In 1918, a young woman on the brink of madness pursues stardom in a desperate attempt to escape the drudgery, isolation, and lovelessness of life on her parents' farm.In 1918, a young woman on the brink of madness pursues stardom in a desperate attempt to escape the drudgery, isolation, and lovelessness of life on her parents' farm.In 1918, a young woman on the brink of madness pursues stardom in a desperate attempt to escape the drudgery, isolation, and lovelessness of life on her parents' farm.
- Awards
- 19 wins & 62 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe pornographic film shown to Pearl is A Free Ride (1915), a real vintage 'stag' film. The film's production is the subject of some debate: It surfaced in the 1970s and was at one point sold by a shady distributor as a hardcore D.W. Griffith from 1915, while silent film historian Kevin Brownlow has posited that it was made in the early 1920s.
- GoofsThe movie "Palace Follies" that Pearl goes to see at the theater has accompanying sound and music. Given that "Pearl" is set in 1918, this is about eight years too early. Although experimental short films sound had been shown as early as 1894, there were no feature-length movies with synchronized sound before "Don Juan" was released in 1926. Of course, given Pearl's troubled mental state, she may have simply imagined the music.
- Quotes
Mitzy: What's really the matter?
Pearl: I don't feel... well.
Mitzy: You're not comin' down with something, are you?
Pearl: No, it's nothing like that.
Mitzy: [breathes sigh of relief] Oh, thank goodness. If I snuck out of the house and ended up bringing home another bug or germ, my mother and father would just kill me.
Pearl: I'm worried there may be something really wrong with me, Mitzy.
Mitzy: How do you mean?
Pearl: Seems like there's something missing in me that the rest of the world has.
Mitzy: Have you told Howard?
Pearl: [shakes her head] I've never spoken about it out loud to anyone. I'm so afraid of what people might think.
Mitzy: Pearl, Howard's your husband. He adores you. You shouldn't be afraid to tell him how you feel.
Pearl: I'm scared of what I might say.
Mitzy: Well, practice on me first, then.
[smiles]
Mitzy: Pretend I'm Howard and you say whatever's on your mind.
Pearl: I can't.
Mitzy: Yes, you can. Go on. Get it all out.
Pearl: [quietly] Really?
Mitzy: Yes! Trust me.
[Pearl pauses and closes her eyes]
Pearl: Howard...
Mitzy: Go ahead, Pearl.
[Pearl opens her eyes]
Pearl: I hate you so much for leaving me here sometimes I hope you die.
[Mitzy's taken aback]
Pearl: I'm sorry. I feel awful admitting that, but it's the truth. I was curious... about other men. I'm sure you don't want to hear about a stranger satisfying your wife, and I swear it was only once. It was a mistake. It wasn't him that I wanted, I know that now. I just hope things can go back to the way they were before, but I don't see how they could. Not after the things I've done.
Mitzy: [cautiously] What else... have you done, Pearl?
Pearl: Oh, Howard. I realize how this all must sound. Honestly, there was a time I was flattered to have someone as handsome as you pine over me. You're such a good person, I know that. I made sure to always be mindful with your heart. I never wanted you to feel jealous. It's an awful feeling like a rot the way it just twists and turns at your insides. I know that aching so well. I feel it.. whenever I see others whose lives come easy because.. the truth is I'm not really a good person.
Mitzy: [now totally spooked, but feigning a smile] Pearl, I think I should...
Pearl: The reason I kept my eyes to the ground to avoid other men was never to avoid hurting you. It's cause I understood how lucky I was to have your attention. I may be a poor farm girl, Howard, but I'm not stupid. I spotted you the moment you came to live with us. You worked hard like the other farmhands, but you were different. You were from somewhere; a nice, comfortable place that you could return to whenever you wanted. I'm so desperate to have that. All my life I've wanted off this farm and you were my ticket out. So... I made sure to never let you see who I really was. Worked like a charm, too. Then, you finally brought me back to your home to meet your family and it was just as I hoped. Like straight out of the pictures. At least that's what it felt like to me. But you didn't want it. You wanted to stay here with me on our farm and it made me so angry. How could you? I'm certain you knew I hated it here. You must've. How could you be so selfish and cruel after all I've done to make you happy?
