Sienna Miller | Writer
September 30, 2022
The horror film “Pearl” hit theaters on September 16th, 2022. It’s based on a young woman who journeys through life in 1918. The camera follows her as she slowly turns into a murderous sociopath. In the first week, the A24 film made 6.7 million dollars on a 1 million dollar budget. The movie is only growing as it gets promoted on the app Tik Tok.
The film is getting an abundant amount of mixed reviews. Pearl is the most psychotic, scariest, yet relatable character in the cinema. Only Goth can make such a low-budget film a beautiful showpiece. Critics note that her range is phenomenal as she plays both the victim, old lady Pearl in the sequel “X”, and young Pearl in the latest “Pearl” film. At the beginning of the movie, she looks like a young, innocent, beautiful girl; however, by the end, she presents herself as a demented and horrifying woman. She does this using solely her voice and her unsettling facial expressions. By the end of the movie, the audience feels almost mortified, yet impressed by Goth’s acting.
“Pearl was extremely disturbing to watch,” senior Emily Ellinger said. “Her character had an unhinged, manic persona, and she did despicable things throughout the movie.”
Although Pearl is petrifying, the producers also made sure that the viewers felt empathetic toward her. The audience grew to understand how hard it was to have so much trauma in a time when mental illness was not addressed. She wanted help, she wanted to be loved, but no one would listen to her. She needed psychological aid and medication because of the pain that she had experienced due to her abusive mother. And for that reason, she was alone in a world that was too frightened to acknowledge her struggles. Even those closest to her would refuse to admit she needed help. In light of this, she was compelled to turn to violence.
Because of her mother’s lack of love for her, she felt the need to be loved by everyone. She felt obligated to be wanted and the only way she knew how was to become a famous dancer. She practiced, but the producers told her she had to be blonde and younger. Goth portrays an astonishing performance as she recites a seven-minute monologue of her character Pearl’s reaction to the rejection that she faced. This is when the audience most feels condolence towards her character. She is tired of not being good enough, and she breaks down in tears as she admits that her mother was right and that she was never capable of being something better. She would always be stuck on the farm that she resented. Goth makes the experience both sorrowful and hysteric.
“I think every individual relates to Pearl on some level,” said sophomore Sarah Desrosiers. “She is a woman who finally registered the overwhelming feeling of reality. No one would take her away to a better life; no one would understand her pain as a woman trying to seek constant approval in a world full of rejection. She was all alone and scared.”
Although the production value of this film wasn’t the best, they ended the film in the absolute best way possible. Goth stares into the zoomed-in camera during the credit scene, with a psychotic grin on her face as tears rush down her cheeks. Her husband had just returned from war, and she just stands and smiles with her dead parents sitting like puppets at the table. It creates the perfect dissatisfaction the audience needs for this horror film. It adds an insane feel to the perfect end of the film. Pearl never gets her happy ending, therefore the viewers shouldn’t feel satisfied either.
“The best type of movie is one that you won’t forget,” sophomore Katie McKay asserted, “and ‘Pearl’ is one of those films.”
Leave a Reply