NumeroOne
Joined Aug 2007
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NumeroOne's rating
"Loves Her Gun" might be the most criminally underrated movie of 2013.
It takes the viewer in the mind of its main character in a way that few movies do. You feel her desire to escape everything and anything, you feel her paranoia, and you feel her attraction to violence.
That might make it sound like a downer, but it's not. It's a mercifully short and fast-paced movie with a sense of humor. The movie's light tone not only makes its dark subject matter more palatable, it also makes the main character's flaws seem all the more tragic. She's not reacting to a world that is harsh by nature, but to a series of unfortunate circumstances that she's not mentally equipped to deal with, and her innocuous surroundings only make that more clear.
In many ways, it plays like a Hitchcock film - or, perhaps more accurately, like a film by one of Hitchcock's more subtle French imitators, Chabrol and Truffaut. In any case, the film does an amazing job of keeping you engaged and squirming in your seat, even when nothing strange seems to be happening.
Many movies these days are shot in Austin, but they often are merely set in suburban houses and bars. This movie, however, really has a sense of place. You really get a feel for the outdoor dive bars, the humid air, the health food stores, and the bicycle cabs.
I saw this movie half a year ago, and it has stayed in my memory more than many others have.
I really don't know why this movie wasn't bigger. My best guess is that it was too cinematic and intense for indie audiences expecting a light mumblecore, and too subtle for thriller/horror audiences, who were probably expecting a cheesy bloodbath.
I suspect that it just didn't connect with the small, niche audiences who tend to expect very specific things from movies, and often don't have the patience for subtle, intelligent, visually compelling movies that tell good stories.
It takes the viewer in the mind of its main character in a way that few movies do. You feel her desire to escape everything and anything, you feel her paranoia, and you feel her attraction to violence.
That might make it sound like a downer, but it's not. It's a mercifully short and fast-paced movie with a sense of humor. The movie's light tone not only makes its dark subject matter more palatable, it also makes the main character's flaws seem all the more tragic. She's not reacting to a world that is harsh by nature, but to a series of unfortunate circumstances that she's not mentally equipped to deal with, and her innocuous surroundings only make that more clear.
In many ways, it plays like a Hitchcock film - or, perhaps more accurately, like a film by one of Hitchcock's more subtle French imitators, Chabrol and Truffaut. In any case, the film does an amazing job of keeping you engaged and squirming in your seat, even when nothing strange seems to be happening.
Many movies these days are shot in Austin, but they often are merely set in suburban houses and bars. This movie, however, really has a sense of place. You really get a feel for the outdoor dive bars, the humid air, the health food stores, and the bicycle cabs.
I saw this movie half a year ago, and it has stayed in my memory more than many others have.
I really don't know why this movie wasn't bigger. My best guess is that it was too cinematic and intense for indie audiences expecting a light mumblecore, and too subtle for thriller/horror audiences, who were probably expecting a cheesy bloodbath.
I suspect that it just didn't connect with the small, niche audiences who tend to expect very specific things from movies, and often don't have the patience for subtle, intelligent, visually compelling movies that tell good stories.
This is perhaps the most Chabrol-ian of Truffaut films. It has the lighthearted sense of wonder that permeates even Truffaut's darkest films (such as this one)but the claustrophobic, cerebral tension of a Chabrol film.
But while Chabrol always embraced the dementedness of his subject matter, Truffaut doesn't really acknowledge the truth of how awful his characters' lives are. Truffaut looks for beauty and wonder in everything, even things that don't merit it. He is fascinated by their quirkiness and doesn't really acknowledge the consequences of their actions on the people around them.
In addition, this film, like many of Truffaut's, is mystified by women, while perhaps being too accepting of men. Chabrol, as male- centric as his films can be, spares neither gender in his depictions of mental illness and emotional cruelty.
But in this film, the camera dwells on Fanny Ardant's nervous, quivering face, even when she's going about her daily business, as if to invite the audience to gawk at her feminine hysteria. Meanwhile, the camera goes easy on Gerard Depardieu, staying at a comfortable distance and never lingering, no matter how irrational and strange his character acts.
It's most interesting for its parts - the scenery (including Gerard Depardieu's workplace, which is a canal full of model oil tankers), the cinematography, the acting, the Delerue music, et al.
But it's missing something. If you enjoy the naive, bewildered, and subtly misogynistic perspective that Truffaut takes in this movie, you might love it. Truffaut came from the same worldview in "Jules and Jim" - "the world is wonderful and women are crazy" - but in that movie, he had a tongue-in-cheek style and playful, larger- than-life story to go along with it. This movie has a more realistic, down-to-earth plot and setting, and Truffaut's weaknesses show through.
If you're not a Chabrol fan, you likely won't be able to put your finger on what's missing. But if you're a Chabrol fan, you've seen this story before, and you've seen it done better.
But while Chabrol always embraced the dementedness of his subject matter, Truffaut doesn't really acknowledge the truth of how awful his characters' lives are. Truffaut looks for beauty and wonder in everything, even things that don't merit it. He is fascinated by their quirkiness and doesn't really acknowledge the consequences of their actions on the people around them.
In addition, this film, like many of Truffaut's, is mystified by women, while perhaps being too accepting of men. Chabrol, as male- centric as his films can be, spares neither gender in his depictions of mental illness and emotional cruelty.
But in this film, the camera dwells on Fanny Ardant's nervous, quivering face, even when she's going about her daily business, as if to invite the audience to gawk at her feminine hysteria. Meanwhile, the camera goes easy on Gerard Depardieu, staying at a comfortable distance and never lingering, no matter how irrational and strange his character acts.
It's most interesting for its parts - the scenery (including Gerard Depardieu's workplace, which is a canal full of model oil tankers), the cinematography, the acting, the Delerue music, et al.
But it's missing something. If you enjoy the naive, bewildered, and subtly misogynistic perspective that Truffaut takes in this movie, you might love it. Truffaut came from the same worldview in "Jules and Jim" - "the world is wonderful and women are crazy" - but in that movie, he had a tongue-in-cheek style and playful, larger- than-life story to go along with it. This movie has a more realistic, down-to-earth plot and setting, and Truffaut's weaknesses show through.
If you're not a Chabrol fan, you likely won't be able to put your finger on what's missing. But if you're a Chabrol fan, you've seen this story before, and you've seen it done better.
Usually Chabrol takes a while before his thrillers become "thrilling." But in "The Bridesmaid," the tension starts pretty early on. Even before the title character shows her cards, her personality alone makes the movie riveting.
The plot of the movie is somewhat unrealistic, but the actors really manage to make it believable. The characters played by Laura Smet, Benoit Magimel, and Aurore Clement all have weird quirks (to say the least) that could have easily fallen flat, but it's to their credit that they all managed to make these odd characters sympathetic and believable.
Most reviews name this movie a "lesser" Chabrol, and he's made so many movies that it would have been easy to overlook.
I'm glad it was one of his only streaming movies on Netflix, otherwise I probably wouldn't have discovered it. It will only be streaming for a few more days, so catch it while you can!
The plot of the movie is somewhat unrealistic, but the actors really manage to make it believable. The characters played by Laura Smet, Benoit Magimel, and Aurore Clement all have weird quirks (to say the least) that could have easily fallen flat, but it's to their credit that they all managed to make these odd characters sympathetic and believable.
Most reviews name this movie a "lesser" Chabrol, and he's made so many movies that it would have been easy to overlook.
I'm glad it was one of his only streaming movies on Netflix, otherwise I probably wouldn't have discovered it. It will only be streaming for a few more days, so catch it while you can!