Her Smell (2018) Poster

(2018)

User Reviews

Review this title
77 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
5/10
Very few movies can sustain 2hr 14 mins of interest -- this is not one of them
goods1168 November 2019
I kind of liked this movie. The realistic footage and acting were compelling. But ultimately there is just not enough interesting material to sustain such a long movie. What was the director/producer thinking? The same story, the same vibe, the same message, etc. could have easily been told as a 1:30 or 1:40 moved -- a good 40 minuted of filler less. At some point I just got bored, which is a shame as there was a good movie (still nothing amazing, but a 6.5 I want to say) in here somewhere. In the end it rates as just average.
34 out of 39 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Becky Chaos
SnoopyStyle15 October 2020
Becky Something (Elisabeth Moss) is the lead singer of an once successful punk rock group. She struggles with drugs, drunkenness, instability, personal drama, and professional chaos. She's fighting with ex-husband Danny (Dan Stevens). Her mother Ania (Virginia Madsen) supports her through thick and thin. Ali van der Wolff (Gayle Rankin) and Marielle Hell (Agyness Deyn) are her long suffering bandmates. Their manager Howard Goodman (Eric Stoltz) is desperate to get her to finish her next album and recruits a new band called Akergirls. Its three members are Crassie Cassie (Cara Delevingne), Roxie Rotten (Ashley Benson), and Dottie O.Z. (Dylan Gelula).

It's an applaudable performance from Moss but the problem is that it gets rather monotonous. The constant chaos becomes the same thing over and over again until it stops being interesting. The shaman threatens to push it over into silliness. Like the band, she needs a bigger second to bounce off with narratively. Agyness Deyn is given a section which helps a lot but she may be better as the straight man lead. At one point, I assume that the movie is setting up Cara Delevingne as the second character but then she fades into the background. It's over two hours and much of it has Becky's chaos. It needs a second character to provide stable story telling.
8 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
The 80's and 90's Punk Rock Boiled Down To Sweaty Backstage Antics
statuskuo9 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
If you've survived the 90's era punk rock scene, a lot of this will ring true. Drawing from the misbehaviors of Axl Rose and (I presume) Courtney Love, Elizabeth Ross plays Becky Something, the front woman for the underground success band Something She. When we first come across the fried out Fraggle, she is backstage with the rest of her trio, bassist Marielle Hell (Agyness Deyn) and Ali van der Wolff (Gayle Rankin). Obviously success has gone to Becky's head, which causes her to vamp about all the inequities she's faced in life and all the miseries she insists to burden others with. They aren't all angels, but Becky goes beyond the party lifestyle into stretching the bounds of tolerance. Especially to a rival Zelda E. Zekiel (Amber Heard) who recognizes Becky's talents and wishes they'd tour together. Instead, she's met with the acid tongue of Becky. And so it repeats itself. "Her Smell" isn't necessarily a cautionary tale of the rock business, as that's long dead. But it makes you wonder why it was made. My only guess is that it is a glimpse at a bygone era when a rock star life will catch up to you. And we have never really seen this from a female perspective. In most cases, Hollywood uses an established band and makes it a biopic. As in "The Runaways". In this case, the essence of bands like Hole or Bikini Kill is enough to elicit the response. It's not anything new you haven't heard about poor behavior of damaged people BUT Elizabeth Moss absolutely owns the role and it's impressive how deep she got into this truly unlikeable person. Kudos to writer/director Alex Ross Perry. If you aren't familiar with his work, "Queen of Earth" is a very odd, inaccessible actor's exercise. Hard to watch, so I was very happy that this does have more accessibility when it comes to the story. Also, the dialogue is pretty solid. The cruelty a degenerate rock band inflicts on each other seemed real.
23 out of 27 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Potential is there. Sound ruins it
jillgradwohl4 January 2020
This movie could be compelling if you could hear the dialogue. Not sure why the background sound is louder than the dialog, but it essentially makes it hard to follow. In one scene you hear the leaking water more than anything else. I wanted to like this movie more.
26 out of 31 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
This is a pretty good but very weird punk rock indie drama that had its wider release last year.
ajzeg1 February 2020
The movie is almost like 5 short films in one, or like a play, even. It's about a washed-up all-girl punk band and the lead singer's relationship with her bandmates and her family. This movie can be really over-the-top and crazy, the main character kinda feels like Harley Quinn at times, but it can also be really down-to-earth and quiet. I really loved the look of this movie, it goes from being really dark and colourful and dirty to more well-lit and clean as the main character develops. I found her performance a little bit too much and one-note at times, but Elizabeth Moss really shows her range by the end of the movie. The rest of the actors are good too! The story moves a little slowly and the movie is a little too long, but overall, this is a solid film.
8 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Stumbling to the mic but not missing every beat
youngcollind3 May 2021
Much like it's titular character, this movie is often a big mess with glimmers of promise poking through the cracks. It aims to embody the archetype of the rock 'n roll downward spiral, but really just comes off like Courtney Love cosplay. Elizabeth Moss is an immensely talented actress, but she may be playing this character a little over the top. They beat the point into the ground that she messes up everything she touches, but before long she becomes insufferable to watch and impossible to root for. Of course this is the intent on some level, so in a way, it does succeed. It has success elsewhere with the camera work and almost Birdman-esque way they stitched together some near one take scenes that nicely capture the frantic backstage energy. Some scenes do drag a bit though and the film struggles to justify it's 2+ hr run-time.
3 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
Out of order!
christophersarles13 July 2021
If they had begun with the back story, seeing how she WAS and how she devolved it would have been amazing. The point in this was how like so many before her, back to the late great Janis Joplin, the industry has a way of eating the talent.

