I can't keep count of how many times i've said this in the last post, but damn it's been a long time this time since i've written anything here. Sorry folks, got a bit of that writer's laze. But i'm back. And today's subject is Zack Snyder's latest flick called Sucker Punch. WARNING - SPOILERS ABOUND.
There have been a lot of opposing opinions about this one. A lot of people are saying it's confusing or that it's plain not good. I'm going to go ahead right now and say that I LOVED this movie. It has easily become one of my favorites, and not simply for the short skirts, fishnets, and katanas (of course those all help.) Some people have gone as far as to say it's more confusing than Inception. If that's the case, I really have to question your mental capacity. Some people have complained that the story makes no sense. Actually, it does, and Zack Snyder makes a point of emphasizing every important plot point in the movie, particularly the four items that are the focus of the quests. It's actually a very basic story, about a girl who comes to an insane asylum and plans to make her escape, taking 4 other girls along with her. That's it. That's the entire plot. Maybe people were confused by the transitions to the first dreamscape, or the second dreamscape (there's a kind of layer-under-layer-under-layer thing going on here, much like in Inception), but regardless of these layers, each one is still telling the same story, the one of girls trying to escape the asylum. Right now, it's still boggling my mind that anyone could have trouble following the story. So i'm going to break it down, you may want to skip this if you plan on seeing this movie.
Reality 1: Real Life
This is the first layer we see of the movie, the reality that leads to Babydoll (Emily Browning) going to the asylum in the first place. In it, we find out her mom has died, and her stepfather is expecting to inherit all her riches. When he finds out she has bequeathed everything to her two daughters, he gets mad and first tries to kill Babydoll, but upon her retaliation, figures that her younger sister will be an easier target. He kills the sister, and then puts the blame on Babydoll claiming that her mother's death made her insane. So she is carted off to Lennox House, an asylum for the mentally insane. Here we find out that the Stepfather has made plans to have Babydoll lobotomized, so as never to have her able to tell her side of the story. In this first segment of the film, Zack Snyder CLEARLY emphasizes the things that are going to be important coming up - The map, The Lighter, The Knife, and The Key. These are the items needed for the girls to escape. We also find out that the Lobotomist is to come in 5 days.
Reality 2: The Show
This is the second layer of the film, portrayed as a glamorous burlesque house, as opposed to the stark derelict conditions of the first reality. This reality is in fact a psychological coping mechanism of Babydoll, who is, let's not forget, still traumatized by the passing of her mother and sister. It is a fantastical escape from the reality of the shitty insane asylum that she now lives in. In this segment, Zack Snyder tells the viewer what is actually happening at the asylum, through the character of Rocket (Jena Malone). She tells Babydoll "the clients come here and we make them feel, y'know, special." Yes, that means that the orderlies are whoring out the patients. This is the reality (and keep in mind that i'm using reality for lack of a better world) that most of the movie takes place in, and essentially describes EXACTLY what has happened during Babydoll's 5 day stay, albeit against the backdrop of the burlesque show. In this reality, Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) explains to Babydoll that they all have a dance, a routine that they learn. I'm not sure if this refers to an actual dance back in reality 1, or just straight up fucking, but either way it is an "entertainment" of the adult kind. But in this reality, Babydoll tells the girls to steal the items while she's dancing, because as long as she is, the client won't even notice that the other girls are stealing. And this leads us nicely into the final layer of the movie -
Reality 3: The Battles
This is the layer of the movie that contains all the stuff you see from the trailers, the fantastic swordplay and gunfighting, the giant samurai, the nazi zombies and all that good stuff. The movie switches to this reality every time Babydoll is about to "dance" in reality 2. This layer depicts the girls fighting epic battles in order to obtain the item that they're looking for. This is an even further mental withdrawal for Babydoll, as she removes herself again from the act she is about to perform (be it dancing provocatively or having sex with dutty men).
The important thing to remember is that the majority of this movie is told from the perspective of Babydoll, who imagines the Burlesque backdrop and the battle fantasies as a method of coping with her new reality. Perhaps the part that confused people the most, is the ending, which takes place back in REAL real life, and focuses on Sweet Pea making her journey back to her family and home. Because most of the film is centered around Babydoll, it throws the viewer for a loop when we find out that Sweet Pea is the only one who makes it out. But Zack Snyder foreshadows this in the beginning of the movie via the monologue spoken by Sweet Pea (though the viewer doesn't know this at the beginning of the movie):
"Everyone has an angel. A guardian who watches over us. We can’t know what form they’ll take. One day, old man. Next day, little girl. But don’t let appearances fool you. They can be as fierce as any dragon. Yet, they’re not here to fight our battles. But to whisper from our heart, reminding that it’s us. It’s everyone of us who holds the power over the worlds we create.
We can deny our angels exist, convince ourselves they can’t be real. But they show up anyway, at strange places and at strange times. They can speak through any character we can imagine. They’ll shout through demons if they have to, daring us, challenging us to fight."
If you pay attention to this at the beginning, it's easy to reconcile the fact that the entire story is about Sweet Pea after all (we know this because of the line from Babydoll to Sweet Pea - "This was never my story, it's yours". Babydoll is one of the angels referred to in this monologue, as she inspired Sweet Pea to finally take a stand and leave the shithole life that she had gotten herself into.
SPOILERS OVER
I realize that the length of that explanation doesn't really lend credence to my previous claim that it's easy to understand, but it is. To put it succinctly, if YOU were put into an insane asylum while trying to cope with the death of your family, you would be imagining some crazy ass shit too. I like this movie because it doesn't hand feed you anything - you actually have to do a bit of thinking to understand it. ENOUGH, I grow weary of this. On to the next one.
Let's talk acting. Unfortunately, the calibre of acting was not of the highest quality. Emily Browning did a good job holding her own, but the rest of the girls performances were lacking. Carla Gugino did a decent job, but her stupid fake polish accent pissed me off the entire movie. I would rather have had her speak in her normal voice so that she could concentrate more on her acting. That being said, i'm sure the focus was more on what the girls looked like, rather than what they acted like.
Stylistically, this movie simply screamed ZACK SNYDER. Not only with the massive use of green screen, but with some recycled shots as well (Funeral scene anyone? Taken shot for shot from Watchmen.) Snyder also has a massive hard on for the slow down-speed up-slow down effect, which he uses to a large degree in this movie. I can see how it could be off-putting to some people. But it's his signature, and he'll damn well utilize it in his first original effort.
Basically, what I have to say about this movie is this: It makes sense (yes it does, don't give me that 'it's more confusing than Inception bullshit) but it doesn't hand feed you that coherency (ooh, sorry to actually engage your brain). Look a little deeper, you'll find it. Emily Browning and Vanessa Hudgens are grade A top notch in the eye candy department, the other girls are not bad. Carla Gugino should never adopt any sort of European accent again. See this movie if you are or have been a fan of any combad oriented anime, or are looking for something a little more cerebral than oh let's say Battle LA. I love Zack Snyder, loved this movie, and Emily Browning, marry me. But in your Babydoll costume, k?
P.S. i apologize for any incoherency in this diatribe, it's 4am and i'm tired.
