Cordelia (2019)
Dec. 30th, 2020 11:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greyliliyI have watched Cordelia.Minor Spoilers below.
The Short: It’s a slow paced, artsy movie with fantastic atmosphere, lots of tension, and brilliant sound design. It’s a very subtle horror film with one big moment of violence near the end.
The Good: I liked the two leads. Cordelia and Frank have some really great chemistry, creepy behavior aside (assuming any of that was real). The sound design is phenomenal. There is some amazing stuff going on in this film with sound and the framing. Even if you get a bit bored with the plot, I think it’s worth watching for that alone. (Ug, that Cello music. T-T It’s so good.)
It’s also a little thing, but there’s a moment where Cordelia says “I’m going to take your picture” and I remember that being a real technique some people use to see if something is real or just in their head. Little moments like that added a lot of depth to the film and created a foundation of reality in a film that doesn’t reveal how much might not be actually be there until much, much later.
Also, I didn't realize at first the same actress was playing both Cordelia and her twin Sister. Good acting. *thumbs up*
How I Feel: I don’t know. This is a movie I almost want to watch twice to try and piece together better what’s real and what isn’t, but it’s also an incredibly slow film and I’d be tempted to fast forward to the good scenes.The opening is very slow, with getting to know Cordelia and her PTSD. Her opposing lead Frank doesn’t even enter the movie until about twenty minutes in, and that’s when things start to kick off but it’s still very slow.
There are two points where this film feels like it takes a snap turn in a different direction (the first is after an incident with her cat and the second is after the violent bit at the end).
Both introduce huge character shifts to Cordelia, but while it’s a little off putting, it also works considering her mental state and career.
The ending, in particular, is really jarring just from how calm she is during all of it. It adds to the “What’s real and what isn’t?” aspect on some level.
Frank: I really liked Frank. He was potentially an obsessive stalker with predatory behavior, but I like that in a fictional man. The important part is his actor does have his charisma and there’s a scene where he plays the cello near the end that’s just very good. (Also, he plays the cello. He gets brownie points for that alone).
Cordelia: I liked her a lot. Her actress had a fantastic range and you can feel the mania coming out of her. Whether she’s upset, having a rare happy moment, or cursing, there’s an entire, deeply disturbed person in there.
The Poster: The scene the poster came from is probably the best moment in the film, honestly (and Frank was 100% into Cordelia shoving him up against a wall, so the poster was accurate on that front and absolutely captured the mood). And while there’s a part of me that sort of wishes that scene would have continued (that tension wanted the payoff), that moment where everything stops and Cordelia gots “I need to trust you” and takes charge was good.
Even better that Frank did what she told him. However I feel about the movie, that scene made it worth watching for me.
(Cordelia x Frank. I ship it.)
Other Thoughts: Is that one poster scene enough for someone else to enjoy the entire film? I don’t know. Honestly, this is a super slow film with a lot of tension and very little in the way of release. Even the violent moment near the end is...oddly calm? I almost wanted to laugh at it--but not in a “It was unintentional funny” way (though I suppose it could be) but in a “Oh. Hey. She’s taking this very well...and oh. Oh I guess this is happening now.”100% Real talk, for about ten seconds at the end there I thought Cordelia was going to take Frank out where her cat ended up and the big thriller reveal would be that Cordelia is a serial killer.(...which I kind of would love to see an AU of now that I think about it.)
The Ending: Unlike Joker, where it was a little more obvious which scenes were real and which weren’t, I don’t think it was until the absolutely last moment before the credits in this film where I started to wonder how much of the movie was real or just in Cordelia’s head.Moments where I went “That’s not actually there” were followed up by Cordelia herself confirming that the subject in question wasn’t (The above mentioned “I’m going to take your picture now” scene)--which definitely helps in making the one watching feel they know what is real and what isn’t--up until Frank vanishes at the end.So on that front? Great job.
But on the other hand, the ending is incredibly open ended and I want to know what happened.It has the dual effect of : “It’s great because it leaves me wanting more” and “It’s awful because I want to know.” It’s a bit of a mixed emotion.
Final Thoughts: I really liked the opening moment of the film where Cordelia looks straight into the camera before the title drop.