Here is a girl with a dream, and family, friends, agents, all use her up. Use her until she loses her mind and destructs, and then they all say "see, told you she was messed up" Not accounting for how she got there in the first place.

It's an all to common tale on the self destruction. Of some of the greatest talents in history.

This is the judy garland of punk rock story, but you end up not caring because the director didn't bother to start with a story. Elizabeth moss is extraordinarily crazy and uncomfortably magnetic to watch. The rest is just plain sad.
6 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
A horrible mess that leads to nowhere
Gordon-1116 June 2019
This film is about a rocker who has no respect for anyone.

The rocker in question is a very obnoxious person. It is just not fun to watch her insult everyone and ruin people's lives around her for 90 minutes. The story is a mess, it is not engaging or interesting. There is little build up to the ending either, so there's nothing satisfactory resolution to the story.
35 out of 63 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
10/10
An Honest Review
generationofswine15 April 2019
This is more along the lines of "What if Courtney Love fronted Bikini Kill...and Bikini Kill was still good despite her presence?"

It's not a bad movie for 90s punk nostalgia. And it's not a bad movie to depict the punk scene at all. I think, honestly, that a lot of the negativity comes because the star is too close to a Courtney Love type to actually be someone people can tolerate to watch...and that is fair. I can't condemn that.

But, from my take, I liked the concept and the execution. So I can't criticize it, even if it meant watching Love at her 90s lowest for the duration of the film and absolutely hated it now just as much as I did then.

And, since that is what I believe everyone involved was going for, I have to say it was a good film. It's just a good film that is a hard watch and for obvious reasons.
37 out of 80 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
IGNORANTS RATE THIS MOVIE
petros-762985 April 2019
Its obvious all these people who give 1/10 shouldn't be near this movie. Maybe that was the problem, it didn't reach the correct audience. Its for few people who know how rock world goes around, im sure those near these experiences will see the truth behind this story. No extravaganza shots like Bohemian Rhapsody and no superstar power like A Star Is born, but pure heart on a story well told and executed. Only for those close to the music industry maybe... This is my first review here (more than 4,000 rated tho) and let me give you my advice, 1st dont watch stories that mean nothing to you and especially don't be so selfish giving low rating just because u don't get it. Then we all have a better movie (and art generally) experience.
70 out of 152 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
4/10
Long first 1hr 20mins
jfh-723206 April 2019
First 1:20 of this movie is exhausting. Same thing over and over and over. Could have accomplished the point in about 30mins. Seems they wanted to say, "look at how well Moss plays her character" by using redundancy.

