Queen of Earth

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.

'QUEEN OF EARTH': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A psychological thriller flick written and directed by indie filmmaker, and actor, Alex Ross Perry. It tells the story of two childhood friends, that reunite at a lake house, as adult women, and find out they no longer feel close. The movie stars Elisabeth Moss, Katherine Waterston and Patrick Fugit. Perry and Moss were also producers on the film, along with Adam Piotrowicz and the very prolific Joe Swanberg. The movie is very impressive, stylistically speaking, but it's also a little bit of a mess, from a dramatic storytelling point of view.

Catherine (Moss) and Virginia (Waterston) are two women, who were very close while growing up. They've continued to reunite, every summer, at a vacation lake house; owned by Virginia's family. Over the past few years, they've started to grow apart; and became very bitter towards each other. Their recent relations with men, have really driven the two to a breaking point; as Catherine also starts to lose her sanity.

The movie is very beautifully shot, and the music is haunting and very memorable; with a classic (and very campy) B movie feel to it. The film is played out like a thriller, but it's actually more of a dramatic character study; and it's an excellent examination of female relationships (and mental illness) as well. Moss and Waterston are both really good in the film, and Perry's direction is excellent. It's not a perfect film, but it is a memorable one.

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Greetings again from the darkness. Friendship doesn't just happen. It requires constant maintenance along with give and take from both sides. When a long time friendship between Catherine and Virginia devolves into a passive-aggressive game of emotional "tag, you're it", the result is an unusual psychological expose' on self-indulgence and grieving.

Writer/director Alex Ross Perry follows up his critically acclaimed LISTEN UP PHILIP with a glimpse into the complexities of friendship between two women who seem mostly clueless to both their world of privilege, and their not-so-subtle narcissism. Both Catherine and Virginia have experienced personal tragedies at different times, and their friendship has basically crumbled due to the responses of each woman towards the other.

A startling opening scene serves up a very emotional Elisabeth Moss (Catherine) as she and her boyfriend (Kentucker Audley) argue their way through an ugly break-up due to his infidelity on the heels of the suicide of Catherine's dad and mentor. The rest of the movie covers the week (each day marked by a scripted placard) that Catherine spends with her best friend at Virginia's (Katherine Waterston, Sam's daughter) family lake house. Flashbacks cover the previous year's visit under much different circumstances, but it's the intimate … and often quite uncomfortable … moments between the two women that provides the crux of the film.

Director Perry focuses a great deal of attention on the faces of Catherine and Virginia – many of these are extreme close-ups that leave thoughts unspoken, yet quite clear to the viewer. There are elements of 1970's schlock horror films … but not in a bad way. The music, atmosphere and camera angles have a certain retro feel, but the tension between the two friends is palpable and timeless.

Perry's script and the performances of Moss and Waterston tap into that nasty bit of human nature that makes us believe our problems are much worse than anyone else's. Building on that, the animosity felt when our friends aren't "there for us" in times of trauma, can lead to a dangerous slope that affects judgment and mental stability. Watching Catherine and Virginia go at it has elements of truth and dread.

Patrick Fugit appears in a few scenes as Virginia's neighbor, and his sole purpose seems to be to torment Catherine – at least that's how she sees it. The juxtaposition of the two visits (separated by one year) makes for some very interesting character observations, and helps us understand the delusions and bitterness. It's an interesting and stylish little film that doesn't so much entertain as spur introspection.

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.

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