QUEEN OF EARTH Review

Queen of Earth is writer/director Alex Ross Perry's follow-up to last years Listen Up Philip which also served as my introduction to Perry. With that frame of reference I thought I would somewhat know what to expect from his next feature, but Queen of Earth is decidedly different in tone while still focusing in on the same tortured themes that always stand to be enticing when conveyed in as artistic and finely articulated a manner as Perry tends to deliver them. That said, his film that more or less chronicles the psychological breakdown of one Catherine (Elisabeth Moss), never seems to transcend it's precise and bluntly honest dialogue to become something more fascinating or involving. It wants so bad to create this world of crass attitudes and lush greens so that the juxtaposition of these beastly people and their beautiful environment will create an intriguing entry point for the unsuspecting. Here's my issue with Queen of Earth and movies like it though, movies that enjoy being pretentious by default because of their flowery language and granulated picture intended to elicit a certain, more artsy aesthetic so as to say it's not as concerned about appearance as it is content-they don't do anything but talk in circles (or cycles, as the film would have it). The characters go on and on about how they've trapped themselves in their own destructive patterns, but by the time the final shot flashes on screen it feels more like the film has sabotaged it's own self.

First Trailer for QUEEN OF EARTH

Listen Up Philip was and remains the only film I've seen from director Alex Ross Perry. This is not due to the fact I disliked the film, in fact, I rather enjoyed it if not being completely enthralled with it as some of the responses suggested I should. Perry has been quick to write and direct his follow-up though which certainly produces some interest given this first, very on the nose trailer. Carrying over from her supporting role in Philip, Elisabeth Moss headlines Perry's latest, Queen of Earth, with Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice). Telling the story of two women who grew up together and discover they've drifted apart when they retreat to a lake house together seems to essentially be the set-up for some kind of psychological breakdown on Moss's characters part. While this first look is very intentionally in the vein of something we might have seen in between Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse double feature it is more the highlighted critical praise and washed out aesthetic that have me intrigued than anything concerning the story. This may not lend well to what the finished product may or may not turn out to be, but as a teaser it works immensely. I can appreciate what the director is going for and it is clear from his single prior work I've seen that he has a knack for writing very precise characters and thus very cutting dialogue. I can only hope this character development and promised psychological breakdown match the allure of the cinematography and tone being purported in the trailer. Queen of Earth also stars Patrick Fugit, Kate Lyn Sheil, Kentucker Audley, Keith Poulson and opens in limited release on August 26th.