The real movie, and acting, starts after all this.
43 out of 65 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
9/10
New High for Moss
moschelb13 November 2018
Her Smell was an amazing two-hour glimpse into the double-edge of glamour in the world of rock, and a huge step forward for Alex Ross Perry's burgeoning career. Elizabeth Moss and an ensemble cast perfectly enhance the decently scripted film with stellar performances from all its cast members. Specifically, Ms. Moss has reached a new career pinnacle, with her portrayal of the complex and troubled Becky Something. Dan Stevens also has a standout supporting performance, as Danny. There are some sappy moments in the film, but Moss' performance carries the film to its end. Sean Price Williams contributes some impressive skills as cinematographer, further solidifying his career, since his adept work in, "Good Time," from 2017.
32 out of 77 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Unique look at female punk singer-songwriter and her world
paul-allaer2 June 2019
"Her Smell" (2018 release; 135 min.) brings the story of Becky Something, a punk singer-songwriter and leader in an all-female trio called Something She (think Sleater-Kinney, the Donnas, etc.). As the movie opens, we get some archive home footage when the trio has made the cover of SPIN Magazine and the girls are celebrating their success. We then go to a gig, where the band is performing their last song, and then retreats backstage. Before we know it, it is chaos all around: Becky doesn't know how to handle her young daughter or her ex-husband, or her band mates for that matter. Instead she relies on her personal assistant/spiritual adviser... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from indie writer-director Alex Ross Perry. Here he examines the life of an eccentric, some might say self-centered and possibly deranged, female singer-songwriter. What makes this movie rather unique is that Perry picks 5 scenes, and lets those scenes unfold (with home footage separating the various scenes/chapters. The first scenes plays out in real time over a good half hour, all backstage following the conclusion of the gig. The second scene is for me the best one: Becky and her band mates are in the studio, desperately trying to come up with new material for the net album. Just watch it unfold! The movie benefits enormously from the commanding performance of Elizabeth Moss as Becky. I mean, without Moss there is no "Her Smell" (Moss also co-produced). There are several other noteworthy performances, including Eric Stoltz as the band's manager, and Gayle Rankin as the band's drummer. Incidentally, the original songs are written by Alicia Bognanno (from the great band Bully). Considering all of this was done on a shoestring budget (for Hollywood standards), it is all the more remarkable...

"Her Smell" premiered to good acclaim at last year's Toronto International Film Festival. There is a good reason why this film is currently rated 85% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The film opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I couldn't wait to see it. The Sunday matinee screening where I saw this at was not attended well (4 people, including myself), although the picture perfect Spring weather may have been a factor too. Hopefully this movie can find a larger audience as it expands onto other platforms. I cannot understand the outright hostile reviews here from a number of reviewers. Did they watch the same movie as I did? I encourage you to check out "Her Smell", be it in the theater (if you still can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.
7 out of 27 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
Worst movie ever
shandra10200025 May 2022
The movie is unwatchable some of the worst acting I've ever seen. Amber heard is so awkward and just seems to try so hard in every movie I've seen her in. Don't waste your time with this one.
4 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
did not work
smoke07 August 2019
As much I like Moss, I just did not believe her here; she came off as a spoiled, crazed child with no discernible talent, and I could not buy all the sweet, civilized, polite punk rockers in thrall.

