Spencer and Parallel Mothers: Reviews
I suppose the connection here is motherhood. Also, Penelope Cruz and Kristen Stewart are both up for Best Actress. I have a clear favorite.
Spencer
I just cannot with this movie. First of all, I had trouble seeing Kristen Stewart as anyone other than Kristen Stewart. This is apparently a me problem because I saw a few articles where people who knew Diana said Stewart had her mannerisms down. Even so, the movie is almost entirely made up, but I fear people will take it as unvarnished truth because it’s a movie. Sure, the ghost of Anne Boleyn should be a clue to the fictitious and magic realism parts of the film, but I don’t think it was fair to Diana in the least. The script calls for Stewart to play her as, well, hysterical. I’m not sure I buy that.
The soundtrack might as well have been titled “Nails on a Chalkboard” because it’s discordant strings and woodwinds. I think the idea is to use music to create tension, but the end result is a desire to quit watching the movie so you don’t have to hear the music anymore. The decision to have it mainly be Diana with only brief scenes with the royal family adds to the disjointedness of the film. Then there’s the part where the maid declares her love for Diana, and they frolic on the beach. It felt as though the movie had jumped the entire shark.
The only parts of the movie that I found compelling were when Diana was interacting with William and Harry. That’s it. The rest was…unsettling, especially since it’s a an imagining rather than a literal account.
This film is for people who
love squawky soundtracks (is this a French New Wave homage kind of thing? IDK I’ll watch some French New Wave and find out)
love famous women portrayed as hysterical rather than sympathetic
love them some early 90s fashion
love Kristen Stewart with her open-mouthed stare and a breathy voice
have always wanted to see Sally Hawkins declare her undying love for someone
This film isn’t for people who
would like a cohesive story that fills in all the gaps and makes no assumptions about what the audience knows
find the idea of a magical realism Anne Boleyn to be heavy-handed
wince at the idea of someone chewing pearls (ask me how I know)
Parallel Mothers
I often marvel at the serendipitous way watching these movies each year plays out. We didn’t plan to watch these two movies within one day of each other, but here we are. For me, Parallel Mothers succeeds in so many ways were Spencer failed. There’s this thread about the Spanish Civil War throughout the film, and Almodóvar carefully gives the audience just enough information to keep it grounded and curious even if you don’t know much about the Spanish Civil War. That’s in stark contrast to Spencer, which expects you to know that Diana and Charles are on the outs as well as who Camilla Parker-Bowles is.
Cruz steals the show as Janis, an almost-40 photographer who gets pregnant by the forensic anthropologist who may or may not exhume her great-grandfather who was killed during the Spanish Civil War and buried in an unmarked grave. (That may be the most Spanish things I’ve ever typed, for those of you familiar with Spanish literature at all)
In the hands of a lesser actress, the whole film might fall apart, but Janis goes through a roller coaster of emotions that I’m not going to entirely explain because…spoilers. The film combines themes of motherhood and this idea that we must remember the trauma of our past in order to do better in the future. Themes of past trauma, motherhood, family, and genetics all weave together for an innovative story.
The movie itself has artistic shots, a soundtrack that complements and enhances, excellent performances, compelling script. Just a well-rounded movie. For my money it’s better done than several of the Best Picture nominees.
This movie is for people who
like character studies, particularly those of women
love Almodóvar
like Penelope Cruz
love stories that weave together past and present in ways that fit together but not in a pat way
This movie isn’t for people who
can’t stand subtitles (I’m going to need you to get over that)
have complicated feelings about motherhood and especially SIDS (yeah, I’m spoiling that because it’s too raw for some folks and they deserve to not be traumatized)
have been traumatized by civil war (see notation above)
resist stories with any semblance of a happy ending
absolutely cannot stand one more story where a husband cheats on his wife because [deep sigh] yeah.
#MondayMovies disclaimer: This blog is just for my thoughts. Sure, I’m a writer and an English major so I have some idea—we would hope—of how stories work. I’m also a flawed human being with my owns likes and dislikes, though, so please watch any movie you like and love it or hate it or just go for the popcorn. (Also, there will likely be a post a day leading up to the Oscars because I have quite a few films left)