Summary:
A young troubled boy, destined to be a leader in post-World War I Europe, comes of age.
My Thoughts:
Brody Corbet has released only two films, but already I’m convinced he’s a force to be reckoned with. Both this film and his second film, “Vox Lux”, could be considered quite controversial, as this film essentially deals with the childhood of a Hitler/Stalin/Mussolini-esque youth, and “Vox Lux” deals with a girl who rises to pop star fame after finding a spotlight after surviving a school shooting, and both films also seem to deal with the corruption of innocence, or at least, the origins of evil. Both films are dark, moody, atmospheric thrillers that take on more meaning the more you pay attention, and while I absolutely loved “Vox Lux”, the film I first saw from Corbet, I actually think this film is even more diabolically brilliant.
“The tragedy is not only that Pontius Pilate betrayed his self, but that hundreds in the crowd before him did betray their selves. And that’s what I wrote was the tragedy of war: not that one man has the courage to be evil, but that so many have not the courage to be good.”
In 1919, an American Diplomat (Liam Cunningham, “Dog Soldiers”) lives in the French country with his Wife (Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”) and their troubled son, Prescott (Tom Sweet, “The Current War”). The Diplomat means to assist with the Treaty of Versailles, but in the meantime, they are stuck in France (much to the Diplomat’s chagrin). After Prescott throws a series of tantrums, he finds himself at odds with his mother, his Teacher (Stacy Martin, “Nymphomaniac Part I”), the maid Mona (Yolande Moreau, “Amelie”), and the Priest (Jacques Boudet, “La Femme Nakita”). A family friend named Charles (Robert Pattinson, “The Lighthouse”) occasionally comes to visit.
NOTE: I really enjoyed this movie and wanted to delve into the themes pretty deeply, so there will be a fair amount of spoilers speckled throughout this review. If you just want to know if I recommend this movie; I do, absolutely, it’s one of the best movies I’ve watched so far this year.
I love the writing and direction of this film, because all of our characters’ secrets lie in the subtlety of their interactions, and without that mysterious subtlety, this movie would be incredibly boring. The structure of the film helps to show Prescott’s growth as a child, for this is really a dark coming of age story. The film is broken down into four sections: The First Tantrum, The Second Tantrum, The Third Tantrum, and Prescott, the Bastard; the first three sections take place when Prescott is a boy, and the final ten minutes of the film flash forward to show us him a few decades later. There’s a sense of inevitability that pervades this entire film, and that starts with even the first scene, where Prescott is preparing for a Christmas nativity and recites his lines: “Today, in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” The grim lighting paired with soundtrack, which sounds almost horrific, makes it seem as if this is our introduction to Evil’s Messiah, as if evil incarnate has been waiting, biding it’s time for this moment, for it’s savior to arise and lead the world into darkness.
There are a few shots, after the first tantrum, where the camera cuts away to show us an tenebrous empty building, and again, the music is dark and moody and atmospheric, the camera crawls slowly across the floor like a snake uncoiling itself, slithering towards it’s prey. These shots are replicated later in the film, when some major decision is about to happen; and that callback, that replication of shots, makes it seem as if there is some kind of intangible malevolent force just biding it’s time, waiting for Prescott to come of age. Those shots, paired with some of the other images and themes in this film, like the constantly shadowed rooms, the bundles of snakes writhing about on a stone, the pervasiveness of the manipulation that plagues every relationship Prescott has, makes it seem as if evil itself has fashioned this childhood for it’s messiah, so that every action Prescott takes further draws him towards the darkness. Prescott feels like Damien from “The Omen” only far more terrifying because his actions aren’t grounded in the supernatural, they’re rooted in his predilection towards manipulation and violence.
