Piercing (2019)

Simply Perfect

Good start, but then it gets ruined

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This is an example of a recent type of movie typified by Amer (2009), The Strange Colour of your Body's Tears (2013) and The Love Witch (2016), which derives much of its aesthetic and aural influence from the Italian giallo films of the 70's. Being a confirmed sucker for this sub-genre, I pretty much immediately cut Piercing some slack more or less straight away. The soundtrack includes music from the likes of Goblin and Ennio Morricone, which adorned giallo classics from the past, while the look was reminiscent of this period too, with decidedly retro décor and devices, including a yellow (giallo) phone and record player. The 21st century doesn't encroach much in this movie. It has to be said that its chief strength is certainly in its look and sound, which also includes extensive use of Brian DePalma inspired split-screen too. The story itself additionally recalls elements of the Japanese horror Audition (1999). It is about a sociopathic man who stops short of murdering his baby daughter when he thinks he hears her talk to him, impelling him to murder a call girl. Consequently, he books a hotel room and hires a girl but the trouble is that she seems to be as deranged as he, leading the spider to become the fly.Christopher Abbott and Mia Wasikowska star in this one, with very few other actors appearing. It is a very minimalistic affair story-wise, in what boils down to a cat-and-mouse narrative. Truthfully, the story is probably the weak point here, as it doesn't particularly go anywhere and could have done with a bit of extra development I reckon. There isn't quite enough meat to it to ensure it is entirely satisfying. Still, even though I have some reservations, I did enjoy this one nevertheless. I appreciated the giallo influence (even though it certainly is not a giallo itself) and did like the overall visual presentation. Some scenes were particularly well done, such as the bad trip sequence, and it does have a somewhat off-kilter feel to it in terms of atmosphere and performances throughout. One thing is for sure though, this one is going to be very divisive, as its flagrant disregard for narrative will put a few folks well off but if you don't mind that too much and have a love of the flamboyant style of the 70's Italian thrillers then this one should at least tick a few boxes for sure.