Written and Directed By Alex Ross Perry
Starring Elisabeth Moss, Cara Delevingne, Eric Stoltz, Madisen Beaty
Caught this yesterday at NYFF and...wow. This is a hyper-aggressive assault on the senses. A noxious oozing across five acts that settles somewhat in the last two in pursuit of grace/re-connection. Perry's most ambitious film by far - shot on 35mm in 2.35! with incredible, unnerving aural acrobatics mixed into the sound design and score - and though I don't quite love it as immediately as I did, say, Golden Exits earlier this year, it has been festering inside me since the screening and I am
dying to see it again which tells me that my for now intense admiration is soon to blossom into unwieldily passionate love.
Also peppered in are a couple of sly nods to PTA that nerds like us are bound to immediately recognize and drool over.
I liked this a lot. My biggest nitpick is that (as a drummer) I could tell during the live performances that nobody was credibly playing their instruments. Which I think they could've cut around but with longer takes that Perry favors, it becomes more apparent. Still, this was maybe my second favorite of his behind LUP and I really need to see Golden Exits.
The two-tone backstage wall reminded me of the blue/white wall in Barry's office in PDL and also thought the score reminded me of "Tabla" PDL anxiety by way of Gaspar Noe. And funny he did shout out PTA during the Q&A.
NERDY SPOILERS
My favorite PTA nod is two-fold: the title HER SMELL being presented in the film as a neon sign a la Boogie Nights, and also its appearance at the beginning as well as the end of the film, as has been PTA's preference since CMBB.
Quote from: modage on October 02, 2018, 08:16:57 AM
My biggest nitpick is that (as a drummer) I could tell during the live performances that nobody was credibly playing their instruments.
This stood out to me as well (also a drummer!) I rationalized that it was a stylistic choice meant to vaguely evoke some kind of old-school music video vibe, perhaps. But then in the q and a it was revealed that they all practiced for months beforehand in order to make their playing look as realistic as possible, so...yeah, odd.
i rather wish i felt the need or even wanted to see this, since really i prefer to like things. it's just not for me in any way
Vile. Repulsive. Utterly Sensational.
https://www.directorscutmovies.com/2010s/her-smell-film-review-vile-repulsive-utterly-sensational (https://www.directorscutmovies.com/2010s/her-smell-film-review-vile-repulsive-utterly-sensational)
my kicks are light and graceful
based on my life history, i'll one day be able to view this movie and appreciate it for what it is, after i erase from my mind what i wish it was
Perry's films definitely aren't for everyone. They tend to push all the right buttons for me though.
it's his intensity you relate to, of course it is. and that's valid, that's totally valid.
Out of curiosity, which of his films have you seen?
honey you about to know he's already tried his best with me. it ain't like i wanna be against the guy, though i'll call myself out on mostly speaking against the guy. i think that's envy, really? i've talked about this type of envy before--why do his feelings matter more, and he's being called great omfg--etc you know. just pretend i'm a guy in one of his movies. you can like the movies can't you.
i saw the The Color Wheel at AFI Fest, the year they were celebrating Joe Swanberg funny enough. i was feeling generational with them. our generation was forming a voice. that felt cool. Swanberg i remember was seeing the movie too, and he was with--i just realized i should get to my main story. afterward there was a q&a, Ross and Carlen Altman. Carlen Altman said she liked b&w bc she didn't have to bleach her teeth, i thought that was hilarious and remember it to this day. a lady in the audience asked why they had to be so incestuous and said she thought that was awful. and what happened? i'll be goddamned--Jeff Garlin was there, and he started saying the lady asking the question was his sister, and he'd made out with her. the lady didn't laugh but she didn't get mad about that, she and Garlin both started yelling things, her yelling incest is bad idea, Garlin yelling she was his sister, everyone else was smiling for sure. i can't remember how that ended but i remember those things. the movie i remember felt creepy, why would i rewatch it.
Listen Up Philip i saw at Sundance Next in Ace Hotel and afterward there was a q&a with Bret Easton Ellis. by the time Ross was naming books he read in high school i realized i just didn't like his whole approach. i hadn't liked the movie at all, no. plus then Ross and Easton said america will have a harder time with the movie because americans are stupid, and i'm not misquoting them, you know these guys, they said that, America is too stupid to like Listen Up Phillip, and i've mentioned before that i don't appreciate preaching to the choir. i thought, my god. they can't even imagine someone not liking it! that's crazy.
i retired him then and haven't felt the need to return.
I've seen Listen Up Philip and Queen of Earth and I'm with jenkins. I might see Her Smell but I'm sure I'll stay two thousand miles from it, thinking: "...dude". If it's his best one I'm not sure it's that positive if I dislike his general output.
Fair enough, fellas. He's not your jam/totally my jam/we can all still jam regardless.
Yes, but what is especially weird with Perry for me is that he likes the directors and writers that I like— and you can witness that influence on screen— and yet he's not my jam. I'll try Golden Exits, though! Another sample. :yabbse-grin:
his imdb photo was/maybe is him and a cat, and i would be like okay come on, wanting to root for him. but simply, him being aware of what kind of movies he makes, and me being aware of what kind of movies he makes, i can't imagine a day when i'll need to look again. they don't call me, and everyone goes where they're called
https://www.indiewire.com/2019/04/her-smell-interview-alex-ross-perry-elisabeth-moss-1202057901/?fbclid=IwAR3Bwz5LLfpTSHYGbnD8JL6m0sokL_tH98QlEBOLzD9Hcdn5mc-pa69QB2c (https://www.indiewire.com/2019/04/her-smell-interview-alex-ross-perry-elisabeth-moss-1202057901/?fbclid=IwAR3Bwz5LLfpTSHYGbnD8JL6m0sokL_tH98QlEBOLzD9Hcdn5mc-pa69QB2c)
"By bringing 30 or 40 people together on a film like this,I could test my theory that I can do things easier, more efficiently, and with better results than other people, and that I can give my crew a better experience in the process," he said. "I could show that my team can put work on screen at a budget level that other people can't dream of, and that everyone can have a good time doing it and do work they're proud of and walk away not feeling like it was just a job. I'm certain I'm right about this."
