This writer sure seems fixated on transgressive sex and sexual violence. Big fan of rape. I base this observation on their reviews of Men and The Nightingale (2018), as well as the movies Elle, and Sharp Stick. I'm oversimplifying, but honestly this reads like their main complaint with Men (2022) is that it's unrealistic because not enough rape (and that a man should not presume to make sympathetic stories about women's pain).
“His heroine’s decompression is palpable as she advances down a rambling path, smiling up at the sky, the trees, the chirping birds around her, choral music lifting the landscape to rapturous heights. The message is clear: This place untouched by men is utopian.” They then go on to ridicule the auteur's explanation of his own film, which seems unnecessarily catty. Most filmmakers already sound a little precious when deconstructing their own movies; why be petty?
I tried watching The Nightingale because of this review; I stopped it maybe 20 minutes in and deleted it from my history. The only thing I'll say in favor of this post is that the writer definitely warned me what was coming and so I was able to quit that harrowing "I Spit On Your Grave, But Make It Early Colonial Australia" movie (from the filmmaker of beloved The Babadook!) before the Gregor Clegane-meets-Targaryen toddlers event could get inside my head.
This article was not paywalled for me until I clicked through to several other posts on the site, so if you want to read it through this link might work.
