Cineroom
  • Reviews.
  • Features.
  • Let's chat.
  • Reviews.
  • Features.
  • Let's chat.

8/10/2020

0 Comments

LFF'64 review: Shirley

 
Picture
By Adam Ray Palmer
 
This has been a long-time coming for me. Ever since I missed it in February on the early festival circuits, I thought I’d never get my chance in the press circle.
 
But alas! Thankfully LFF picked it up and finally I was able to absorb Josephine Decker’s Shirley in all its glory!
Shirley focuses four core characters throughout the film’s entirety. We have the self-proclaimed witch called Shirley (Elisabeth Moss), an American queen of horror fiction. To accompany her is the cheating English professor husband Stanley (Michael Stuhlbarg), a man who always over steps the mark of being too creepy.
 
To cure Shirley’s writer’s block when crafting her latest novel, the twosome decided to invite a younger couple to stay with them. Rose (Odessa Young) and her teaching-assistant husband Fred (Logan Lerman) seem to be the loving, helping-hand duo that would finally be the missing piece of the puzzle to help cure Shirley’s focus. Instead, her and her husband Stanley start to seduce the young couple in a cruel and sophisticated experiment. The mental abuse they put them through helps Shirley finish her novel, blurring the boundaries of what is psycho and what is unrefutably unacceptable when aiding the writing process.
Picture
Picture
Shirley (the film) is very reminiscent of Jordan Peele’s Get Out in its concept of manipulation but also the filmmaking style. The close-framing is unnerving just like Peele’s 2016 Oscar-winner, with the talents’ faces filling the shot. It’s claustrophobic and trapping, making you wince with discomfort. Accompanying the framing is the haunting soundtrack.
 
Josephine Decker has clearly done her homework on psycho-dramas. The music at times feels louder than the dialogue, deceiving you of what creepy retort is coming next. The classical compositions are constant throughout the tense scenes, building the suspense until it’s barely palpable. The film is always on the edge of drama and uneasiness, all culminating in you not knowing where you stand, just like we are one of Shirley and Stanley’s projects too.
Picture
The beauty of this film is in the trifecta of performances from Elisabeth Moss, Odessa Young and Michael Stuhlbarg. They are captivating in their own ‘dreamy’ ways. We have the eerie Shirley who borderlines the nightmare she seems to be writing about. Moss’ performance as the unhinged character seems truly authentic, selling scenes with just her expression-filled face. The same can be said for the ever-improving talent Odessa Young. Her innocent portrayal in the first act is a marvel, but her tormented development is just as accomplished. And accomplished is the perfect word for the supporting Stuhlbarg too. He owns his scenes with witty dialogue and stern looks, a man that can make you recoil with a simple pour of wine – I am a big fan of his.
 
Overall, Decker’s Shirley sets out its stall early doors, and delivers on the blurring lines of a biopic and psychodrama well. The film triumphs in the quieter, uneasy scenes and the bigger “look at this movie” statement comes in the form of the subtle yet memorable performances. Give it a year and this movie will be on a few ‘favourite lists’ in recent times.
 
Cineroom’s rating: 4 stars
 
Shirley is released on in cinemas on 30th October 2020 – certificate 15
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.



    Picture

    Previous
    ​scribbles

    July 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    February 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015


    Photos from
    our travels...
All Rights Reserved  ©Copyright 2021  Cineroom