"Girl in the Swamp" starring Daisy Edgar-Jones has been confirmed to be introduced to the mainland.
But, there are some parts of the movie that are not suitable for presentation, I am curious what the theatrical version will end up being.
is adapted from the phenomenon-level best-selling novel of the same name. The investment in the film is not large, only 24 million US dollars.
, but the box office is good. The North American market has a cumulative box office of 86 million in two months, and the world has exceeded 118 million, and it is still rising. It is a movie with an excellent return on investment in the near future. The word of mouth of
is very subtle, with Metascore 43 points, Rotten Tomatoes 34%, and media basically gave a failing evaluation.
, but the popcorn index of Rotten Tomatoes is as high as 96%, and the 7.1 score of IMDb is also above the average level. shows that most ordinary audiences still recognize the movie.
Today I'll talk about the movie with spoilers . It should be noted that this is a suspenseful film, and spoilers will have a great impact on the look and feel. It is better for viewers who have not seen it to go to the movie first.
In a small town in , North Carolina, Chase, a young man, fell to his death from a height.
There were no witnesses, no evidence, and even Chase's own fingerprints on the high platform. The police suspected that this was a murder.
They quickly target the suspect, Kaia, a girl who lives alone in a house deep in the swamp.
She had a relationship with Chase, but found that Chase was engaged behind her back, and he was a complete scumbag.
Kaia broke up with him, but was constantly harassed, beaten and scolded by him, and even almost raped. As the trial progresses, the
film reviews Kaia's mother's domestic violence by her father, her love and separation with her first love, Tate, and her emotional entanglement with Chase. In particular, the love with Tate is actually quite romantic.
The two have known each other since they were very young, and both are interested in the flowers, birds, fish and insects in the swamp.
Kaia's mother and brother ran away from home after being beaten and scolded by her father one after another, leaving her alone with her father, walking on thin ice all day, but Tate gave her a very reassuring feeling. Later, his father also left, and Kaia began to live alone.
She reunited as a teenager with Tate, who taught her to read and write, and soon fell in love.
But Kaia lives in the depths of the swamp. People in the town think she is strange. Although Tate loves her, it is inevitable that she will be under some pressure from public opinion. And he didn't want to live in a small town for the rest of his life and never return after he went to college.
Although this practice is very scumbag, it is understandable for teenage children who have never seen the world to be afraid of being trapped in a swamp for the rest of their lives.
It can be seen from his interactions with Kaia that he really respects and loves Kaia, in stark contrast to Chase.
And I really eat this childhood sweetheart, respect each other like a guest, and love forever. In recent years, I don't know why, there are less and less such pure and extreme love movies.
"Girl in the Swamp" is packaged as a suspenseful murder case, but the case is not complicated, it is just a hook to tell Kaia's love story.
The suspense is revealed at the end of the film, and some viewers will have a "just this" reaction. I think it's because they saw the movie as a suspense movie and didn't fully invest in Kaia's experience.
In my opinion, the film is love first, and suspense is more like a flavoring agent. Then if love doesn't impress you, or if you have the expectation of watching a brain-burning case, you probably won't like this movie.
Let's talk about suspense elements, although the case is simple, no brain burnstrong reasoning, but this intriguing case is worth pondering. The suspenseful point of
is not the modus operandi, but the motive, or human nature.
How Chase was killed is not so important, Kaia's motive for murder, or the establishment of her moral sense system is the biggest suspense of the film.
And these inner thoughts are difficult to photograph clearly, only Kaia's psychological growth trajectory can be pieced together through various behaviors and details.
So if the audience finds a suitable viewing posture, they can get the same viewing pleasure as the strong reasoning movie.
The mother ran away from home when she was very young, and she probably learned more from the swamp than her parents taught her.
She later compiled these observations into a book and told her publishing agent that female fireflies would eat male fireflies.
In her opinion, this is for survival, there is no right or wrong, and there is no need for guilt and self-blame.
So her moral system is different from ordinary people, not based on legal norms and interpersonal relationships, but the laws of nature.
Mother and brother left home one after another, but Kaia never left. Not only waiting for her mother to come back, but also because the depths of the swamp is her home.
Even her father never let her leave, so when Chase invaded her territory and threatened her safety, Kaia would never tolerate it and would not leave.
Thinking of this, I am afraid that my father's departure is not easy.
Although neither explicit nor implied in the movie, the handling of the father's departure is very abrupt.
doesn't even have a scene like his mother's passing away, and there is no scene where Kaia wakes up and finds his father is gone. Obviously, a whole section of the plot is hidden.
Later, his mother died and he explained it, but his father disappeared out of thin air and was never mentioned again.
There are also viewers who said that Kaia was too young at that time, and it was not realistic to kill by hand. I think it makes sense. But personally, I still lean towards the darker story direction.
After Chase died, Kaia's life was revealed in a few minutes.
She observes animals, writes books, and has been in love with Tate for a lifetime. If it weren't for the shell necklace at the end of the film, it would be hard to believe that she was the murderer.
It's no wonder that the ending is so obvious. Some people still ask Kaia whether he killed Chase or not on the Internet.
I think if it wasn't for Tate to protect her and live a reclusive life with her, if someone else invaded Kaia's swamp and threatened her territory, "Girl in the Swamp" would probably be another style of painting, becoming a serial Murder movie. Compared with
, which is worth pondering, the most attractive part of the movie is . Compared with this, the suspense such as the modus operandi is inferior. Another thing I like about
is the casting of the movie, or the person who plays the heroine.
Daisy Edgar-Jones plays an American chick who was actually born in London, England, and has a temperament different from that of American girls.
It is a sense of alienation with a fairy-like air, which is particularly suitable for the character of Kaia.
I believe many people know Daisy from Ordinary People, just like me.
The popular "Fresh" starring "The Winter Soldier" and "Under the Banner of Paradise" cooperating with "Garfield" also performed well.
But she is still a newcomer in Hollywood , and "Girl in the Swamp" has the potential to be a pivotal work in her career.
Generally speaking, as an ordinary audience, I like suspense movies and romance movies. I like this movie very much.
's current movies are either trying to tell jokes to make a farce, or they are full of special effects and fights.In short, pursues more direct sensory stimulation, ignoring touching and always a good story.
I especially disagree with the view that entertainment films don't need good scripts. There are always people who leave a message saying, "This movie is just for fun, why do you care about the plot".
I think the plot is the core, like "Thor 4", no matter how popular the big scene is, there is no real feeling, because there is no turbulence in the heart.
I feel like I haven't watched such a serious and serious story for a long time. The narrative technique is skilled, there are some ingenuity and design, and it is not overwhelming.
From this perspective, the box office success of "Girl in the Swamp" is not surprising, and even worthy of our encouragement and expectation.
