Sometimes, especially in the case of writer-director JT Mollner’s creatively mounted thriller Strange Darling, it can feel like a critic is a bit late to the party before something has even come out. A slippery, but sometimes problematic film, Strange Darling has cleverness and visual ingenuity by the truckload. But it also wants to have a conversation that’s bound to rankle some viewers more than the film’s gory nature. It’s a conversation that we can’t have here because to do so would spoil the entire endeavour, and without its big reveals and twists, there would be less reasons to see Strange Darling. It’s quite the experience on the whole, and I appreciate the steps taken by Mollner and the cast to make me feel icky and uneasy about the whole thing. I just have a lot of nagging questions. Again, none of which I can go into.
I can deliver the set up for Strange Darling, but beyond that, viewers are on their own. A woman (Willa Fitzgerald) is being terrorized following a one-night-stand gone wrong with a shotgun toting man (Kyle Gallner). That’s it. That’s all I’ll give you, and its’ already probably more than Mollner would like for me to be divulging. Strange Darling is the definition of a film that wants to viewer to go into it cold, as if this thing were delivered onto one’s doorstep in a plain manila envelope with the words “PLAY ME” written on the disc. I think I can also say that Mollner’s narrative is divided up into six “chapters,” none of which are assembled in chronological order. That tidbit spoils nothing, but it’s worth highlighting here because it’s a nifty wrinkle that makes each of Mollner’s mounting twists hit with a bit more visceral oomph and emotional weight.
Strange Darling runs on big reveals and technical acumen more than it does on story and character. The inventive and elaborate cinematography (from actor Giovanni Ribisi, making one heck of a career pivot here), score, and editing are doing a lot of the heavy lifting for Mollner’s narrative. It’s also a film that’s not shy about signposting the auteurs that influenced its creation. After a opening salvo reminiscent of Tobe Hooper’s landmark Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Mollner offers up obvious nods to the likes of De Palma, Polanski, Lynch, Tarantino, and many others whose influence can be glimpsed throughout.
The referencing of those particular filmmakers on a visual level is absolutely by design, not just because they are masters of the sort of cinematic fetishization that fits Strange Darling so well, but also because of the sometimes controversial nature of their content. Once the pieces of Mollner’s work start to come together, it becomes apparent that the viewer has been locked into a real “take it or leave it” proposition. Things grow progressively more uncomfortable, and not because of Mollner’s penchant for gory, brutal violence. As it came into focus, I began to question – and still do, weeks after watching it – if this was a prudent hill worth dying on and expanding so much energy upon. It would be interesting to hear what Mollner wants viewers to feel after watching Strange Darling, but I’m even more intrigued to hear the thoughts of audience members who’ve sat through it, particularly those that have gone through traumatic experiences. Sorry if I am being vague, but there’s a fine line between critiquing something and just letting the cat fully out of the bag. Just like the film I’m talking about, there’s a fine line that’s always in danger of being crossed.
Ultimately, I would recommend Strange Darling with some obviously redacted caveats. It’s assuredly bracing, energetic, and by the end I felt like I was appropriately taken on a journey into the dark side of human nature, which is ultimately the umbrella under which all the film’s other issues are housed. It’s overall reflection on the ways human beings can craft an illusion of safety in obviously dangerous situations is thoughtfully constructed and expertly executed on a visual level. On a thematic, subtextual, and cultural level, that’s all up to the viewer and what experiences they bring to the table.
Strange Darling opens in theatres everywhere on Friday, August 23, 2024.
