As true cinephiles, one of the skills that we develop is knowing a star when we see one, someone who most definitely has that X factor. Mia Goth has been a notable working actress since 2016, but it seemingly wasn’t until the 2022 release of Pearl that people really sat up and went “oh, she’s got it!” The prequel to A24’s surprise hit X that nobody saw coming, Pearl is far more than just the rare origin story that meaningfully adds to the mythology of a beloved character. It is the most accomplished film of horror pastiche wunderkind Ti West‘s career, on the level of both storytelling and technical craft, and it should be seen or rewatched before it leaves Netflix soon.
What is ‘Pearl’ About?
Long before she was pitchforking an annoying crew of amateur filmmakers to death, Pearl (Goth) was a lonely farm girl who was yearning for her husband, Howard (Alistair Sewell), to return from the war. Stuck caring for her handicapped father (Matthew Sunderland) and ungratefully abusive mother (Tandi Wright), Pearl believes she’s destined for greater things and wants to be seen as the big star that she knows she can be. Having to survive during a flu pandemic leaves her with little to do outside of going to the local movie theater, where she catches the eye of the Projectionist (David Corenswet), who may be the ticket to getting her out of small-town purgatory. Granted, this is a prequel, and more than likely you’re someone who saw X if you want to watch Pearl, so you know he more than likely won’t be the answer. But that foreknowledge does little to diminish the gut-wrenching heartache of seeing Pearl try to chase her dreams, and that’s because of Goth’s impossibly gravitational performance.
Mia Goth’s Performance Takes No Prisoners
Suggesting Judy Garland‘s Dorothy Gale if she were raised by Joan Crawford at her most camp, Mia Goth’s performance is the kind of supernova that leaves devastation in its wake. She’s got the radiant inner essence of Louise Brooks, the histrionics of a William Castle star, and the golly-gee sweetness of Shirley Temple, all served up in a Southern twang sharp enough to slice your throat. The thing with Pearl is, even from the first frame, you can already feel how slight her remaining sanity is, but in a way that makes her feel like a fighter against the torrential punishment she takes from life.
No matter what she attempts, be it auditioning for an upcoming role in a play or romancing the Projectionist, something always goes wrong that wasn’t necessarily her fault, but boy, does she not handle it well. Few performances in recent memory have truly deserved the description of “unhinged,” but watching Pearl finally lose her s**t after one too many losses on her record is enough to peel the paint off of every wall in every room of the house. To be fair, I would also be that upset if I fumbled Superman, so I respect her truth.
Pearl Is Just as Human As She Is Monstrous
Jokes aside, that element of being able to see past her flagrantly red flags to focus on the pain she can’t look past is the key to making the whole film work. Ti West envisioned Pearl as a fusion of The Wizard of Oz with Douglas Sirk melodrama, golden age Hollywood artificiality and ironically winking pop-art melodrama fused together, but made sincerely affecting by Mia Goth’s performance. It’s so tempting to want to snicker at a film that asks its protagonist to do things like hump a scarecrow to orgasm, do a can-can with chorus girls dressed like WWI nurses, and feed multiple people to an alligator, but you simply have to take it all seriously as the trials of a soul undeserving of such strife when it’s being channeled through Goth.
Mia Goth has been somewhat typecast as a go-to “crazy” scream queen since even before Pearl, giving bravura-spooky-time performances in films like Suspiria, High Life, Infinity Pool, but none of those roles gave her the breadth of emotional richness that Pearl does. Pearl is a straight-up serial killer with little remorse or regret for her actions, thanks to her well-deserved victim complex and limited self-belief, but it’s the self-awareness and delicacy with which she feels cared for by Goth that makes her come alive. Even at her worst, she renders Pearl a fallen angel who was meant for more, one all too aware of what she’s lost and hopeless to regain it. Much like the likes of Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates, Goth is so frightening, not because she’s so monstrous, but because at every point of her journey, she’s so human.
Pearl can be watched in the US on Netflix.
WATCH ON NETFLIX
Pearl
- Release Date
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September 16, 2022
- Runtime
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102 minutes
- Director
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Ti West
