Queen of Earth (B+) Movie Review
Elisabeth Moss stars as Catherine, a woman on the verge of a mental breakdown after her longtime boyfriend breaks up with her and her father/employer commits suicide. She and her best friend, Virginia (Katherine Waterston) go to Virginia's lakehouse and tensions rise.
Alex Ross Perry, writer/director of the films The Color Wheel and Listen Up Philip, singularly writes and directs his fourth feature film, Queen of Earth, which features by a tremendous and unsettling performance by Elisabeth Moss.
Moss, who many probably know from her work on Mad Men, gives possibly the best female performance so far of 2015 as this broken (beyond repair?) woman who is drifting around after the loss of her father and her devastating breakup. Moss shows glimmers of pure insanity, while other times coming off as sympathetic. It's a tour de force performance of a paranoid and delusional mind. But perhaps Moss' greatest achievement is the subtlety in which she sinks into madness. She's brilliant.
Katherine Waterston, who appeared in last year's Inherent Vice, is great as well. Her emotional journey isn't quite as dramatic as Elisabeth Moss' but with what she's given, Katherine Waterston is believable as a damaged young woman whose old wounds haven't completely healed.
Alex Ross Perry's screenplay is excellent. It refused to shy away from difficult subject matter such as suicide and mental illness. Its exploration of complication female dynamics is interesting and compelling. There's also some great dialogue here that feels like we're listening to two people actually talking. Elisabeth Moss has a few arresting monologues and overall, I was just struck with how biting and powerful some scenes were. That being said, there are a couple scenes that can get a little repetitive. Catherine and Virginia argue a lot and a few of the scenes feel too derivative of each other.
Keegan DeWitt's original score for the film is beautiful. It feels like a throwback to older horror films, though Queen of Earth isn't as horror as it is psychodrama. It's at once bubbly and light, as well as immediate and tense. One of the best scores of the year.
Queen of Earth is fine filmmaking, anchored by a brave and outstanding performance by Elisabeth Moss. There's a sense of uncomfortableness that pervades the film throughout and after it's all done, will have you feeling a little uneasy.
FINAL GRADE: B+
MPAA RATING: NR for Not Rated
Alex Ross Perry, writer/director of the films The Color Wheel and Listen Up Philip, singularly writes and directs his fourth feature film, Queen of Earth, which features by a tremendous and unsettling performance by Elisabeth Moss.
Moss, who many probably know from her work on Mad Men, gives possibly the best female performance so far of 2015 as this broken (beyond repair?) woman who is drifting around after the loss of her father and her devastating breakup. Moss shows glimmers of pure insanity, while other times coming off as sympathetic. It's a tour de force performance of a paranoid and delusional mind. But perhaps Moss' greatest achievement is the subtlety in which she sinks into madness. She's brilliant.
Katherine Waterston, who appeared in last year's Inherent Vice, is great as well. Her emotional journey isn't quite as dramatic as Elisabeth Moss' but with what she's given, Katherine Waterston is believable as a damaged young woman whose old wounds haven't completely healed.
Alex Ross Perry's screenplay is excellent. It refused to shy away from difficult subject matter such as suicide and mental illness. Its exploration of complication female dynamics is interesting and compelling. There's also some great dialogue here that feels like we're listening to two people actually talking. Elisabeth Moss has a few arresting monologues and overall, I was just struck with how biting and powerful some scenes were. That being said, there are a couple scenes that can get a little repetitive. Catherine and Virginia argue a lot and a few of the scenes feel too derivative of each other.
Keegan DeWitt's original score for the film is beautiful. It feels like a throwback to older horror films, though Queen of Earth isn't as horror as it is psychodrama. It's at once bubbly and light, as well as immediate and tense. One of the best scores of the year.
Queen of Earth is fine filmmaking, anchored by a brave and outstanding performance by Elisabeth Moss. There's a sense of uncomfortableness that pervades the film throughout and after it's all done, will have you feeling a little uneasy.
FINAL GRADE: B+
MPAA RATING: NR for Not Rated