I saw Strange Darling today at the Angelika Film Center in New York City. It’s a thriller, directed by JT Mollner, and I went into it cold, not wanting to be spoiled, and liked the subverted expectations of the movie, centering on a serial killer and their victim, stemming from a one-night-stand. Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner were the stars, and I got invested in their dynamic, especially when they are talking with each other in the car before going into a motel, trying to size each other up and measure the risk of this hookup.
I’ll say that throughout half of the movie, I was convinced that there were two actresses starring in the movie, and it took me too long to figure out that it was one, Fitzgerald, because her eyes looked narrow in one part of the movie (told in chapters out of chronological order) and larger in others, as well as wearing a magenta wig for half of the movie. The last time I thought something like that was watching Mulholland Drive, and thinking a different actress came into the second half when it was Naomi Watts in a dual role.
I liked the indie synth music soundtrack, and Giovanni Ribisi was the D.P. and producer, and the movie looked stunning and bright and viscerally gory.
Ed Begley, Jr. and Barbara Hershey have cameos as an old hippie couple, but aren’t in the movie as much, it’s mostly dominated by lesser-known actors, which was good.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie, and liked that it felt a little different. And I think the director was really inspired by the final moments of King of New York for the last scene of this film.
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