Wow. Just wow. I saw this dropped last night, stopped everything I was doing, put in headphones and closed my eyes, went off to Grimes World. The textures at work in this song feel three-dimensional, no doubt based on her use of the stereo field, as well as a knack for choosing sounds of all kinds - many not traditionally 'musical', and using them to really fill out the sonic space. If this is any indication of the new album, it is going to be a perfect step forward from Art Angels.
Re-watched Hereditary a couple of nights ago. My god, even though Mandy is probably my favorite film of 2018, this is far and away the best film. It lost none of its ability to traumatize me, and really opened up more interpretation-wise with this second viewing. I'd imagine I'll be talking a lot about this come our 'year's best' episode of The Horror Vision. Two observations:
1) Toni Collette had certainly better at least be nominated for best actress.
2) Watching the deleted scenes, you see how good writer/director Ari Aster is at 'killing his darlings.' Not that any of the deleted scenes were darlings necessarily, but watching what he shot and then removed, you see how he was originally trying to flesh out Peter and Steve's characters more, and how he pulled back and gave us only what we needed. The inclusion of any of those deleted scenes would have, in my opinion, hurt the movie's power, so Aster knew exactly where to draw lines and how to intuit when he had enough.
Pretty impressive for a first movie.
There's some criticism out there that Gabriel Byrne's Steve in particular, is a poorly written, two-dimensional character. I for one disagree. He is exactly what the movie needs him to be. I stuggle with this some time in my own work, the idea of adding more to make sure my point gets across, or to ensure a character is 'fully realized.' Then I watch something like this and see that with restraint great things can come. Spaces in the character can evolve, spaces that draw people in the way the people in their life do. We all interact every day with people we only know in one particular role, or way, and it doesn't diminish their role or strength in our lives. Why wouldn't the same be true for characters in a film?
For a counterpoint, watch Rob Zombie's Halloween - RZ spends so much time ensuring that we understand William Forsythe's Ronnie is white trash that it becomes overkill and, frankly, derails the movie.
Playlist from 11/29:
The Doors - Strange Days
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Kylie Minogue - Fever
Cocksure - Be Rich
Emma Ruth Rundle - Marked for Death
Grimes - We Appreciate Power (Single)
The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night
Card of the day:
Another card I see a lot. I'm curious if this convergence of regular cards I've pulled during the year are rallying to clarify a point I've missed?
