Creature

This is not a movie. Unless your idea of a movie is one man, dancing, for over an hour... The fact that this has the rating that it currently has (over 4), I put down to friends of anyone involved in making this submitting their own ratings in order to improve its score. There's really not much more to say. There's no dialogue to review, no special effects, only one actor, and no storyline. In fact this review that I'm writing is more interesting. It really annoys me when "movies" like this get any sort of score at all as it is a complete waste of time. That is all I have to say. Don't waste your time.

My mistake was going into this thinking I was watching a movie when what this really is, is a ballet performance.

If that's your thing you'll probably love this, I don't know much about ballet but it seemed pretty well choreographed, and fit the mood and movement of the music well, which I will say I did really enjoy.

It's objectively pretty good, but I'm not into ballet and the story is irrelevant / non-existent so this completely missed the mark for me.

I wouldn't watch it again, and I definitely wouldn't recommend to people who wouldn't choose to see a ballet performance otherwise, as that is literally all this movie is!

This is a gorgeous piece of theatrical cinema that really does allow the stylish Jeffrey Cirio to demonstrate his grace and athleticism. He is the eponymous character being held for experimentation in a run down Arctic research station. His whole life is governed by the rather beastly "Major" (Fabian Reimair) ably assisted by the menacing "Doctor" (Stina Quagebeur). His life is one relentless stream of misery and ghastliness - until, that is, he befriends (à la "Shape of Water" from 2017) the cleaner "Marie" (Erina Takahashi) and the merest hint of hope and optimism enters his dreary existence. The lighting, paucity of dialogue and eeriness of the over-arching production design help immensely, as does the potent Vincenzo Lasagna score - to create a marvellously enjoyable and thought provoking stage for some masterful dancing from Cirio who oozes charisma right from the start. I'm not the greatest followed of dance, but this isn't really a film that requires you to be. The story just flows, the characters attract and alienate and the whole thing is a sensual treat. Turn off the lights and get yourself a drink, settle down and prepare to be mesmerised. This is good.

I don't think I'm well-equipped to review a ballet based on its merits and technicalities, given that the medium of ballet is relatively new to me. This is only the sixth ballet performance I've watched, and I believe it will be years before I have anything substantive to say about it. Therefore, I'll approach this performance more akin to critiquing a movie, which seems reasonable considering how it diverges from what we traditionally understand to be a ballet production and aligns itself more with experimental cinema.

Akram Khan's "Creature" reminds me of Guillermo Del Toro's "The Shape of Water" from a few years ago, as it shares many common themes and narrative elements. Here, we have the eponymous Creature being experimented on by what appears to be an industrial space colonizing regime, and who eventually befriends Marie the maid after seeing her no different to himself; trapped in an uncaring world with only her dreams of breaking free her sole solace. Dealing with themes of isolation, connection, and freedom, the production compellingly advocates for empathy and humanity, contrasting them with the perversion of power and greed. Despite the absence of dialogue (of course, it's ballet), the production is remarkably stentorian and precise in its expression, conveying a profound sense of empathy within its eerie, otherworldly setting. This is greatly aided by the acting which is as exceptional as I've seen in any theatrical production, the choreography which feels so alien yet so sacramental, as well as the thoughtfully claustrophobic production design.

As much as I appreciated nearly everything about this production, there was one aspect that I feel compelled to critique: its over-the-top editing. Not only were there numerous bizarre editing choices that detracted from the film's impact by being excessive, but they also occasionally felt intrusive, which proved somewhat annoying. The film stood strong on its own with its technical prowess and didn't necessarily require post-production embellishments to underscore what had already been effectively conveyed. In my opinion, this was its single most significant flaw, albeit not a damning one.

I thoroughly enjoyed this production for its departure from the norm in ballet. With an experimental approach to cinema that I often find compelling, "Creature" positions itself at the intersection of both worlds. It's not something that I will ever be comfortable recommending to most audiences, given its somewhat inaccessible nature, but for the right audience, it's undoubtedly a worthwhile experience.