The movies I love most are where the cinematography meets the direction square on and becomes more than just a film. You know you are watching art. Pearl is the type of movie that ticks all my cinematic experience buttons. Not perfect in every way, but exceptional overall. Set in 1918, the story follows a young woman, Pearl, who defies the box of life she is handed and flies too close to the sun.
The resulting fallout tiptoes closely into an absurd fantasy driven by its lead character. Ti West is the writer and director behind a trilogy consisting of X (2022), Pearl (2022), and Maxxxine (2023). A feat of brilliance in itself that a horror trilogy was bestowed on cinephiles with only 6 months between release dates. West doesn’t always knock it out of the park. But when he does, it’s phenomenal viewing. Think TV series like Wayward Pines, The Resident, Them, Outcast, and The Exorcist, and dozens of movies that horror fans adore.
Not for the weak, Pearl immediately shows signs of inward and outward trauma. To paint a picture of her life as we, the audience, know, she has a husband serving in World War I. Despite him having rich in-laws, she is sequestered back to her family’s farm as the carer for her father. Her mother’s rigid tone and belittling ideas on what life is about limp in the background compared to the slowly building psychopathy that peeks out when the camera homes in on solitary moments.
Her unhinged behavior starts perfectly early enough in the film to ensure Pearl’s inherent nature leads every event in the title. Pearl is in an open captivity of sorts, and we all know that being boxed in is never a good thing.
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“I don’t like reality.”
Quote from Pearl (2022) film
Pearl 2022 Film Review
Within the first 15 minutes of the film, Pearl kills one of the farm’s animals, only to one-up the act by feeding it to an alligator in a river that runs alongside the property. Soon after, Pearl gets down and dirty with a local scarecrow before immediately feeling guilty about cheating on her husband. There is never really a clear flick of the switch into a full breakdown. Her episodes take hold when the mood strikes. Often fueled by her perception of deserving a better life.
Another explanation for Pearl is that it was only her mother who was keeping her from causing havoc in the world. A brief dialogue between her aggressively strict mother concerning the absence of farmhands and previous sinful behavior. This makes it feel like mental health has been a challenge for Pearl historically. The people in her life serve only as a means to an end in getting to where she needs to go. So much so, including plotting to get the attention of her now husband, Harold.
The performances in West’s 2022 feature film will always leave a lasting impression on me. Many others who’ve seen this horror film have also turned their attention to what is sure to become classic Cinema moments with memes and gifs. There is plenty of chatter all over social media about certain scenes in the film. Lead actress Mia Goth creates the illusion that her character is the only one with a story, such is the strength of her X-Factor.
Fortunately, we get some background information about Harold when the story picks back up with “X” (2022), but not enough to give any more weight to what happened after he got home from the war. Considering the macabre situation he returns home to, and knowing that his wife is responsible, raises many questions.
“I’m a star!”
Quote from An X-traordinary Origin Story 2022
Where to Watch Pearl 2022
Pearl 2022 is streaming with its companion, X (2022), on Netflix in Australia. In the UK and the USA, the film is streaming on Prime Video. If you haven’t seen it, you must.
Pearl is rated
4.5 Howard and Pearl forever out of 5
Production Companies: A24 (presents), Little Lamb (Little Lamb), Imagezone.
Feminine Fury in Technicolor
Pearl is a visually vicious descent into the madness of ambition. With red-hot style and a career-defining performance from Mia Goth, this origin story swings for the fences, and slices through convention with it.
Pearl (2022) Trailer
The title is streaming on Netflix in most countries. To my amusement, Australian Netflix has the most disturbing and violent horror movies in the “thriller” section. Pearl’s 2022 release date was September 16th.
(An X-traordinary Origin Story) – Re-cap Summary of Pearl
Pearl is known as the origin story for the horror movie trilogy consisting of this title, X, and Maxxxine (2023). Despite being released out of chronological order, the timeline makes much more sense if a repeat viewing is in order, to watch it in order. The story so far is that Pearl and her mother, and her father immigrated from Germany and are now living in Texas. It’s 1918, and World War I is in full swing, along with an influenza epidemic. The family is poor, and the livestock is in dwindling supply due to Pearl’s penchant for killing them off and feeding them to a local crocodile.
The farmhands are also in dwindling supply. Mother of Movies theory is this could be because Pearl wanted to get off the farm so much that she was killing them until she found a suitable man. Howard came to work for them and she quickly married him before realizing she would be stuck on the farm again when he moved them both back.
Howard was sent to war, and her father became almost comatose from contracting influenza. She again plots to get off the farm by sleeping with a local projectionist before killing him and setting her sights on being selected to tour as a dancer.
When this too fails, she talks to her sister-in-law and concludes a reset is the best course of action. She kills Mitsy and gets rid of all the bodies on the property before setting the table with her mom and dad.
Her husband, Howard, returns from the war to find the murderous scene before the credits roll.
The story continues with X as the police arrive at Howard and Pearl’s farm after the massacre.
Pearl
Director: Ti West
Date Created: 2022-09-03 20:37
4.5
Pros
- ⟡ Visually Fierce: A feast of vibrant color, shadow, and blood-soaked beauty.
- ⟡ A Star Unhinged: Mia Goth delivers an all-timer in feminine fury.
- ⟡ Twistedly Ambitious: A delusional dreamer spiraling into violent stardom.
Cons
- ⟡ Lost in the Cane Field: Suddenly, romantic dread is a thing, and it’s terrifying.
