Filled with 80s horror references, Mandy puts an art house sensibility on its story of psycho cultists, biker demons, heavy metal sensibilities, and gory (but not that gory) carnage at the hands of Nic Cage (Red) in full freak-out. The cinematography is gorgeous, and the story has more meat on its bones than director Panos Cosmatos' previous effort Beyond the Black Rainbow. The three chapters each have their own tones - art house, straight plot, grindhouse insanity - which somehow doesn't seem jarring, but does beg some questions as to why, say, part 1 shows us scenes that aren't really going to matter by part 3... unless they do. And I think that's why Mandy is such an interesting work. It's at times enigmatic and ambiguous so that, regardless of the director's intent, it can support several interpretations and live in the viewer's mind. To some, it will be the makings of a slasher as heroic protagonist. Or a psycho-sexual journey in which the demons are one's own sins/impulses which must be overcome before doing anything of value. Or a deforestation metaphor, with Mandy Bloom's vegetal name linking her to nature, though she is married with a lumberjack. The film also hints at this world's untold history, which ties into my own theory (from this point, I get spoilery). See, one of the things I don't like is that part of the story hinges on an annoying fridging trope. But it's only really annoying of that's actually what happens. I tie Red's demon-slaying back story to an enigmatic scene in the first act in which Mandy comes out of the lake and Red is stunned, and further, her scenes alone in nature, and her never-explained scar. It may be like this: Mandy is a nymph, a spirit of some kind (which would also explain her "radiance" to the cult leader), and the couple has gone through this before. He is stunned in that flashback because he had seen her die; she's back from the dead, though shows the scar of that death. He feels it might happen again, which is why he wants to leave Crystal Lake, but she likes it there, she is linked to it through nature. So when she is killed, it's in a way that he doesn't think she can come back from, and goes on a rampage - which is perhaps necessary to bring her back, we don't know the rules - and perhaps she will be, though I kind of miss another lake scene at the end where she walks out, perhaps with different scarring. Or does the death of Mandy bring about a personal apocalypse, and her rebirth a new world, perhaps one pulled from a science-fiction novel she's been reading? This is me after a single viewing. I may be overreaching, or I may only be scratching the surface.
"I got this script that was pretty cool. I mean, 'You are a vicious snowflake' -- I've been dying to say that line in a movie since 1987. But I wasn't sure about it until I showed it to my haberdasher, Grigori, and he said, 'Go for it, Nic.' And I said, 'Thanks, Giorgio!' Also, the director's name is Panos, and that was the name of my first pet mongoose, so I had a good feeling about the whole project. I had to work hard on this character because so many of his feelings are unvoiced. In order to channel his passion, I had to sharpen my instrument to a fine edge, much like the fine edge of the axe I planted in that psycho mutant biker's head. I was reading a lot of Calvino during the shoot, and in some ways I put a lot of Marcovaldo into my performance. I'm covered with blood in some scenes, and I made it more authentic by acquiring my own rattlesnake blood rather than using the fake stuff the makeup people like."
Forced atmosphere, using a color palate that isn't the least bit appealing (whatever the hell that was), terrible pacing, weirdness just to be weird, and Nicholas Cage doing his thing is a recipe for disaster. Approach at your own risk.
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Houseman
Nic Cage is our God now.moviebeth
I bet, Gaspar Noe is so jealous about this movie.FullCollapse
Holy fuck..wow! I already can’t wait for Panos Cosmatos next film. The cinematography in this looks like a 70s/80s heavy metal album cover!lachyas
We don't deserve Nicolas Cage.Siskoid
Filled with 80s horror references, Mandy puts an art house sensibility on its story of psycho cultists, biker demons, heavy metal sensibilities, and gory (but not that gory) carnage at the hands of Nic Cage (Red) in full freak-out. The cinematography is gorgeous, and the story has more meat on its bones than director Panos Cosmatos' previous effort Beyond the Black Rainbow. The three chapters each have their own tones - art house, straight plot, grindhouse insanity - which somehow doesn't seem jarring, but does beg some questions as to why, say, part 1 shows us scenes that aren't really going to matter by part 3... unless they do. And I think that's why Mandy is such an interesting work. It's at times enigmatic and ambiguous so that, regardless of the director's intent, it can support several interpretations and live in the viewer's mind. To some, it will be the makings of a slasher as heroic protagonist. Or a psycho-sexual journey in which the demons are one's own sins/impulses which must be overcome before doing anything of value. Or a deforestation metaphor, with Mandy Bloom's vegetal name linking her to nature, though she is married with a lumberjack. The film also hints at this world's untold history, which ties into my own theory (from this point, I get spoilery). See, one of the things I don't like is that part of the story hinges on an annoying fridging trope. But it's only really annoying of that's actually what happens. I tie Red's demon-slaying back story to an enigmatic scene in the first act in which Mandy comes out of the lake and Red is stunned, and further, her scenes alone in nature, and her never-explained scar. It may be like this: Mandy is a nymph, a spirit of some kind (which would also explain her "radiance" to the cult leader), and the couple has gone through this before. He is stunned in that flashback because he had seen her die; she's back from the dead, though shows the scar of that death. He feels it might happen again, which is why he wants to leave Crystal Lake, but she likes it there, she is linked to it through nature. So when she is killed, it's in a way that he doesn't think she can come back from, and goes on a rampage - which is perhaps necessary to bring her back, we don't know the rules - and perhaps she will be, though I kind of miss another lake scene at the end where she walks out, perhaps with different scarring. Or does the death of Mandy bring about a personal apocalypse, and her rebirth a new world, perhaps one pulled from a science-fiction novel she's been reading? This is me after a single viewing. I may be overreaching, or I may only be scratching the surface.muzzlehatch
Fun With Filters: The Motion PictureBlocho
havrasador
cool movie but i hope Cronenberg's received some profits of it ajajablimpsnstuff
"I'm swimming."Cthulhu1
Powerful, mesmerizing, and fun(ny).bsc
The Black Knight from Monty Python makes a comeback in this one.royalspikey77
Straight up batshit crazy - amazing though!!!!nostromo
This was exactly my cup of crazy, and Nic Cage drank it all up.Carota
I bet, Nicolas Winding Refn is so jealous about this movie.TreadwayNathan
Forced atmosphere, using a color palate that isn't the least bit appealing (whatever the hell that was), terrible pacing, weirdness just to be weird, and Nicholas Cage doing his thing is a recipe for disaster. Approach at your own risk.Showing items 1 – 15 of 16