[tearing up now]
Pearl: I was pregnant with your baby. I never wanted to be a mother. I loathed the feeling of it growing inside me. Felt that sickness. Pulling, sucking on me like some needy animal in a barn. How could I be responsible for another life? Life terrifies me. It's harsh, and bleak, and draining. I was so relieved when it died. It was one less weight keeping me here but then the war came and you left me too. Why did you leave me, Howard? I hate feeling like this. It's so pathetic. Do people like you ever feel this way? Figure you don't... you seem so perfect all the time. Lord must have been generous to you. He never answers any of my prayers. I don't know why. What did I do? What is wrong with me? Please just tell me so I can get better. I don't wanna end up like Mama I wanna be dancing up on the screen like the pretty girls in the pictures. I want what they have so badly... to be perfect... to be loved by as many people as possible to make up for all my time spent suffering. Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night and a fear washes over me 'cause what if this is it? What if this is right where I belong? I'm a failure. I'm not pretty, or naturally pleasant, or friendly. I'm not smart, or funny, or confident. I'm exactly what Mama said I was: weak. But I don't know why. What did I do? Why wasn't my family like yours? I hate what it feels like to be me and not you. I'm so scared that when you finally come home you'll see me and be frightened like everyone else is. I know what I've done. Bad things. Terrible, awful, murderous things. I regret them now, but I liked how they felt. I wish I didn't, but I did. At first, it was only animals smaller than myself. Nothing with feelings, nothing that could hurt me back. Felt good. Killing's easier than you'd think. 'Til recently; with Mama and the boy from the picture house - they were different. They were more meaningful. I hurt them so they too might know what it feels like to suffer, but poor Daddy didn't deserve that. I wish I hadn't done what I did. Mama meant well. She had a hard life. She only wanted a home to feel safe in, I can see that. I thought I hated her, but I just wanted to feel safe too. My Lord. I made such a mess of things. I don't know how much more I can take. I need to clean this up. All of it. I need to make things right before you see me again. Maybe if I could turn this farm into a home just like you wanted, things will finally be different. I can forgive. I can be who you want me to be. If you'll just stay with me. Would you do that, please? I can't be all by myself anymore. It's too hard.
[She wipes tears off her face]
Pearl: We can love each other. I'll do that for you; if you really meant all that. 'Til death do us part. It'd be enough. Just you and me here on this farm. All I really want is to be loved. I've had such a hard time without it lately.
- Crazy creditsThe strained smile that Goth holds for more than three minutes behind the closing credits was a spur-of-the-moment inspiration from Ti West. He had planned to film her smiling and then choose a freeze-frame of the most unsettling shot, but at the last minute suggested "What if you hold a smile as long as you possibly can and let's see what happens?" They shot the smile, which "goes from comical to haunting to deeply disturbing the longer it continues," in one take.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: Pearl (2022)
Though branded as a "Technicolor slasher" of sorts, "Pearl" is, in truth, more of a twisted psychological family drama, and a character study of a deeply sad outsider who feels her life is slipping away from her; her dreams, desires, and impulses out of reach due to her circumstances. This theme was tapped upon in "X", which showed the character at the end of her life, and this exploration of where she came from is demented and poignant by turns. The film is notably effective because this existential theme is one that is endemic to being a human--a fear for many that, no matter where we are in our lives, is ever-present--all of the "what-ifs", the mourning of "lost" time, and even worse: the possibility that where we are is in fact where we belong.
This film would not work without Mia Goth's performance, which is truly remarkable. Here, she portrays an outsider anti-hero that is steeped in nuance and conflicting character traits (and flaws). Her ennui and sadness is empathetically played, and one can sense that Goth herself, on some level, identifies with Pearl's pain. She lends the role a potent mixture of naiveté, delicateness, and pure, murderous rage. While Pearl is all of these things, she is also none of them entirely, and thanks to Goth's performance (and the screenplay, which she had a hand in co-crafting with West), the character emerges as multilayered and human despite her propensity for evil. Encircling Goth is a solid supporting cast who are all capable of meeting her intensity with varying degrees of bewilderment, disgust, and sheer terror.
"Pearl" does indeed edge into slasher territory in its third act, and the film as a whole is a visual feast--garishly colorful, and tipping its hat to a number of films. "The Wizard of Oz" is an obvious cornerstone, but there are visual and symbolic nods to "Repulsion" and, even more heavily, Frederick Friedel's obscure farm-set "Axe", another film that follows a mysterious (and murderous) young woman caring for her infirm grandfather on a rural farm. As with "X", West uses these influences smartly without browbeating the audience or pushing the film's content over the edge into pure pastiche, and the film downshifts in its denouement in a way that is unexpectedly touching, despite all the spilt blood and entrails.
As a companion piece to "X", "Pearl" may leave some fans of its predecessor underwhelmed, largely because it is so tonally different and not the conventional "slasher" film that might be expected. However, as a nuanced character study of a budding serial killer, it could not possibly be any better. "Pearl" stands tall as a disturbing and strangely heartbreaking portrait of a person who, upon finding that her search for meaning and validation from others leads her nowhere, is then only capable of destroying them. 9/10.
- drownsoda90
- Sep 16, 2022
Every A24 Horror Movie, Ranked by IMDb Rating
Every A24 Horror Movie, Ranked by IMDb Rating
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Pearl: An X-traordinary Origin Story
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $9,423,445
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,128,427
- Sep 18, 2022
- Gross worldwide
- $9,747,742
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1