I'll watch almost anything. Sometimes that works in my favor, sometimes it doesn't. It's hard not to notice the poor reception this movie has garnered, but I've watched others, just as low-rated, and found them a marvel. I tried to approach 'Ladyworld' with an open mind, ready for anything.
Much more than I thought could be the best case scenario - I actually really like 'Ladyworld.' I know I hold a minority view here. That's okay.
I appreciate the opening: As introductory credits appear as white text on a black screen, we're treated to a great cacophony of sound, representing whatever calamity it was - seemingly a massive earthquake - to set the story in motion. For that matter, from a technical standpoint, the sound is rather pristine. I also enjoy Callie Ryan's score - sparse and shifting, at times an ambient soundscape, at others a discordant arrangement of non-lyrical vocals, but always lending its substantial uneasy atmosphere to the film. Honestly, I enjoy the music so much I'd love to be able to download it, or in some other way add it to my collection. Hats off to the wardrobe and makeup departments, too, for some fine work.
Characters in 'Ladyworld' represent a variety of personalities, their mentalities increasingly deteriorating as time passes. Some characters are notably more dominant or submissive, while others strike a balance and try to keep the peace. Most distinct of all are Piper (Annalise Basso), forceful, mocking, and cruel; Dolly (Ryan Simpkins), unstable and despondent in her despair and emotional disturbance; and Olivia (Ariela Barer), reasonable and steady but struggling to maintain a semblance of order. Romy (Maya Hawke) seems to very quickly demonstrate the collapse of her mental state, even more so than the others - and even still falling farther as Piper splits the group and becomes ever more predatory.
Dialogue - interactions, and story beats generally - range from the mundane, to troubled outbursts or acting out; from philosophizing, to social commentary, and building to combative, venomous barbs of posturing. The depiction of these elements pointedly grows in ferocity as characters' mindsets crumble further. Cosmetics and assembled outfits are worn to exaggerated effect portending warpaint and tribal division. Aggressive displays of status increasingly turn violent - until at last the veil is lifted from the microcosm of necessitated self-reliance, and all are left shattered by what has transpired.
Through it all, I genuinely think every performance here is fantastic. The screenplay and characterizations require robust attention to nuance, even as the fractured upheaval swells in amplitude, and I think every young actress in the cast is more than capable. Far be it from me to single anyone out, but I think Hawke's role as Romy is especially built on subtlety - the timbre of her voice, the look in her eyes. And while I'm predisposed to liking Hawke based on what I've seen of her elsewhere, I think she particularly stands out in 'Ladyworld.' Again, though, don't take that as a slight against others; I'd love to see more films from everyone involved.
Film-maker Amanda Kramer serves both as writer, conjuring the narrative and all within, and as director, finding eye-catching shots and guiding the cast and crew in her vision. She has concocted a fine, compelling, artful examination of social order and the universal trend toward chaos. It's easy to read 'Ladyworld' as an adaptation, after a fashion, of 'Lord of the flies' - and that's very fair; parallels are obvious. But this film leans significantly more into an artistic expression than into a plain story.
As if any aspect didn't vividly drive that point home, the very setting and premise demand the same calculated suspension of disbelief as any play conducted on a theatrical stage. From our place in the audience, taking the film at face value would tell us these young women could easily break a window and escape their circumstances. But we don't take any other movie at face value, and it's to our detriment to do so here. And so the exceptional substance of the film flows from the one supposition it asks us to accept: That a disaster has led to confinement. Lights, camera, action.
I earnestly believe that 'Ladyworld' has been mislabeled, and marketed inappropriately, thereby inviting undeserved criticism. It's a thriller, technically and truly, but it's such an overwhelmingly underhanded, inventively crafted interpretation of a thriller that the term almost doesn't meaningfully apply. It depends ponderously on actors and their characters, dialogue and physical action, imagination and belief, in their most basic, deconstructed definitions. It depends on these root elements so much that it sincerely feels like a semi-esoteric short film - light on narrative, heavy on intent and meaning - extended with profound, surprising deftness to feature length. At that, it almost feels less like a feature length film, and more like a play, caught on film.
It's unquestionably dense, less than conventional in its storytelling, and markedly disorderly in its chosen medium. I couldn't begrudge anyone for disliking this movie who has engaged with it honestly; I can understand the difficulty. I have a hard time imagining who I might recommend it to, because the correct receptive audience is so extremely select. Yet for any comparison to other stories, any minor lack of refinement, any imperfection, I find this to be peculiarly outstanding.
I don't think it's entirely perfect, in terms of content alone. Yet the technical skill behind its construction - the unique, unforgettable music - and above all the momentous artistic challenge Kramer has undertaken all combine to elevate my opinion higher than it already would be. Misunderstood as I believe it to be, by no means is 'Ladyworld' for everyone. But it's absolutely for me.
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