This is the paragraph that certainly raised one of
my eyebrows:
QuoteWhen Robert Greene first looked at the raw footage his longtime friend and collaborator Alex Ross Perry had brought him from the set of "Her Smell," a familiar feeling began to bubble up in the editing room: They were about to make the greatest goddamn movie of all time. Greene, Perry's regular editor, laughed at the way they characterized it at the time: "'People are gonna compare this to "Boogie Nights," but when we're done, people are gonna forget how to even say the words 'Boogie' and 'Nights.' We're gonna erase that shit from history because of what we're doing!'"
Lol he does go on to describe that feeling morph as it crashes down on top of them come opening day, when audience enthusiasm doesn't quite measure up.
Saw this again at Nitehawk yesterday and it played even better than I remember. Give Moss her Oscar right now - don't even wait til next year, just overnight the fucker. Perry was there to answer questions afterward, moderated by Blank Check hosts Griffin and David (and Producer Ben, the Benducer, the Fuck Master, the Fart Detective, Say Bennything...) which was great fun. Perry pointed out a Revenge of the Sith joke that was slyly inserted into the film, among other anecdotal nuggets.
i just got turned on to blank check this past week, binging like crazy, can't stop listening, fucking addicted and i hate it, it's cutting into obligatory duty time...also look forward to the day her smell makes its way down here
Blow through the whole Spielberg series first! (Their AI episode is my favorite).
Will do. I blew through the majority of Burton in the span of about a week and a half. Also heard two episodes with Alex Ross Perry. Griffin and David are fucking hilarious, incredibly entertaining. Ok, now back to Her Smell...
They post extra episodes on their Patreon, fyi...
oh i saw this but i didn't need to. that's not to piss anyone off it's just what happened. it's a more positive movie from a cynical person, i'll appreciate that. i most liked the sequence when she was getting over herself and everything felt sad but hopeful, she played this song on a piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eT464L1YRA
been raving about this one for the past 24 hours (mostly to myself), it's just such a good movie, taking you down a fetid rabbit hole, coming out the other end to gain a wider perspective. the obvious narrative structure is 2015's Steve Jobs, the movie consisting of a few long segments, only Her Smell has an actual character arc. went in not knowing much other than moss is the front of an all-girl rock band, so glad it went to all the places it went to. loved all the indulgences, the drawn out depravity, the ensemble feel, the music, the rabid nature of it all. fucking loved Becky's reaction when she first lays her on on the Akergirls, completely the opposite of what I was expecting. moss is a fucking whirlwind of psychosis, didn't think she had it in her to sustain this level of instability. the more i ruminate on it, the more affection i feel for all the indulgences and epic attitudes. thought it would all be like the first three acts, like Climax, all one note, but the pivot taken in the fourth and fifth segments tore me apart.
had one of those pta happiest sad endings
another one i'm glad to have seen on a big screen. read Perry's review of Neon Demon recently, where he underlines the significance of watching stuff in a movie theater as opposed to streaming, his spiel being a swift kick to my caboose in getting me to make the effort to not wait for streaming, even if the wait is literally a few weeks, unlike the months it would take 15-20 years ago before you can pay per view or dvd it.
Quote from: Something Spanish on April 30, 2019, 11:54:15 AM
had one of those pta happiest sad endings
it's not a spoiler bc it's bullshit act natural. Something Spanish a true player but you gotta qualify comments these days jk AND serious it's funny enough bc it's not actually important, you're just too fucking serious if you are
let us, say, compare Her Smell to Boogie Nights, which was done by the people who created this film, and quoted here. but let us be philosophical, and not reward superficial similarities.
it would be as if you actually saw Dirk perform again
learning the lesson is the easy part--feeling it as an audience member, picturing it, is the most thrilling, and the crucial part of the imaginative faculty
this movie is not above a 5/10 and that's a rational thought
This had one good scene and it involved Bryan Adams. This script needed more drafts, or just something more to reach the emotional climax it desperately wanted. I don't think insulating from a wider audience is helping the american indie scene. The kind of people who seek these movies out end up liking them and perpetuating a culture of mediocrity. That's the only way I can explain the critical adoration of Perry.
it's weird because intellectually speaking one knows that internal frustrations suffocate full perspectives. but the internally frustrated intellectual always seeks redemption through theory. it tires me
So ARP continues to suck immense amounts of ass. Hasn't made anything worth watching since the color wheel, and I don't have to watch this movie be able to say that. Unearned and unrewarding self-consciousness and shallow pretense towards erudition, probably the only director I actively dislike and hate seeing become successful.
Quote from: Axolotl on March 02, 2020, 04:34:30 AM
Unearned and unrewarding self-consciousness and shallow pretense towards erudition, probably the only director I actively dislike and hate seeing become successful.
It's dark and lonely work, but someone (me) has got to be the Xixax ARP Stan. Perpetuating a culture of mediocrity, day by day.
accurate but you're aware so that's good. invisible man thread
Maybe it's a NY thing.
we'll find out if it's personality or city related when you move to the lighter side
this is the movie when arp discovered another perspective and i hope he develops it from here
His next flick is an adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Half, so here's hoping.