I'll be honest: when I first saw the name Ti West, I immediately assumed it was the name of some rapper that had somehow managed to convince production companies and studios to support his directorial debut. I was quite happy with a bit of additional research to find that this was not the case! Ti West is a bit of a small filmmaker, a man of all trades in the film industry. Though mostly pertaining to the realm of low budget horror flicks, with some credits going as far as the much loved A/H/S franchise. I had never heard of him before, but I quite like when this happens. Stumbling into a filmmaker that I have no previous creations to attach them too, feeling a little curious as to what I could expect upon entering a creation of theirs. Pearl is a film I had briefly heard about, but I genuinely had no idea about what it was beyond being within the horror genre. It seems as if late I am finding more horror films, something out of the ordinary for me, and while there is this coincidence, I'm really not actively searching for them. This is something I'm quite happy with, finding horror films that have the ability to surprise me, while also not feeling the need to stash them away in a watchlist somewhere while waiting for the Halloween month of October to arrive.
From a glance, it appears that Pearl managed to successfully win over the critics, with a strong rating on multiple platforms, the more popular being a 92% rating across critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Usually I don't pay much attention to these ratings, given how quick it appears critics are to give anything and everything a high rating providing it ticks off a few boxes that claim it's doing something good for society. Though here and there I feel it can offer some decent judgement regarding a title, and in this instance I feel Pearl was accurately represented. For a horror film, most of this is psychological. Displaying the gradual decline of a character as obsessions take over and their ability to coherently think becomes warped with the dreams of becoming another person, living a life of luxury and fame, leaving behind their struggles that ultimately display a much harsher form of reality. It's an interesting look at how people cope with hardships, how the creative imagination can take over when faced with cruelty and sadness. How the mind finds coping mechanisms, even if such mechanisms lead to a much unhealthier environment. So keep in mind that this is a horror film, but with plenty of consideration for the psychological torment.
Pearl
With our protagonist in the south of the United States, the film starts off with a really wholesome looking introduction. A calm village girl with plenty of kindness and ambition, skipping through the barn and talking to the animals, daydreaming of better days in which she leaves the farm and becomes a big star. This is mixed with the sudden realisation that she is no wholesome, sweet farm girl as she plunges a pitchfork into the body of a goose, proceeding to feed it to an alligator in the nearby river. This is the introduction to our supposed upcoming star. I loved how this started out, this twisting of our expectations, almost as if to imply that this sweet girl dreams of better days, escaping a farm that doesn't suit her interests nor contributes to her growth, all while the family overlook her ambitions. Then we see the psychotic side suddenly appear. This film is set in the year of 1918, with the First World War taking place. I think this setting is great for this type of film, showing the complications of a family in that era. The troubles of looking after a failing loved one that needs constant care. With this we see the war era holding some influence as she reads letters.
I think this introduction was incredibly engaging. Our character being utterly insane from the start, and giving us the question of how much more she could become. There's this immediate sense of danger and fear that come with her being seen on screen with other characters that perhaps don't know of her actions. Great storytelling from here that mixes the up-beat lifestyle of an aspiring creative with the threat of the mentally unstable. What possibly could she do from here on to try to prioritise this attempt at fame? Mixed with this is the scenes of war that are displayed within the screen in the cinema, the propaganda of war that actually desensitises the citizens. I found it interesting how the visuals help add to the questions we have, the realisation of what society back then could've been like and how it unintentionally aided the insanity of the vulnerable and dangerous. In the story there's an illness that is also spreading, I assume it's something along the lines of tuberculosis, which would've been strong in that time.
Colourful and joyful maintains the cinematography and music in the film. These combinations of a bright and beautiful world that looks much like the artistic and gentle of the ambitious mind. Maintaining that magical Hollywood approach, one may have this perception of an ambitious young actress with a hard life that keeps her down. Surrounded by the joy of life that she maintains, much like the animated, older films of Disney's golden era. With a 1918 setting, this was the peak of the silent movie period, the time of dance performances and a more musical approach to the world of cinema, and I feel that the style of the directing in this quite reflects that. Ti West has done a great job in that regard. The directing in this is certainly influenced in a more historical style, in one that promotes an atmosphere that is a total contrast to the events we see on the screen. In a way it's like a comedic perspective on such events, the type of ambient music one may see in a cartoon or sitcom.
In this regard much of the film is shot in a more theatrical performance manner. Our protagonist performs to us, though in reality to an audience of none. Showing the dream of working in show business. And the more we see it, the more it becomes evident that these delusions extend beyond a mere fascination with that life. It isn't clear what causes this either, with her husband being at war, at a glance it seems like a case of loneliness and uncertainty, though the more we see of it, the more it screams of insanity. I really liked how much of the film was made, I saw people online referring to it as a very slow burn, and not once did I feel that was accurate. More a study of character than anything else. Getting mere glimpses of those around her who also seem to resemble an odd nature. I haven't really seen a film like this before, featuring such an artistic, ambient look at the cruelty of the mind. It's hard to know where the film is going to go given how it teases this descent into increased madness.
To call it a horror seems a bit light. It's more a thriller. Not really featuring moments of intense horror but certainly a lot of eerie moments that heighten the suspense. This is a hard film to describe, even. Without trying to spoil the narrative and speak too much about its events, it's a film that really creates a monster from its very start. And it's absolutely worth the watch.