Prescott’s first tantrum shows him hurling stones at churchgoers as they leave the Nativity practice. The action causes someone to chase him through the woods, eventually falling over and getting caught. His mother tries to make him apologize to the priest, but Prescott refuses because he says he hasn’t done anything to the priest; if he’s going to apologize, he says, he should do it to the parishioners; the priest agrees to the compromise, but Prescott’s apologies ring false. Even from this first tantrum, we can see the beginnings of Prescott’s destiny forming around him. Anyone can see he’s an incredibly intelligent boy, and it’s hard to argue with a boy who, technically, is doing what is asked of him by apologizing to those he hurt. At the same time, Prescott’s ability to manipulate the adults around him is rather chilling, and that first rock-throwing tantrum is only the beginning.
During that first tantrum, we have to wonder what it is that is causing this sort of behavior, because everyone around Prescott, at first glance, seems to be loving and supportive. But by the middle of the second section, the Second Tantrum, some of reasons for Prescott’s outburst seem to come to light. For one thing, the relationship between his mother and father is strained, and we aren’t really sure why at first. One point of contention between the two is the fact that Prescott’s mother knows French and wants to teach Prescott, but his father, for a time, refuses because, as Prescott’s mother relays to the priest, “His father does not want to feel left out.” The idea that one person should know less than another simply because it would make another person feel inferior wades dangerously close to 1984 territory for me, but it also gives Prescott something to vie for. If his father does not want him to learn French, then that immediately makes him want to do it, because that could give him a small advantage over his father. It’s as if Prescott sees his father negotiating, trying to work out this new Treaty, and Prescott realizes that everything in life can be negotiated if you have the right skills and bargaining chips, and he begins to work at gaining his own stash of chips: whatever he can use as leverage, he does. Despite his father’s initial misgivings, Prescott’s Mother convinces his father to allow her to hire a tutor, and Prescott immediately begins his manipulation of the tutor.
With his tutor, Prescott find himself drawn to her; he’s a young boy on the edge of puberty, and his attraction to her is one he doesn’t understand, but one that he wants to pursue. So, one day during a lesson, Prescott reaches out and touches his tutor’s breast, and she pulls away, asking him why he would think it’s okay for him to do that. Prescott lies, still not understanding what he’s doing, and says that his mother lets him do that all the time, so she should too. The Tutor, disturbed, says that Prescott couldn’t possibly be telling the truth, and tries to continue the lesson. Later, after Prescott walks in on his father and the tutor near each other speaking in hushed tones (insinuating, perhaps, a kind of affair), he acts out more, parading naked through the house while his father tries to work on the treaty, and when his father tries to discipline him, Prescott obstinately refuses to listen, and his father, unable to control Prescott, takes his anger out on Mona, the maid. From this interaction, we see where Prescott gets his temper: from his father. If Prescott doesn’t get his way, he takes it out on some unsuspecting innocent bystander, just like his father does.
The hinted at love affair between Prescott’s father and the Tutor, as well as the Tutor’s refusal to let Prescott touch her breast, prompts Prescott to hide away in his room for three days, where he dedicates himself to learning a story in French (or at least learning to mimic it), so that the Tutor is no longer needed. Again, Prescott is showing his skills at manipulation; it’s as if he is realizing, from this young age, that information is power, and that the more information he has about people, the more manipulation he can have over them.
By the time we reach the third tantrum, which takes place at his parent’s dinner party, we the viewers are quite convinced that the Mother as well as the Father are hiding things from one another, so Prescott is learning from both of his parent to hide his secrets, to manipulate others, and how to work his way into places he wants to be.
In the final section, when we flash forward, it’s revealed that Prescott’s father (Cunningham) was not his father; that Prescott’s mother was having an affair with Charles (Pattinson), and that indeed, Prescott’s entire childhood was based on lies, manipulation, and the pursuit of power. It’s no wonder then, that evil has chosen this vessel as its messiah. As Prescott the Bastard arrives in some city square to meet his people, the world explodes into pandemonium.
Evil is here to turn the world upside down, and the easily-beguiled world rejoices for it.
Verdict:
This is a great film, one that I will recommend to pretty much anyone who will listen to me. I think Art house fans will love this, but I’m not sure if it will appeal to a wide range of audiences because of it’s controversial topic, themes, and execution. This is a dark movie, but in that darkness, there is undeniable brilliance.
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