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PIERCING
Director: Nicolas Pesce Cast: Christopher Abbott, Mia Wasikowska, Laia Costa MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:21 Release Date: 2/1/19 (limited) |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | January 31, 2019 By the end of Piercing, we understand why Reed (Christopher Abbott), a seemingly average guy with a wife and child and steady job, possesses dark and hidden feelings aimed at harming and even killing women. The answers are about as simple as possible, and they certainly don't justify the drawn-out, awkward, and uncomfortable trip to obtain them. Along the way, writer/director Nicolas Pesce's movie mostly wallows in the imminent threat of harm, while keeping it bay by means of miscommunication, misunderstandings, bad timing, and some ironic twists of expectations. It's a somewhat bold attempt at creating something of a sadistic farce. The promise of sadism takes a stronger focus than the comedy, though, and once Pesce's screenplay (based on Ryű Murakami's novel) actually begins indulging in pain and suffering by the third act, there is nothing but sadism in this tale. Reed leaves behind his wife Mona (Laia Costa) and newborn baby for what he says will be a business trip, but instead, he rents a hotel room and calls up an escort service. While waiting for a sex worker to arrive, he acts out his plan to render her unconscious, stab her, and dismember the body, while sickening sound effects play out over his pantomime. The escort is Jackie (Mia Wasikowska), who becomes distraught when Reed chuckles at her attempts to get him in the mood. He's shocked to find her in the bathroom, stabbing herself in the leg with scissors. That's the first bit of irony, and the rest of the story, which follows how power dynamic between the two gradually shifts, offers a few more instances. After a trip to the hospital, the two go to Jackie's apartment, and the central "joke" is that it appears Jackie wants Reed to murder her. From there, we start seeing evocative flashbacks to what turned Reed into the secret monster that he is, while Jackie begins showing signs of her desire to cause pain—not only to herself but also to others. There's a significant angle missing from this story—namely, Jackie's perspective and an attempt to understand her at even a minimal level. In keeping her as an enigma, Piercing misses out on a sense of true irony—how similar these two characters are, despite appearances—for a series of surprises and shocks. The effect is more numbing than humorous or horrifying. Copyright © 2019 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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(for aberrant violent and sexual content, nudity, and language)
