Crimson Peak thoughts round-up
Saw Crimson Peak late Friday night because I just couldn’t wait. Here are some thoughts, written in bullet points because since I’m not in college I don’t have to be organized AND coherent.
* Gorgeous. Just beautiful. The costumes. The people. The HOUSE! Oh, the house. As my friend Kel said, “I want to run down endless sets of stairs wearing 25 yards of silk billowing around me”. And Thomas’ blue velvet coat, I died. Except I didn’t because I want to figure out how to get one for myself.
* Solid acting, I felt Jessica Chastain was the stand out as Lucille. There was this cold fury to her that was amazing. I kept thinking about Edith, the protagonist, “She is so brave.” She didn’t cower, she confronted. I liked her. As Thomas, Hiddleston was smooth and gracious and delicious, but it was the ladies that stood out.
* The house is great as a character, and feels alive.
* It’s not a horror movie at all. Yes, there are ghosts. Or, are there? You can see them coming from, literally, a mile away, so if horror is not your thing you’ll get a lot of warning. Are they there, a metaphor, or her awakening? On the other hand, it’s creepy and atmospheric. There IS violence, with two instances I warned friends about so they could avert their eyes. Gotta say, Del Toro LOVES the blood in the eye imagery.
* The big reveals are not that big because anyone with skills of observation knows what’s up.
* While talking with friends I mentioned that I wonder if the film could be read as an manuscript of Edith’s, now mined and polished for publication.
* It would be fun to make a Gothic Romance Bingo/Drinking game to play along while watching. My friend Kel came up with this themed cocktail.
* I re-watched Hellboy a few weeks ago and re-watched Hellboy 2 Sat night, it was interesting to see themes, motifs, and imagery that was reused. As an aside, the elemental in Hellboy 2 is very similar to the kaiju from Pacific Rim.
* So the reveals are: Thomas has had several wives, married for their money then poisoned by his sister. No, really, that’s their con? Say it isn’t so! And Thomas and Lucille have an incestuous relationship, and Lucille is insanely jealous. You don’t say?!? That last thing seems to be what really does it for Edith. She figures out about the murders and goes to confront the siblings. She catches them together and flees. I commented to friends, “It seems like sex is worse than death.”
* What I thought the reveal SHOULD HAVE been was Thomas falling in love with Edith, but you never really get an idea that’s happening. When he pretends to love her to draw her in, it isn’t slick enough, even though her father knows what’s up. When he actually falls in love with her (I think the sex scene, which is mild and not much more than what’s in the trailer, is supposed to be shorthand for that process) he doesn’t really change at all. I wanted that character to be played stronger, with more layers, what he’s showing and hiding from the public, Edith, his sister, himself. And you don’t get a sense of what he does end up loving about Edith. He’s trapped by his psychotic and possessive murderous sister but he’s a very passive character so there’s no oomph. Hiddleston didn’t do a bad job with him, I felt like the direction could have been better.
* I think the sibling relationship should have been revealed first, and Thomas tries to get Edith to agree to going along because he loves her but feels trapped by his sister and the house (or, make him terrible and add some psychological terror in there). . But the ghosts keep popping up and she figures out their scheme as Lucille’s jealousy takes over and Thomas is caught in the middle, and then all hell breaks loose. I think that would have allowed for more interesting characterization, and added more layers to Edith’s isolation and entrapment while stripping away her trust and naivety.
* Gorgeous. Just beautiful. The costumes. The people. The HOUSE! Oh, the house. As my friend Kel said, “I want to run down endless sets of stairs wearing 25 yards of silk billowing around me”. And Thomas’ blue velvet coat, I died. Except I didn’t because I want to figure out how to get one for myself.
* Solid acting, I felt Jessica Chastain was the stand out as Lucille. There was this cold fury to her that was amazing. I kept thinking about Edith, the protagonist, “She is so brave.” She didn’t cower, she confronted. I liked her. As Thomas, Hiddleston was smooth and gracious and delicious, but it was the ladies that stood out.
* The house is great as a character, and feels alive.
* It’s not a horror movie at all. Yes, there are ghosts. Or, are there? You can see them coming from, literally, a mile away, so if horror is not your thing you’ll get a lot of warning. Are they there, a metaphor, or her awakening? On the other hand, it’s creepy and atmospheric. There IS violence, with two instances I warned friends about so they could avert their eyes. Gotta say, Del Toro LOVES the blood in the eye imagery.
* The big reveals are not that big because anyone with skills of observation knows what’s up.
* While talking with friends I mentioned that I wonder if the film could be read as an manuscript of Edith’s, now mined and polished for publication.
* It would be fun to make a Gothic Romance Bingo/Drinking game to play along while watching. My friend Kel came up with this themed cocktail.
* I re-watched Hellboy a few weeks ago and re-watched Hellboy 2 Sat night, it was interesting to see themes, motifs, and imagery that was reused. As an aside, the elemental in Hellboy 2 is very similar to the kaiju from Pacific Rim.
* So the reveals are: Thomas has had several wives, married for their money then poisoned by his sister. No, really, that’s their con? Say it isn’t so! And Thomas and Lucille have an incestuous relationship, and Lucille is insanely jealous. You don’t say?!? That last thing seems to be what really does it for Edith. She figures out about the murders and goes to confront the siblings. She catches them together and flees. I commented to friends, “It seems like sex is worse than death.”
* What I thought the reveal SHOULD HAVE been was Thomas falling in love with Edith, but you never really get an idea that’s happening. When he pretends to love her to draw her in, it isn’t slick enough, even though her father knows what’s up. When he actually falls in love with her (I think the sex scene, which is mild and not much more than what’s in the trailer, is supposed to be shorthand for that process) he doesn’t really change at all. I wanted that character to be played stronger, with more layers, what he’s showing and hiding from the public, Edith, his sister, himself. And you don’t get a sense of what he does end up loving about Edith. He’s trapped by his psychotic and possessive murderous sister but he’s a very passive character so there’s no oomph. Hiddleston didn’t do a bad job with him, I felt like the direction could have been better.
* I think the sibling relationship should have been revealed first, and Thomas tries to get Edith to agree to going along because he loves her but feels trapped by his sister and the house (or, make him terrible and add some psychological terror in there). . But the ghosts keep popping up and she figures out their scheme as Lucille’s jealousy takes over and Thomas is caught in the middle, and then all hell breaks loose. I think that would have allowed for more interesting characterization, and added more layers to Edith’s isolation and entrapment while stripping away her trust and naivety.