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 Rotten Tomatoes: 95% Metacritic: 81% AVClub: A- IMDb: 6.8   On VOD now The Love Witch, Anna Biller's (writer, director, producer, editor, set design, costume design) sophomore feature length production is a black comedy that tells the story of Elaine (Samantha Robinson), the titular witch and her use of sex magick in the pursuit of true love. To say more than that would be giving too much away. The Love Witch revels in its style, a throwback pastiche that simultaneously feels like 50s melodrama, giallo, grindhouse sexploitation, and Hammer all at once. However, it also commits to its substance: a fiercely feminist take both celebrating and calling out the fear of female sexuality in ways beyond what you would expect from a movie with this title. It's also extremely sharp and consistently funny (including without a doubt the best period gag in film history) without ever putting its tongue distractingly deep into its cheek. If there are any complaints it would be that the film could use some stricter editing - especially during one or two scenes that go far longer than they should have - but in doing so you would lose a lot of the authentic era-inspired editing that works so well during the film's more climactic moments.  See this movie, dummies 
weekly font fucked around with this message at 18:21 on Feb 4, 2017 |
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Feb 4, 2017 18:16
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 05:52 |
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I haven't seen this yet, but I love how wholeheartedly Biller and her production team threw themselves into recreating a past aesthetic. It looks shockingly authentic, and there's a great interview with Biller out there where she talks about how she lit the film and why the digital press photos they shot don't look right. I'm glad film is being kept alive, even if it is mostly for the purpose of throwback.
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Feb 4, 2017 18:30
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Magic Hate Ball posted:I haven't seen this yet, but I love how wholeheartedly Biller and her production team threw themselves into recreating a past aesthetic. It looks shockingly authentic, and there's a great interview with Biller out there where she talks about how she lit the film and why the digital press photos they shot don't look right. I'm glad film is being kept alive, even if it is mostly for the purpose of throwback. One of the film's best jokes heavily leans on the authenticity of the setting.
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Feb 4, 2017 18:34
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I caught this in the theater last month. I think I'll probably be one of the only dissenting voices. Here's my review that I think I posted in the Rate the Latest... thread: Anna Biller has crafted a loving visual tribute to Italian films of the 60s and 70s. The colors, art direction, lighting and camerawork are all spot on. She really nailed it. Samantha Robinson is the perfect talent for the kinds of glamorous closeups in line with this style. But while the movie is visually top-notch, it has a lot of problems. First and foremost is the muddled script. The narrative is disastrously uneven. We jump from subplot to subplot, with some segments (such as the nightclub scene) feeling like something out of a different movie. The film's individual parts feel disparate from one another. The result is a rather tedious experience. With a running time of two hours, the film overstays its welcome. It's in desperate need of some serious edits. The movie is ostensibly a satire, but there are problems with this aspect as well. The best way I can describe the satirical nature of the movie is unfocused. Sometimes it feels like it's poking fun at the stilted acting and gaudy styles of the films after which it's modeled, but other times it feels genuinely silly. The effect is disorienting. An example: the actress who plays Elaine's friend Barbara - her acting is atrocious; one might assume this is intentional, but I'm really not sure. It's just confusing. While I love the ambition and passion that clearly went into this, I feel that Biller probably should have had some more chefs in the kitchen. Specifically a more meticulous screenwriter and a liberal editor. Tighter, leaner and more adept in its satire, this could have been something really great. 2.5/5
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Feb 4, 2017 19:03
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It's weird to call out the friends acting when everyone else is bad or worse. She's just a grounded character for most of the movie so maybe it stands out more? But I'm with you on the editor. Especially that Ren faire scene, christ.
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Feb 4, 2017 19:35
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So this is what, a giallo Black Dynamite?
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Feb 4, 2017 20:02
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weekly font posted:It's weird to call out the friends acting when everyone else is bad or worse. She's just a grounded character for most of the movie so maybe it stands out more? But I'm with you on the editor. Especially that Ren faire scene, christ. The friend was just an example. There was a lot of bad acting. Yeah, the fair scenes were excruciating.
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Feb 4, 2017 20:38
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Spatulater bro! posted:The friend was just an example. There was a lot of bad acting. Yeah, the fair scenes were excruciating. I think it's intentional especially when you look at the professor. His ham was perfect.
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Feb 4, 2017 21:17
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Spatulater bro! posted:First and foremost is the muddled script. The narrative is disastrously uneven. We jump from subplot to subplot, with some segments (such as the nightclub scene) feeling like something out of a different movie. The film's individual parts feel disparate from one another. The result is a rather tedious experience. With a running time of two hours, the film overstays its welcome. It's in desperate need of some serious edits. This describes so many lovely 70s movies like this that maybe this really is giallo Black Dynamite. Even in movies with not a lot of subplots I've seen so many scenes of "whelp let's just watch character drink a beer in a club for ten minutes straight, no reason." 
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Feb 4, 2017 21:20
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I like the way the film uses the camp/comedy aspect- it's not so much a spoof as it is saying "okay this is absurd but accept it so we can tell this story." It's disarming. There are a couple of plot issues near the end but nothing too huge. It is fairly clever, even sophisticated in its handling of the gender issues- everyone has these fantasies that can never quite be lived up to. And related to this the camera really just worships Samantha Robinson in this way that even modern male gazey stuff doesn't reach. It's that old school "this is our star" approach and it works wonderfully. The aesthetic alone would make me love this film- when did modern filmmakers go off on the color pink?- but fortunately there's some substance with it. It's a very pleasurable experience.
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Feb 5, 2017 03:11
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Maxwell Lord posted:
spring break...
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Feb 5, 2017 06:11
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drat this movie is gorgeous. Its not a masterpiece overall but if you enjoy some of the Technicolor classics from the 50's and 60's(Hammer, Corman's Poe adaptations) then its such a treat. I've never seen a film that so meticulously and successfully recreates the look of a previous era, and Love Witch does it in a way that is aware of what made those movies great and celebrates it. Especially now with how prevalent high def restorations are, you could show The Love Witch to someone and fool them into thinking it was actually made in the early 60's.
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Feb 6, 2017 15:43
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Reading interviews with Anna Biller about this movie got me to finally watch Marnie by Hitchcock, which she names as a primary influence. Definitely check it out if you liked The Love Witch and haven't seen it.
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Feb 6, 2017 16:33
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Uncle Boogeyman posted:Reading interviews with Anna Biller about this movie got me to finally watch Marnie by Hitchcock, which she names as a primary influence. Definitely check it out if you liked The Love Witch and haven't seen it. This makes so much sense that I can't believe I didn't see it.
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Feb 6, 2017 16:46
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