Her Smell
HER SMELL - Gunpowder and Sky
Elizabeth Moss continues to relentlessly impress with her output of work in her latest starring vehicle as jaded and spiralling rockstar Becky Something in Alex Ross Perry's Her Smell. Perry's film is nothing short of perfection, with a transfixing performance that might perhaps be the most significant and most cerebral conviction of addiction and mental illness provided to audiences via cinema.
Perry's film details the rise and spiral of rock superstar Becky Something and her band Something Says. Exploring their humble beginnings to their inaugural debut to their disastrous inner workings, drug-fuelled work ethic, and consequences of their actions, Her Smell is a monster of brooding emotion and intensity. The film is structured into five elongated key sequences of Becky's (Elizabeth Moss) life: first, their final show on their draining and demanding tour; second, a disastrous recording session; third, a drug-fuelled ultimatum; fourth, rehab; and last but not least, a reconciled celebration.
Perry's film opts to utilise a distinctive edit — superbly delivered by Robert Greene — that focuses solely on each sequence stated above. That offers the film a multitude of perspectives and developments. The camera is focused and transfixed, never leaving this brooding melting pot of charisma and tension. It is atmospheric but also convinces the audience with a genuine, personalised and vulnerable feature. Showcasing cracks and then some. It is quite frankly terrifying to watch on occasion, and thus the film offers a far more comprehensive experience than the usual musical icon character study — one that evokes more of a Wikipedia checklist than a captivating informative portrayal.
With these more prolonged personalised moments where the camera is hypnotised on the circumstance and characters, it lets said characters bleed, bruise and convict in real-time as if the viewer is watching a car crash in slow motion. The result of this slow and more methodical approach offers the performers a significant element of intimacy to flesh out and produce their characters to a far more expressive standard, and nobody disappoints.
Moss is exceptionally captivating and formidable as Becky Something. Her dive into intoxicated monstrosity is so well replicated it often blurs and worries the viewer that what they are seeing is too close to the bone with such an extraordinary sense of realism achieved. Moss's portrayal is brutal, harsh, and unforgiving, but Moss also implements a small, subtle sense of a character internally conflicted with flashes of warmth and innocence. It is a compounding multi-dynamic and layered performance that Moss crafts in what seems absolute ease.
The supporting cast is equally as terrific. Notable performances from Eric Stoltz, who steals each scene the actor is given as panic-stricken manager Howard Goodman; Virginia Madsen with a scene-stealing sequence as Becky's Mother and Agyness Deyn and Gayle Rankin as Becky's bandmates. Rankin is underused more so than not with her character Ali van der Wolff, only really having a significant bite in the third act. Deyn, retaining her English accent, is marvellous as Marielle Hell; Deyn showcases some extraordinary range and when afforded the opportunity delivers one hell of a bewitching monologue.
Not everything is perfection, however. Perry's film is far too long at times. Not due to the exemplary usage of camera and structure, but more so in the excessive amounts of characters that fill the screen and — ultimately — the running time. A secondary rival band is a running subplot meant to reinforce the ageing of Something Says with Cara Delevingne, Ashley Benson and Dylan Gelula cast, but to say each has zero screen presence nor vital input to the overall arc of Becky would be an understatement. Undeniably, a wasted opportunity to explore an exciting element of being a long-standing musician.
Amber Heard is, unfortunately, another character and performance that falls victim of zero-depth nor material and turns up purely to add more — if not a little much — material for Moss' character to produce a display against. Brought back redundantly in the final act to try craft an arc, Heard's Zelda fails to materialise that of depth as both a terrific performer but also an inviting arc to travel.
All this excessiveness blocks far more weighted and existential avenues for Moss's Becky to develop to an even more considerable and broader measure. One of the most notable aspects that has far more material waiting in the wings is that of Becky's relationship with ex-partner Danny (Dan Stevens) and daughter Tama (Daisy Pugh-Weiss), of which is only a fleeting study at best, and not the primary focus of a film that struggles of restrain itself in all manners of narrative.
Her Smell is released September 9, 2019.
