In 1918, a young woman on the brink of madness pursues stardom in a desperate attempt to escape the drudgery, isolation, and lovelessness of life on her parents' farm.In 1918, a young woman on the brink of madness pursues stardom in a desperate attempt to escape the drudgery, isolation, and lovelessness of life on her parents' farm.In 1918, a young woman on the brink of madness pursues stardom in a desperate attempt to escape the drudgery, isolation, and lovelessness of life on her parents' farm.
- Awards
- 19 wins & 62 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe pornographic film shown to Pearl is A Free Ride (1915), a real vintage 'stag' film. The film's production is the subject of some debate: It surfaced in the 1970s and was at one point sold by a shady distributor as a hardcore D.W. Griffith from 1915, while silent film historian Kevin Brownlow has posited that it was made in the early 1920s.
- GoofsThe movie "Palace Follies" that Pearl goes to see at the theater has accompanying sound and music. Given that "Pearl" is set in 1918, this is about eight years too early. Although experimental short films sound had been shown as early as 1894, there were no feature-length movies with synchronized sound before "Don Juan" was released in 1926. Of course, given Pearl's troubled mental state, she may have simply imagined the music.
- Crazy creditsThe strained smile that Goth holds for more than three minutes behind the closing credits was a spur-of-the-moment inspiration from Ti West. He had planned to film her smiling and then choose a freeze-frame of the most unsettling shot, but at the last minute suggested "What if you hold a smile as long as you possibly can and let's see what happens?" They shot the smile, which "goes from comical to haunting to deeply disturbing the longer it continues," in one take.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: Pearl (2022)
Featured review
West and Goth murderous psychological gold.
Tending to her ailing father, under the watch of her overbearing mother, Perl hopes to change her life and fulfil her dreams, but her repression clashes with her ambition with horrific consequences.
Ti West's cleverly realised tale oozes cinema, capturing the best of horror; but refreshingly fresh as he's done in previous works. It's not just Tobe Hooper's alligator, farmhouses and slasher setups, there's also echoes of a Lizzie Borden story too. Both prequel and origin story to Ti West's excellent X, Perl can also be viewed as a stand-alone film. With vibes of Psycho and the vivid colour of Wizard of Oz, Mia Goth controls every scene with an outstanding performance as damaged, chorus girl wannabe Perl. Set on 1918 both West and Goth's script reflects truths of a bygone era (without following paint by numbers expectation if you'd seen X). The cinematography, effects and score complement the dreams, delusions and murders as Perl longs to escape her secluded farm and caring chores.
The locations and sets give it an edge of quality, it feels like an expensive period piece at times especially when Perl visits the town. Amongst the farms animals and murder there's effortless monologues, Goth is award deserving delightful. With plenty going on under the skin in amongst the horror and theatrics the small cast ensemble is perfect. David Corenswet as the likeable rogue projectionist is memorable, Emma Jenkins-Purro as prim Mitsy is fantastic. Tandi Wright's Ruth, Perls mother has screen presence, along with Matthew Sunderland as Pearl's paralyzed father.
Ultimately, it's worth viewing for Goth's standout wicked performance alone, this coupled with West's direction make's for some murderous psychological screen gold.
Ti West's cleverly realised tale oozes cinema, capturing the best of horror; but refreshingly fresh as he's done in previous works. It's not just Tobe Hooper's alligator, farmhouses and slasher setups, there's also echoes of a Lizzie Borden story too. Both prequel and origin story to Ti West's excellent X, Perl can also be viewed as a stand-alone film. With vibes of Psycho and the vivid colour of Wizard of Oz, Mia Goth controls every scene with an outstanding performance as damaged, chorus girl wannabe Perl. Set on 1918 both West and Goth's script reflects truths of a bygone era (without following paint by numbers expectation if you'd seen X). The cinematography, effects and score complement the dreams, delusions and murders as Perl longs to escape her secluded farm and caring chores.
The locations and sets give it an edge of quality, it feels like an expensive period piece at times especially when Perl visits the town. Amongst the farms animals and murder there's effortless monologues, Goth is award deserving delightful. With plenty going on under the skin in amongst the horror and theatrics the small cast ensemble is perfect. David Corenswet as the likeable rogue projectionist is memorable, Emma Jenkins-Purro as prim Mitsy is fantastic. Tandi Wright's Ruth, Perls mother has screen presence, along with Matthew Sunderland as Pearl's paralyzed father.
Ultimately, it's worth viewing for Goth's standout wicked performance alone, this coupled with West's direction make's for some murderous psychological screen gold.
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- amesmonde
- Oct 24, 2022
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Pearl: An X-traordinary Origin Story
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $9,423,445
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,128,427
- Sep 18, 2022
- Gross worldwide
- $9,747,742
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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