In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Sunday 1 September 2019

The Love Witch (2016)

A gorgeous throwback to a Technicolor era, lovingly staged, shot and edited on 35mm film. It was written, produced, directed and edited by Anna Biller, who also did the sets and costumes. The stylised presentation was captured by cinematographer M. David Mullen, who deserves equal praise. If judged on all of that alone, it would sail home with top marks. Unfortunately, the story is less entertaining and at two hours is much too long, becoming almost irredeemably prosaic about halfway through. The (deliberate?) strange acting from the cast fails to fill the vacancy in content that floats in the alluring spaces around them, pushing the merits of Biller's feminist approach to its chosen subject into some less interesting spaces. But I did like the ending.

2½ deep feelings out of 5

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