Original Tumblr Post
The Short: It’s a slow paced, artsy movie with fantastic atmosphere, lots of tension, and brilliant sound design. It’s a very subtle horror film with one big moment of violence near the end.
The Good: I liked the two leads. Cordelia and Frank have some really great chemistry, creepy behavior aside (assuming any of that was real). The sound design is phenomenal. There is some amazing stuff going on in this film with sound and the framing. Even if you get a bit bored with the plot, I think it’s worth watching for that alone. (Ug, that Cello music. T-T It’s so good.)
It’s also a little thing, but there’s a moment where Cordelia says “I’m going to take your picture” and I remember that being a real technique some people use to see if something is real or just in their head. Little moments like that added a lot of depth to the film and created a foundation of reality in a film that doesn’t reveal how much might not be actually be there until much, much later.
Also, I didn't realize at first the same actress was playing both Cordelia and her twin Sister. Good acting. *thumbs up*
How I Feel: I don’t know. This is a movie I almost want to watch twice to try and piece together better what’s real and what isn’t, but it’s also an incredibly slow film and I’d be tempted to fast forward to the good scenes.The opening is very slow, with getting to know Cordelia and her PTSD. Her opposing lead Frank doesn’t even enter the movie until about twenty minutes in, and that’s when things start to kick off but it’s still very slow.
There are two points where this film feels like it takes a snap turn in a different direction (the first is after an incident with her cat and the second is after the violent bit at the end).
Both introduce huge character shifts to Cordelia, but while it’s a little off putting, it also works considering her mental state and career.
The ending, in particular, is really jarring just from how calm she is during all of it. It adds to the “What’s real and what isn’t?” aspect on some level.
Frank: I really liked Frank. He was potentially an obsessive stalker with predatory behavior, but I like that in a fictional man. The important part is his actor does have his charisma and there’s a scene where he plays the cello near the end that’s just very good. (Also, he plays the cello. He gets brownie points for that alone).
Cordelia: I liked her a lot. Her actress had a fantastic range and you can feel the mania coming out of her. Whether she’s upset, having a rare happy moment, or cursing, there’s an entire, deeply disturbed person in there.
The Poster: The scene the poster came from is probably the best moment in the film, honestly (and Frank was 100% into Cordelia shoving him up against a wall, so the poster was accurate on that front and absolutely captured the mood). And while there’s a part of me that sort of wishes that scene would have continued (that tension wanted the payoff), that moment where everything stops and Cordelia gots “I need to trust you” and takes charge was good.
Even better that Frank did what she told him. However I feel about the movie, that scene made it worth watching for me.
(Cordelia x Frank. I ship it.)
Other Thoughts: Is that one poster scene enough for someone else to enjoy the entire film? I don’t know. Honestly, this is a super slow film with a lot of tension and very little in the way of release. Even the violent moment near the end is...oddly calm? I almost wanted to laugh at it--but not in a “It was unintentional funny” way (though I suppose it could be) but in a “Oh. Hey. She’s taking this very well...and oh. Oh I guess this is happening now.”100% Real talk, for about ten seconds at the end there I thought Cordelia was going to take Frank out where her cat ended up and the big thriller reveal would be that Cordelia is a serial killer.(...which I kind of would love to see an AU of now that I think about it.)
The Ending: Unlike Joker, where it was a little more obvious which scenes were real and which weren’t, I don’t think it was until the absolutely last moment before the credits in this film where I started to wonder how much of the movie was real or just in Cordelia’s head.Moments where I went “That’s not actually there” were followed up by Cordelia herself confirming that the subject in question wasn’t (The above mentioned “I’m going to take your picture now” scene)--which definitely helps in making the one watching feel they know what is real and what isn’t--up until Frank vanishes at the end.So on that front? Great job.
But on the other hand, the ending is incredibly open ended and I want to know what happened.It has the dual effect of : “It’s great because it leaves me wanting more” and “It’s awful because I want to know.” It’s a bit of a mixed emotion.
Final Thoughts: I really liked the opening moment of the film where Cordelia looks straight into the camera before the title drop.
Original Tumblr Post
