Pearl Movie Review – Does the X Prequel Have That “X” Factor?

Pearl is the second installment in the X trilogy of horror movies. Earlier this year we got X which was a horror / slasher film. The film was a quite sensation because of its deeper themes and subversion of its genre conventions. X was only made on a budget of $1 Million but earned back around $14 Million. That’s a lot of profit. Now, generally I would’ve said that because of this there is a prequel coming out. However, both the films were shot simultaneously. Both the films are directed by Ti West, who if you guys are not aware is quite the master when it comes to the horror movies. He is the writer- director of films like The House of the Devil, The Innkeeper, The Sacrament and In the Valley of Violence. His last film came out in 2016 and since then he hasn’t come out with any new film until the X trilogy.

X was very well received and I too thoroughly enjoyed but it was not a perfect film. It had its flaws despite being an extremely compelling horror flick. Pearl didn’t release in India, so I’d to wait for the film’s digital release. I was excited to watch Pearl as I wanted to see what Ti West had planned thematically. X definitely had a lot of subtext in it and it wanted to talk about a lot of other things. West had planned the trilogy while writing the first film so I wanted to see how a prequel would continue that theme, especially that there is a concluding sequel already in production. Pearl was made on a budget of $1 Million and it has made back $9.3 Million. Once again very successful. A24 really does choose great projects. The prequel focuses on Pearl and how she became the vicious murdered we saw in X.

The official synopsis of the film is, “Feeling trapped at the isolated family farm, Pearl is tasked with attending to her ailing comatose father, while under the harsh micromanagement of her cruel mother. Lusting after the glamorous life she has seen depicted in the movies, a collision of her ambitions, temptations, and repressions arrive creating the villain she feared she would become.” The film just like X stars Mia Goth in the lead role and this time she has also taken up screenwriting credits along with Ti West. So, enough build-up now lets find the answer to the question: does Pearl have the “X” factor?

Rating – ★★★★

Pearl Review: Mia Goth Gives a Career Best Performance!

Pearl takes us on a journey of a woman who from being just like anyone else becomes someone special which is ironic because, the story revolves is about how she feels like she is special but life proves to her that she is nothing but insignificant. The film is not a generic horror film or not even a conventional horror film. It is elevated horror film. X- I would consider to be a horror film but this one isn’t one, it does have some twisted scenes in it but it is more of a character study which because of the nature of the main character looks like a horror film.

The film looks absolutely pristine, I think it has been shot on film and the saturation of the film has been bumped up considerably. The film looks absolutely vivid and the over all color palette of the film is very colorful. This provides a rich contrast between the themes of the film and treatment of it. The film just like Midsommar is for the most part shot in daylight and yet it is able to be creepy enough. It subverts the trope of the horror genre where action is supposed to happen at night.

The production design of the film is some of the best I’ve seen all year. Even the scenes of extreme violence look so realistic as if real humans have been sliced. I didn’t see any noticeable VFX. For a film made on a budget $1 Million, it looks too beautiful. The film is directed very well just like X. However, the treatment of X and Pearl is poles apart. However, both films despite being so different has a sense of familiarity. Just like X, Pearl feels like a homage to the films of the era it is set in. The performances are the deal.

Its because of the performances that the film works. The script might look very boring or flat on paper because it has a lot of dialogues in it but the Mia Goth and Tandi Wright play their parts are just phenomenal. Mia Goth’s performance is Oscar worthy only if the Academy was more receptive towards horror films. I don’t think so I’ve seen anyone smile as unnervingly as Mia Goth does as Pearl. It’s an A24 film so if you know one thing then it is that it’ll be a slow burn. The film does take its sweet time to being the action and to be honest, it takes longer then Pearl.

About an hour or so there is nothing you’ll see that is what we call conventional horror but the film is interesting as we’re interested in this psychotic girl because we care for her. The scene that actually things kickstart is the dinner table scene where there is a storm outside and Pearl and her mother get into an argument. That scene is absolutely terrifying and magnificent. That is the only time in the film where I felt that any actor has overshadowed Mia Goth with their performance. Tandi Wright as Pearl’s mother is just wow.

Apart from that I really love how the film wraps up. With Pearl basically becoming like her mother, only more psychotic. She understands her mother’s side. She accepts that she does indeed love her mother despite having killed her. There is a short dream moment between Pearl and her mother where her mother says I love you to Pearl and Pearl says it back. I like the use of the roasted pig and how it represented the deteriorating state of Pearl’s mind. The stand-out scene from the entire movie was Mia Goth’s uninterrupted 6 minute long monologue and how the camera doesn’t cut to anything else and risks making the film monotonous but the dedication that Ti West has for Mia Goth is awesome. The last minutes of the film don’t hold back as we see Pearl causing a massacre.

The concludes with Pearl returning back to her daily life which once she hated and talking to the hidden, rotten dead bodies of her parents. I love how the first film opens with the camera letting us enter the world of X. This film opens exactly as the original, making us enter the same world 70 years from now on. I repeat it is not a horror film, rather a drama which has a heartbreaking story of dreams and ambitions getting repressed. The existence of Pearl makes X better as we now have so much more context to the film. The theme just like the original is phenomenal.

Verdict

Pearl is a definite success and I’m really surprised that I like this film as much as I did. It is technically very well made. The screenplay at times feels generic and uninventive but the performances of Goth and Wright are the ones responsible to make this film work. There is a very solid relationship ironed out between her mother and Pearl which is loosely the story of the film. It is Pearl’s arc to understand her mother’s side and see life as  a depressing, soulless and ungrateful affair that it is.

Ti West killed it with this film. Pearl doesn’t have the “X” factor but it rather has a “Pearl” factor. Both films despite being connected thematically are widely different. X is a better a horror film but Pearl is a better and twisted drama and overall superior in quality. This is definitely part of the best films of the year list. It is rare when a prequel turns out to be better than the original. If you still haven’t seen Pearl do check it out in theatres or on digital. West has used the horror genre to tell a more serious and deeper story than we expect.

Pearl is another great film from genre specialist Ti West. This film has me excited for the last film of this franchise called MaXXine. Pearl is a solid 4 out of 5 stars. It is not for everyone, don’t go in expecting a conventional horror film. Be serious and try to understand what motivates the protagonist. Try to connect with the film on a deeper level. I hope to see Mia Goth in many more things and I’d like to watch West’s other films. With Mia Goth leading the cast, Pearl also stars David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland, Alistair Sewell and Emma Jenkins.

Pearl is currently playing in theatres near you.

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