Movie Review
After finding her murdered body, he decides to stay in town to both investigate her death and learn more about her childhood, which she doesn't remember.
Quite Enjoyable
The movie is quite enjoyable till the first 30 minutes. The townspeople have things to hide, including the town sheriff (Mickey Rourke), and the town that Thorne walks through is pretty dark and dusty. The film also has a quirky sense of humor, as evidenced by a rodent that accidentally rolls around in a hamster ball while Thorne explores the exterior of his late father's house.
Director
Atmospherically, director Chad Faust nails it in the opening sequence, and his direction is ably supported by a melancholic soundtrack that adds to the overall sense of menace he's trying to create. After Thorne explores the town for some time and gets to know its inhabitants, there's a lot to like about the film, and the mystery is a draw in those early scenes.
It's just a shame that the film falls apart when the identity of the dead man's killers is quickly revealed. She then becomes another woman in danger as she is kidnapped by the creeps who killed her father, with occasional twists to make things a little more interesting.
The increasingly stilted dialogue between Thorne and his captors and the tediously acted scenes do so much to undermine what happens before and sometime after, you'd be forgiven if you decided to occupy yourself elsewhere while the movie played in the background.
Performances
Despite the dip in quality, Thorne gives a decent enough performance as a woman bent on revenge. She's done a lot over the years to shake off the sugar-coated image she acquired early in her career, appearing in films like Assassination Nation and The Babysitter: Killer Queen to showcase a more "grown-up" image.
Her films have varied in quality (mostly bordering on her weak side), but at least she has grown as an actress over the years, as evidenced in Girl , as she is still at her best.
Although Mickey Rourke hasn't shined as an actor since 2015's Ashby, it's always nice to see him on screen. This is partly due to her questionable career choices, Maiden being her latest middling production.
Script
But even though the script of this movie doesn't give him much to work with, he still manages to take this movie to a high level. on screen, even if he tends to mumble through the general lines of dialogue he's given.
In addition to these two plays, Faust, who not only directed and wrote the screenplay of this Southern Gothic tale, but also played the lead role in it, should also be mentioned. He plays Charmer, one of the few characters to be given a name (Thorne is known only as "the girl"), and he gives a charismatic performance as a man who is not as friendly as he first appears.
Characters
There are other characters in the film, but very few of them are given the screen time they need to make their presence felt. This is unfortunate, because the story would have been stronger if Thorne's vengeful daughter had encountered the strange people of her decaying hometown a few more times. There would be a greater sense of mystery, as we'd have a few more suspects to consider when trying to identify the killer(s) like Thorne, and we'd have more fun with the various quirks. their personalities.
Ultimately, the director decided to rush the process, so we didn't have much time to ask who knew. There is a revelation at the end of the day that is surprising and it almost lifts the film from the predictable route it follows. But by the time this moment arrives, it's almost too late, as the scenes leading up to it have done little to sustain much interest or tension.
Original Potential
There is always a sense of loss when films fail to live up to their original potential. That's certainly the case with this one, as there was a lot to like in the beginning, with a quirky sense of humor and excellent scene-setting. It could have been a better movie if it had continued like this and looked deeper into the lives of the characters and the corruption that prevails in the city. Unfortunately, it turns out to be something we've seen so many times before, there's little to recommend it after the initial setup.
Not Best Film
Despite the problems with the film, I feel that Faust has a bright future as a director. If he finds/writes a script that matches his ability to create a visually interesting and atmospheric film, he could make a name for himself in Hollywood. Girl will never be remembered as his best film (I hope), but at least it gave him a chance to show off what he could do with a camera.
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