I think the problem with this film is less with miscasting and more with the script, or lack thereof, as this could have been an incisive depiction of a musical genius, but instead is just a series of clips tied together without any real music, characters or plot.
18 out of 31 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Unsure of 6 or 7
Headturner120 March 2019
I rather liked this. I do think it was disjointed with the little back shots and all over the place. At times I wasn't sure what was past or present. It wasn't believable that they were at a level of fame they supposedly were and was she just a drunk? I only saw the British or Australian doing them. I think the could of expounded more on the leads life and how she came t be where she was than relying on madsens verbalizing some of it. I think for me I liked it better after she got sober but she was so bizarre acting tho she was as a drunk too. Have't seen Eric Stoltz in anything in a while and to the reviewer who said Amber Heard should of played the lead?!? Lol. Idk. Everything I've seen her in she's horrible and wooden. To wrap it up I'd say give it ago by the end I was thinking to myself " that was pretty good"!
8 out of 37 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Elisabeth Moss is good...
truemythmedia2 July 2019
I thought Elisabeth Moss gave a really good performance and I thought there were one or two pretty cool scenes and concepts, but overall this movie was pretty slowly paced, and it was about a half an hour too long. I really think there is far better movie here somewhere, if the director would only be willing to whittle a bit away. For our full review of Her Smell and hundreds of other reviews, articles, and podcast episodes visit us at True Myth Media!
4 out of 20 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Exactly what I expected for a bunch of B actors and actresses
natcalgary26 June 2019
The first 45 min was redundant and dragged the last 30 minutes was predictable and dragged. There was a period in the middle which was good.

The main actress did a good job and the story kept me semi - conscious

6.1
4 out of 24 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
2/10
Could have been so much more
Eric-d-hendricks116 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Even with all the A-Listers in this movie the story fell flat and was terribly boring. There was nothing to invest in. No love story or epic journey of redemption. The struggles of the lead character was not believable. Instead of coming off as a drug fueled rock star that everyone has to put up with, she comes off as an untalented crazy person that no one in their right mind would ever support or idolize. A Movie about rock bands and rock music should rock on some level. The actors in this movie are more than capable of delivering strong and believable performances but for some reason must have been told to hold back in every aspect. Add better music and some more emotion between characters and this film could have been enjoyable.
53 out of 89 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
Elisabeth Moss passes the smell test, the music in this? That's another story
ernestsavesxmas26 November 2019
Six is the devil number, so it is fitting that Alex Ross Perry's sixth film is about an obsessed / possessed / unhinged musician. There are gaps in this man's filmography I need to fill in. But I really liked Listen Up Philip and was mildly amused at times by The Color Wheel. For me, this film, the third A.R.P. feature that I've seen, falls into that high-7, low-8 zone wherein I find many, many movies exist. Bolstered by a haunting score composed by Keegan DeWitt, Her Smell excels when Elizabeth Moss is losing her mind (which is, thankfully, much of the movie). Moss is a star here. She makes this film. Her HUGE performance and the overall frantic pacing makes the auxiliary characters feel underwritten, which is not necessarily anyone's fault. The main complaint here is this: Films based on fictional musicians/band are among the toughest to sell because the music? Come on now. That was the hit song? There are rare exceptions (That Thing You Do! The Righteous Gemstones) but this passes the smell test regardless.
3 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Not epic
Tactrix16 March 2019
So here's the thing, this could have been an amazing movie, but they messed up the lead. Let me explain where the problem is. In music there are only certain types of people who become so famous that they can make a drug fueled movie and get away with it. Depressed 60's hippies, coked out 70's DJ's, heroin addicted 80's rockers, and stoned 90's alternatives.

They did everything right except for the lead, when you have a story like this the lead has to be the center of attention. That is to say you can't have a mediocre lead that you feel sorry for, or feel indifferent about. You need a lead that you fall in love with so they can break your heart. You know who no one gives a damn about in a movie about a punk singer? A girl that looks like she just fell out of a KFC and hit every drug dealer on the way down. She wasn't hot(and for this movie she would definitely have to be). She wasn't cute, and once again for this movie that would be a requirement. So what you end up with is a really good story line with a great cast but an absolutely ridiculous lead which ruins the entire movie. Because now the person you would be rooting for is just someone you have no desire to emotionally invest in at all. You should have gone with Alexandra Park, she would have killed it in this movie as lead.

6/10 everything was spot on except the lead actress.
8 out of 76 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
4/10
A harming decadence
FrenchEddieFelson26 July 2019
A psychedelic description of a decadent female punk singer. Alcohol, drugs, oversized egos, squabbles as childish as insignificant ... and tutti quanti! Talent? We are still looking for it. With an omnipresent and disturbing music, the atmosphere is excessively dark, punk and degenerate. An absolute nightmare!

