Saw Vox Lux, a film about a pop star's childhood and rise to fame. Once the rise is established and just starts to begin, we quickly skip directly to the denouement: the staggering, drugged, drunken, weeping mess she has become in adulthood (ie: 31) I watched the film hoping for some glorious over-the-top pop numbers and theatrics, maybe some delicious melodrama, but unfortunately the film felt more tawdry and kind of sad than glitzy or dramatic. It was more tabloid and less music video. Maybe I've become old, or maybe the film just had something else on its mind.
The film is fairly dismal and dour. Everyone is dressed in rhinestones and leather, but they are all miserable and concerned and sad. The film opens with a narration by the deep, dry voice of Willem Dafoe, telling us in true-crime tones about the girl's childhood. She's catapulted to fame after she sings a song during a memorial service in the 90s and later on, during her rise to fame, 9/11 coincides with another pivotal life moment. Finally, in the present day of 2018, some terrorists wear masks styled after one of her music videos. The arc of the main character's life mirrors the evolution of modern American fears.
The end of the movie provided the best payoff for me, where it's revealed (spoilers here. Highlight to see) she sold her soul to the devil. This brings a lot of the film into coherency but makes the parallel with real, post-9/11 history confusing and muddy. What's the parallel? It feels muddy and muddled and kind of in poor taste.
I don't know. This film disappointed m. This may be my fault for judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree, but I went in hoping for hysterics and hopefully some catchy tunes, but left with dour, pessimistic meditations on America's continued descent mirrored by the dissipation of this pop star. A grim, taught little film.
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