Review: STRANGE DARLING

A woman runs in terror through a wood. She has a wound to her head. A stocky man is in pursuit with a rifle. We are told that this film of a spree of a serial killer will be presented in six chapters. Then, when chapter 3 pops up straight after we understand that they just won't be in expected order. This, at first, might draw a sigh at yet another '90s style thriller where something happens but the next bit happened before it. That's how this comes across until it becomes clear that we are looking at something that knows you're thinking that. This film is about assumptions and plays on how they affect things like sexual consent, assistance, obedience and a raft of other issues. I'm not talking about plot at all because this is a film about assumptions and that means it's about twists. If anything I write here entices you into seeing this tight and witty thriller, you are best going in blind.

But I can talk about Willa Fitzgerald's beguiling turn as The Lady, Kyle Gallner's expertly measured physicality, the charm of the mountain people cameos and how this two hander becomes, when it needs to, an ensemble piece and then effortlessly drops that when the action has no time for it. While there is a strong use of pallet, costume and shooting style to give this piece the feel of an integral whole, its need to chop and change from chapter to chapter can result in low empathy levels for the main characters as the film progresses. You forget about this during action sequences but it becomes glaring in dialogue heavy confrontations. An emotionally well-tuned epilogue does a lot of smoothing (not how you'd expect) but the movie can still give you the impression that it was an exercise more than an urgent creative project.

That said, it entertains from go to whoa and doesn't outstay its welcome by a second. A big white on black  card at the beginning declares that it was shot entirely on 35mm film. This is performed by actor Giovanni Ribisi and looks beautiful with neon lit nights and homely country sunshine and such fine grain that you have to squint to make it out. I'm as unmoved by the boast of it begin shot on film as I am by a band declaring their new album was recorded and produced completely in analogue. Considering how beautiful contemporary digital video looks (without the grain) the statement is a signal to hipsters (assuming that urban animal still walks among us). It would bother me more if this film's action was less muscular than it is. And that would still leave room for bother if the theme of assumption were less smoothly streamlined into the telling than it is. But it works, a sharp thriller that delights, poses questions and won't break the attention bank.

Viewing notes: I saw this at the Nova in Melbourne and you should, too  .... or wherever it's convenient.