Queen of Earth

A fascinating film, perhaps, for the uber elite who live in the rarefied world of privileged exceptionalism, where the life of the common person is a vague, if non-existent reality, and are instead obsessively immersed in a self absorbed universe of which they are perpetually at the center of.

As for the portrayal of such, Elisabeth Moss does convincingly deliver her character with a unique sense of familiarity.

The problem I had with this film is not the story itself, which probes into the frailties of the human condition within this rarefied social ecology, but rather with the pathetic nature of all of these nauseatingly self absorbed characters, none of whom I would ever have anything in common with, even under the most demanding of required social circumstances.

Call me a "salt of the earth" servile dolt if so inclined, if such makes you feel more self important, but what this film did do is remind me why I have specifically avoided spending any amount of time or effort becoming enmeshed in the dramatic pathologies of the supposedly social elite, which this film does deliver a compelling depiction of.

This general environment I'm quite familiar with, having had my more than my share of exposure into this sort of universe . . . and opting out of it completely.

As for the film itself as an art piece, it is an interesting voyage into the disintegrating psyche of fragile, needy people.

Deciphering exactly where the boundaries were between the actual realities of the moment, and the collage of flashbacks and self induced fantasies which would jaggedly pop in and out of the story thread was a bit exhausting at times, but overall this was a brave attempt to deliver a multi-threaded tapestry of intersecting plots which clearly would have been easily rendered in written form, but compressing such into a film would be much more demanding.

Slowmoving psychological drama about a woman with a mental state that's on a downward spiral after her father died.

Has a bit of a eerie 70's mystery feeling to it stylewise both visually and emotionally (even though it takes place in now time).

But instead of getting intrigued I just found it rather dull instead, perhaps a bit to do with the fact that I didn't find anything particularly likable about any of the characters (or interesting for that matter) and they were all fairly self-absorbed.

And some scenes just go on forever with mumbling monologues of which I often found myself not knowing what exactly they were talking about because for one they mumbled quietly and also the eerie music was really loud, so that didn't really help, and the ending is rather abrupt.

So yeah what can I say, not for me I guess.

So, I really wasn't a fan of Alex Ross Perry's last film Listen Up Philip. That's all I have to base him on. I felt there were a few redeeming aspects going for it, but generally it was an unpleasant experience. It's biggest redeeming aspect? Easily Elisabeth Moss. She played Philip's recovering ex-girlfriend with such tender vulnerability that Perry's ineptitude as a writer and director couldn't get in her way. She makes the film worthwhile when the film could have easily chopped off her subplot and remained the same. Though to clarify, her performance is good, her story is a drag. In theory, Queen of Earth was the perfect next move. A focused movie letting Moss let loose with the unhinged side of her character from Listen Up. And yet, it went so wrong. Someone must have hurt Alex Ross Perry bad. The only thing he has to thoughtlessly spray about people are mean-spirited bites with absolutely no finesse. I don't mind cynical films or characters, but not when they bring absolutely nothing insightful to the table. It's an ugly spite that dives into the unpleasant side of unpleasant people without essential epiphanies.

Instead, Perry has his 'queen of earth' blame everyone else for her problem sans any hint of irony. It's far too self-serious and unsatisfying. It's lazy writing when the backstory is much more interesting than what they're showing on screen, especially when its many flashbacks refuse to divulge into it. It's not necessarily a clumsy film, but it's a very pretentious in its composition and rhythm as if it's the next Persona or 3 Women. How many minuscule scenes do we need of the two leading women walking by each other tensely in a room? I'd like to say Katherine Waterston saves it in a co-leading opportunity, but in Perry's hands she's worse than Moss. I forgive both actresses and Patrick Fugit, but the material they had to work with is so petty and flat, never probing into deeper human needs, only superficial selfish desires that have no third dimension. I could kind of get into it at first, the opening prologue shot for example is very compelling, but it just never finds its way from there. At least its photography isn't quite as incompetent, though Perry is trapping me in his closeups again. It makes Listen Up Philip look well developed in comparison.

5/10

To me, this was one of those supposed deep dramas that produced only unlikable characters, espousing psychological drivel throughout, and thus in the end just became ponderous and irritating to watch. Often told through flashbacks, it held my interest for a while, wondering where it was all going. I should have known better because it ended up going nowhere, all the way to its highly ambiguous finale.

Elisabeth Moss and Katherine Waterston star as Catherine and Virginia respectively. Catherine has come up to her best friend Virginia's family vacation home to get some rest and relaxation. Her emotional state is quite unstable, after her father, a renowned artist committed suicide, and her partner has told her he's having an affair with another woman.

If these two women are best friends, I wouldn't like to meet their enemies, because Catherine and Virginia are constantly bickering at their best moments and being cruel and hostile to each other at their worst. They're joined from time to time by Virginia's neighbor Rich (Patrick Fugit), who's in a relationship of some sorts with Virginia, and who seems to delight in "adding fuel to the fire" whenever he can to provoke the unstable Catherine.

All in all, I imagine the writer and director here Alex Ross Perry, was aiming for a deep meaningful film, but all I found it to be was a tedious and irritating waste of time.

Alex Ross Perry's "Queen of Earth" is a very demanding psychological drama. It has indie feature written all over it, and looking at the reviews and ratings, it comes as no surprise to see that so many people were turned off by its slow-moving nature and the almost tedious length of its dialogues. On the surface, it could easily look like "Queen of Earth" consists of talking, long gazing and nothing else. But underneath its exterior, the film offers a thoughtful and deep exploration of the motivations and thoughts behind its main character, played superbly and memorably by Elisabeth Moss, and utilizes its obvious Bergman-esque influences to create a unique, mystifying and entrancing atmosphere. By the half point, I was entranced, at the end, I was almost sad to leave these characters behind. "Queen of Earth" is a highly unusual film in that there isn't much of a plot, but it still has a lot to say. It's definitely worth watching, but only for those who enter the experience with an open mind and are not easily turned off by the arguments I described above. Also, if you're a fan of Elisabeth Moss's work, then just watch it for her incredible performance which I personally cannot believe got completely left out of any awards conversations whatsoever.