Darling (2015)

I had noticed Polanski's Repulsion listed as inspiration, and I was also feeling those Woody Allen Manhattan vibes with the very distinct view of NYC in B&W. But House of the Devil was also on my mind while watching Lauren Ashley Carter investigate Sean Young's decadent mansion, including that long hall to a room that is locked for a reason...it could be where "the living devil was conjured". The film never lets us see what is inside...perhaps that is best for our own sanity? Whatever the whispers are that seem to encourage (or perhaps exacerbate what was already slipping away) Darling's descent into madness, "The Man" (either Henry Sullivan or Dr. Abbott; hard to determine which since she's not altogether reliable), played by Morvant, gets the worst of it. Darling was the wrong girl for Sullivan/Abbott to talk to in the club at the bar...there is a particularly strong noirish edge to the scene with the smoke from Darling's cigarette, all the white shirts and black ties, little glasses of gin popping quick into the mouths of regulars looking to pick up folks for hookups. The Man must have thought this was his lucky night. It was very unlucky.

I think my favorite scenes are quite minimalist: a door creaks open and out of dark is Carter's inquisitive face looking in the room and certain striking profiles of Carter in certain poses. The scene where The Man's body starts to move in the tub with the taped bag over his head, with those little edit cuts to give him these jerks, how bloody and cut up he is, eventually collapsing into the floor and on top of Darling while she's in bed (the bedroom door opening as she sleeps, with the focus on her as The Man is blurred in the background)...just creepy stuff.

I find Carter a striking woman, with those magnificent eyes. But she sure knows how to lean into the crazy. When she really lays into the knife as it goes further in to The Man and she "reminds him of what he done", the mania is thick and fierce. Something did happen to her, that I have no doubt. Whoever did it really traumatized that young woman.

I think Keating really was captivated by Carter and just wanted as many closeups, direct and at every angle he could muster. I totally understand that...her face is indeed compelling no matter how subtle and nuanced or unhinged and out of control her expressions and actions.

Yeah, this will be an acquired taste. Keating has a lot of flash cuts. A whole bunch of flash cuts. But Carter's presence is just so riveting and her character runs the gamut. But I can see a critique about "nothing happens much". I think that one attack will be visceral enough to strike a chord, though. This was a stunningly photographed film at least. 3/5