones about the music. While the acting's wonderful, the story isn't going to reel you in. My recommendation is to listen to the music first, be it the 2008 studio album or the movie soundtrack. Or both. If you like the music, watch the movie. If not, you'll probably be, dare I say...bored out of your mind.

What's not to like about this twee movie? The story is the songs brought to life by the twee singers themselves. I found the film charming and naive.

Eve, James, and Cassie seem to have way too much time on their hands. Eve, (with an eating problem) is in and out of a clinic and finds writing songs helps her emotionally. Eve, James, and Cassie are all musically oriented, so they form a band. Eve, gets a big break and off to London she goes.

This is just simple young people living the dream, and we get to watch their happiness, confusion, pain. They are very much 'in season' for their age and tomorrow it will be different for them. And you get to hear some pretty good songs! Stuart Murdoch kept it a consistent format.

A movie about a young woman with an eating disorder trying to deal with the real life and using music.

It is a pretty nice idea. The movie doesn't really have much depth though. We don't really know much about characters and don't see them develop very far. It is just a little episode of their lives when they were talking about making a band.

The reason why it isn't a very deep movie is probably because it is a musical. There is more focus on the songs than on the characters and their personalities and stories. My problem in this case that I am not a fan of this kind of music. The songs had a pleasant sound to them but they all sounded kind of the same. Their performance was also not very exciting. Emily Browning was a great singer but there was nothing happening during the songs. Just some walking or sitting in a tub. The only song that stood out for me was the one they performed at the retirement home. This is probably because it was the one performance that seemed to have real energy and character.

Still the movie was not bad. I think what helped a lot were the visuals. The style and the settings were beautiful. My favorite part of the movie was them kayaking. Mainly because of the gorgeous scenery.

although I'm sure I could have never been so obnoxious.

three young adults drone on about music and the meaning of life. despite the global recession, glasgow is a pretty peachy place to live; there's a distinct lack of food insecurity, job scarcity, impossible rent and heating bills. that guy who chats you up at the gig isn't a total skeeze. maybe this is is all on purpose; maybe it's supposed to be a fantasy.

I've been following b&s for quite a while, despite the twee label. reading thru old interviews many of the events of the fiim are in fact quite autobiographical; there's a depth to the music which has been earned. I got the distinct impression that ms browning did not have quite that same depth, furthermore she seemed to struggle to relate to her character. this is fine is mr murdoch's intention was to create a light romantic-comedy-musical, but if so, why include the darker elements? it's possible that I'm entirely too close to the subject matter. a painful watch, and, what's worse, poorly acted.

**edit** let's face it; this really wanted to be a film about ME but murdoch was either frightened of being so honest or didn't think it would sell tickets. as someone who had ME, I know what he is trying to say but won't say. it doesn't work! I can totally understand the compartmentalization at stake here: the need to exist in a state of semi-bourgeois lightheartedness; to lie; but the script betrays itself.

maybe some day someone can write a feature film on what it's like to have your life totally stripped away from you before age 20; to exist in a twilight zone of the barely living; to have to pretend that it's not happening to you and you are "only" anorexic and depressed. this wasn't it!