There is a certain comedic charm to applying the tropes of the espionage genre to what is ultimately a movie about a bunch of wannabe John le Carré protagonists running around Washington, D.C., their delusions of grandeur colliding violently, but there are also some flaws that keep this from being top tier Coen brothers.
In some ways, this movie has not aged very well. There's something that feels very 2000s about a movie that has something to say about cosmetic…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Upon a second viewing, I'm astounded that it took me until the last 40 minutes to recognize the trans metaphor at the heart of this movie the first time I watched it. Returning to the movie with that foreknowledge really clarified a lot of elements I had previously found confusing. It remains an incredibly potent and affecting cinematic experience, and to my mind a wonderful illustration of the power of metaphor to take something like the trans experience and make…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
The Merovingian is a dude who has read Foucault and thinks that because he sees through the pious lies of traditional monogamy he can get away with fucking whoever he wants. It is thus both accurate and hilarious that his downfall comes from the fact that his bullshit has made his wife so miserable and spiteful that she betrays him without a second thought and gives Neo et al. exactly what they want.
Seriously though, this movie is another banger.…
I mean, it's my first time watching the movie, so it goes without saying that I did not understand the plot. Still, I *think* I understood the v i b e s, and they are powerful. A terrifying dreamscape of sex, power, mystery, and exploitation, and at least in my reading, a searing indictment of the Hollywood machine.