Small confidence: I preferred leaving the air-conditioned movie theater and joining the suffocating heat wave rather than endure this irritating film, even if Elisabeth Moss is absolutley astonishing. If I like to listen to this or that album, the more-or-less-private life of the artists disinterest me to the highest point. Therefore, in my humble opinion, this movie is a complete nuisance and almost pointless.
40 out of 68 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
Good acting and camera-work here leads to a fluid and interestingly constant narrative, on a low budget
k_grall18 October 2019
What's impressive here from the outset is the cast: Elizabeth Moss, Cara Delevingne (in a minor role, but this supermodel-turned-actress still gets second billing!), Dan Stephens, Eric Stoltz, Amber Heard, and many other fine young actr(esses) I am not familiar with, and do well. The caliber is distinguishing, with this mix of actors that are upcoming-with-a-name, that are looking for presumably more real acting projects, and with older, now less seen actor, like Stoltz. So that's all a clue...

These actors all deliver with camera work that is worthy, in presenting the tensions the film explores. Altogether, there are sections where time leaps, but the narrative presentation moves at a constant pace and the story is impressively told in that manner, I found. I liked the film for these elements.

If I had to comment on the film's subject matter of the pop-Starlet turmoil, it's not really that interesting to me. Why her? Why not?, is the question next begged. So, it's OK, and I don't mind spending some time here, but the subject isn't rip-roaring for me (it's also a subject that was covered in the Natalie Portman-lead Vox Lux; so maybe exploration of roles prominent for women? at a guess, or consideration for both movies' respective raison d'etre). Time passed reasonably well for me watching this, and I credit the elements I have mentioned that make this film reasonably good.

Watch for interest in the cast, and the choices of camera work within the narrative presentation, as worthiest. A good little movie to have watched.
3 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Worth Watching
caramia200228 May 2022
Can't say the acting wasn't good, like it isn't in most indie films. Stellar cast and everyone brought it. And even performed the music. Can't say the script isn't witty and tried to convey cliche subject matter even slightly differently. Can't say Amber Heard isn't wonderful (all that mess has escaped me, and I haven't really seen her in much, so didn't recognize her, but she has rock star charisma and played it to the hilt). Can't say it didn't show music biz excess in a realistic and somewhat depressing way (and I've been there). Can't say it's just drug porn, esp with Moss' lead, and for once I think it could have used more. I even came to wonder exactly what her problem was as we weren't shown anything but a few sips of beer, which didn't explain her behavior. Heroin? Booze? Pills? Combo of some? Mental illness? It only became slightly unfogged near the end. Interesting choice of, uh, props? Or lack thereof.

Can say that it could have used better songs (they couldn't license some L7, Breeders, or even Hole songs for this????). Good songs would have sold it much better. Can say that we didn't need to hear every single note of said mediocre songs. The best song was Moss singing Bryan Adam's Heaven to her daughter, which was odd as this is a film NOT about 80s pop music. Can say the film could have used tighter editing as it was too long (see songs). Not a big quibble, as I like films which dig deep into their subject matter and give us some conclusions, but it did get draggy. Can say that Moss' mom was a bad casting as she's as old as Moss or even younger. I wish that would stop in films. Can say that the lighting was "acne scar" unflattering. If that was to punctuate the vibe, well, it was mostly gross when used on those who didn't need it.

Overall, I'd say it's better than many of the punk retro biopics or fictions I've seen lately. I have to wonder if this had been about a guy band, if the reviews would have been less, um, eviscerating? Or maybe the anti-Heard campaign hurt its ratings. It's not an 8*, but certainly not a 5.8*. If the music was better, I'd watch it again, and maybe again, due to the acting.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
2/10
Don't waste your time
DongDiggity22 April 2022
One of the worst titled films I've seen and the actual film is in the avoid list. Like many films/shows it's way overrated and too many braindeads inflate the numbers. If you want boring and a bad story then watch, if not avoid.
9 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
An error has occured. Please try again.

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed