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A moment for Sucker Punch.
Apr. 6th, 2011 07:34 amDisclaimer: I am not attempting to sway anyone's opinion of the film and I do not think less of you or your intelligence if you disagree with me.
Let's get one thing straight here: I did not think Sucker Punch was a good film. From a storytelling standpoint, it didn't speak to my sensibilities at all - weak character, weak dialogue, some pretty awkward pacing... there's more, but I usually lose the thread of it there.
And here's the reason I lose the thread of it: Sucker Punch is a very unconventional film masquerading (and being marketed as, of course) simply a movie where we get to see a bunch of hot girls kick ass. I walked in expecting a mostly big dumb action flick with girls/women at the forefront of it, which is in itself an unusual thing, frankly, for a big, dumb action flick. I did have some expectation to get a feminist reading on the whole thing, partly because of the dialogue happening around it (that I've avoided for the most part to stay spoiler-free), but mostly because I am a feminist and that's one of the things I am thinking about when I'm watching a movie, or a show, or reading a book.
I walked at the end of the credits and proceeded to talk with the s.o. about it for over an hour. The thing is, while it's not a good film, Sucker Punch has a wealth of ideas and concepts in it that still made it interesting to watch. I mean, we sprung for IMAX tix here and didn't walk out feeling cheated, even though I didn't enjoy it as a story nor as an action flick (man they could've used a better choreographer). But it's not every day that I can walk out of an ACTION movie that is trying to talk about feminism, and patriarchy/misogyny, and sexual power (because yes, as Lady Gaga has demonstrated to much greater effect, sexual power is power too), and not playing any of those things for laughs or presenting it in a way that plays up the Girl Power.
The other strange thing is it is also very clearly made for women, and young women in particular. I mean, the ( spoiler if you care ) is a dead fucking giveaway if you hadn't gotten it at that point. I mean, my mind was pretty much boggling, because Zack Snyder's previous efforts (one in particular) never, ever made me think he would actually make a movie about young women kicking ass intended for young women. I don't think he quite succeeded, though, and - here's the incredible thing - it's not because of feminism!fail or girlpower!fail! Which is extraordinary. I mean, I would expect most stories trying to talk about these things to fall flat on their faces, particularly when we're in a "guy" genre and it's the director who did fucking 300, but the movie seriously did not offend me as a feminist! (Only as a wannabe storyteller.)
I mean, despite The Powerpuff Girls and Kick-Ass, it is still a very new thing for me to be watching a movie and suddenly have one of my little girl fantasies come to life right before my eyes, and then to have this acknowledged as a legitimate fantasy that little girls/young women possess - that we too want to kick ass - and NOT have it devolve into exploitation of the female form, as is the norm for most action flicks involving women.
( Okay I'll put this behind a cut now because it's getting pretty long. )
I would really like to see these things re-visited in another film with a better script and better action, because I like walking out of an action movie about women and being able to talk about it afterwards in a way I haven't been able to before. I'd be hard-pressed to recommend it; I think Sucker Punch is much more of an experiment than it is actually entertaining in the traditional sense of the word. Although, if you're teaching a course on Women in Film, then get thee to a theater, NOW, because you'll want this in your curriculum.
I'm only going to spend the rest of my day trying not to look up what other critics have had to say about the film, so by all means, feel free to share your thoughts with me! (At least now I can read that O'Hehir review I linked to last entry - yes, believe it or not, I STILL haven't read it yet.)
Let's get one thing straight here: I did not think Sucker Punch was a good film. From a storytelling standpoint, it didn't speak to my sensibilities at all - weak character, weak dialogue, some pretty awkward pacing... there's more, but I usually lose the thread of it there.
And here's the reason I lose the thread of it: Sucker Punch is a very unconventional film masquerading (and being marketed as, of course) simply a movie where we get to see a bunch of hot girls kick ass. I walked in expecting a mostly big dumb action flick with girls/women at the forefront of it, which is in itself an unusual thing, frankly, for a big, dumb action flick. I did have some expectation to get a feminist reading on the whole thing, partly because of the dialogue happening around it (that I've avoided for the most part to stay spoiler-free), but mostly because I am a feminist and that's one of the things I am thinking about when I'm watching a movie, or a show, or reading a book.
I walked at the end of the credits and proceeded to talk with the s.o. about it for over an hour. The thing is, while it's not a good film, Sucker Punch has a wealth of ideas and concepts in it that still made it interesting to watch. I mean, we sprung for IMAX tix here and didn't walk out feeling cheated, even though I didn't enjoy it as a story nor as an action flick (man they could've used a better choreographer). But it's not every day that I can walk out of an ACTION movie that is trying to talk about feminism, and patriarchy/misogyny, and sexual power (because yes, as Lady Gaga has demonstrated to much greater effect, sexual power is power too), and not playing any of those things for laughs or presenting it in a way that plays up the Girl Power.
The other strange thing is it is also very clearly made for women, and young women in particular. I mean, the ( spoiler if you care ) is a dead fucking giveaway if you hadn't gotten it at that point. I mean, my mind was pretty much boggling, because Zack Snyder's previous efforts (one in particular) never, ever made me think he would actually make a movie about young women kicking ass intended for young women. I don't think he quite succeeded, though, and - here's the incredible thing - it's not because of feminism!fail or girlpower!fail! Which is extraordinary. I mean, I would expect most stories trying to talk about these things to fall flat on their faces, particularly when we're in a "guy" genre and it's the director who did fucking 300, but the movie seriously did not offend me as a feminist! (Only as a wannabe storyteller.)
I mean, despite The Powerpuff Girls and Kick-Ass, it is still a very new thing for me to be watching a movie and suddenly have one of my little girl fantasies come to life right before my eyes, and then to have this acknowledged as a legitimate fantasy that little girls/young women possess - that we too want to kick ass - and NOT have it devolve into exploitation of the female form, as is the norm for most action flicks involving women.
( Okay I'll put this behind a cut now because it's getting pretty long. )
I would really like to see these things re-visited in another film with a better script and better action, because I like walking out of an action movie about women and being able to talk about it afterwards in a way I haven't been able to before. I'd be hard-pressed to recommend it; I think Sucker Punch is much more of an experiment than it is actually entertaining in the traditional sense of the word. Although, if you're teaching a course on Women in Film, then get thee to a theater, NOW, because you'll want this in your curriculum.
I'm only going to spend the rest of my day trying not to look up what other critics have had to say about the film, so by all means, feel free to share your thoughts with me! (At least now I can read that O'Hehir review I linked to last entry - yes, believe it or not, I STILL haven't read it yet.)
