If Helena Howard-who plays the main character, Madeline-doesn't get nominated for an academy award, we boycott. She by far gives the most visceral performance of the year right next to Hereditary's Toni Collette's. She is seriously someone to look forward to in the near future of cinema. She's a hidden talent that's career just got its blossoming. You feel psychotic throughout this. You really do. You feel as if you are in the head of this mentally ill character Madeline, and you begin to come to terms with her in-visionary perspective behind her life, and the beauty but also the terror within it. I've never seen a film approach such a fascinating charactorial perspective. Film enthusiasts should be encouraged to study such a unparalleled take on "point of view." Of course, the filmmaking is exquisite in its own unusual design. It's dreamy, dozey, and surreal, and I adored it. Like a natural high. If you want me to mention any flaws, I guess the pacing is a bit droog (it's kind of a b at times). It's hard to stay focused all the time since the story-I don't want to say doesn't go anywhere-takes a while before its resolutions are presented. Besides this (and maybe some nitpicks with the finale that I won't get into it) this doesn't contradict how mesmeric the experience was. It's hard to rate this one, since I'm a bit conflicted with what I have watched-there's really nothing like it; it's undoubtably the most experimental film of the year-but in terms of the filmmaking power and the overall core themes/matter that had me in this film's grasp, I feel somewhat comfortable giving these aspects of Madeline's Madeline: (Verdict: A-)
