OBSERVER: Rourke’s Reviews
Longlegs
(MA). 101 minutes. Now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
With The Monkey now showing in cinemas, it is a good time to revisit the film-maker’s previous hit. Osgood Perkins (son of Anthony, of Psycho fame) returned after a four-year break with his fourth film as director, and like his previous efforts, is an imaginatively crafted mood piece.
After a wintery opening sequence where a young girl, alone at home, is visited by a mysterious stranger (Nicolas Cage), we cut to years later (the 90’s), where FBI agent Carter (Blair Underwood) brings in gifted operative Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), who seems to have an uncanny ability of sensing where a offender may be.
This is shown when Harker is able pinpoint a murderer in a cookie-cutter neighbourhood, but is unfortunately unable to prevent a father from slaughtering his family.
This latest event ties in with other cases, where the father has killed his wife and children, then themselves.
Harker feels there is more to these murders than meets the eye, and believes that, no matter how unlikely it seems, someone else is behind the killings.
Left at each crime scene is what appears to be indecipherable messages, signed Longlegs, but Harker successfully decodes them, proving there is a greater power influencing the violent acts.
Emotionally disconnected, and dealing with a troubled relationship with her mother Ruth (Alicia Witt), Harker slowly enters a world of darkness from which she may not return.
Longlegs is deliberately oppressive in its atmosphere, with Perkins wanting to use a slow pace and eerie mood to get under the audience’s skin, and with terrific help from cinematographer Andres Arochi, making his feature film debut), and expert editing, effective music score, strong production and sound design, succeeds.
I do wish that Perkins kept certain plot elements hidden or unknown, instead of explaining a little too much towards the end.
A gallery of impressive performances also elevate the material (which admittedly, is reminiscent of The Silence Of The Lambs, and due to Perkins’ precise direction, Manhunter), with Monroe (It Follows, The Guest), Underwood (Murder In Mississippi, Deep Impact), Witt (Fun, Dune) and Kiernan Shipka (The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina, Totally Killer) all delivering the goods.
Of course, special mention has to go to Cage, who as the title character, gives a totally unhinged performance, and it is one that may divide viewers.
I found it appropriate and unsettling, but others may find his turn jars with the overall tone of the film. Longlegs is a horror/thriller that will test the patience of those who want something more visceral and fast-paced, but this is a creepy nightmare made by a very talented film-maker, and should deservedly find a strong following.
If you do like Longlegs, please check out Perkins’ other films; The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015) (known here as February), I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House (2016) and Gretel & Hansel (2020), all of which shows he has a very distinctive style.
RATING – ****
Civil War
(MA). 109 minutes. Now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
The follow-up film, Warfare, will be hitting cinemas soon, so now is a great time to see the first entry. A movie that became intensely divisive even before its release, Civil War defies expectations by walking down a different path audiences might have been anticipating, resulting in a much more satisfying experience.
The film is set in the near future, where the US has fractured into civil unrest, and a number of military groups want to separate themselves from, and bring down, the current government, which is headed by a more extreme President (Nick Offerman).
Beginning in New York City, the story focuses on four characters; renowned photo journalist Lee (Kirsten Dunst), reporter Joel (Wagner Moura), veteran writer Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), and junior photographer Jessie (Cailee Spaeny).
After a particularly violent protest, Lee and Joel, who want to drive to Washington D.C. to interview the President before he is deposed, agree to take on Sammy and Jessie as passengers.
As the quartet make their way through various states and war zones, they encounter a number of different people, whether they be patriots, dissenters, soldiers or citizens caught in the middle, and the closer the group get to the front line, the more they put their lives at risk. reminds audiences of past generations of war, the mistakes made and lives taken, then condenses it all into a chilling conflict that is blowing up on home soil.
The cast are all excellent (it’s great to see Dunst getting decent roles once more), and production values are first-rate.
RATING – ****
Aaron Rourke