“Everyone has an angel” is how the story begins. The movie is, just what one might expect, from the man who was responsible for “300” but without any historical weavings. Written by Steve Shibuya and Zack Snyder, directed by the latter, the movie portrays a twenty year old woman’s plight of being put in a mental institution, against her will and making a pitch between reality and fantasy.Baby doll (Emily Browning), as she is nick named in the movie, is the main protagonist who, after her mother’s death, is forced into the “Lennox house for the mentally insane”, when she accidentally kills her little sister instead of her stepfather. Her stepfather bribes the orderly Blue Jones (Oscar Isaac) and makes him forge the signature of the resident Psychiatrist Dr. Vera Gorski(Carla Gugino) so as to lobotomize after five days which would ultimately make her unable to reveal the circumstances of her admission and lose all chances to claim her mother’s fortune.
The story is strung, once Browning arrives in the asylum. She rejects the reality of her plight and weaves a fantasy world in her mind where she dances erotically, thereby changing the asylum in to a brothel, mesmerizing Blue and the rest of the group. At this point, she is in her fantasy world where it is revealed to her that to get her freedom from the asylum, she needs to collect five items which are a Map, Fire, Key, Knife and a mystery item.
This, she tries to procure, with the help of four other girls nicked as Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung) who plot to escape from the clutches of Blue. Dr. Vera Gorski is the one who ultimately unravels the mysterious “going on’s” of the asylum by bringing the culprit Blue to his knees.
The music is integral to the movie as this is what is played out by Baby Doll before jumping into her fantasy world every time. The feel of the music is mostly of a “night club” and “total strife” ambience in tune with each other. A lot of the music is rehashed versions of songs by “The Beatles”, “Silver sun Pick ups”, “Led Zeppelin”, “Lords of Acid” and others.
Women in sleazy clothes fighting a horde of soldiers, dragons and monsters with a lot of intensity and well-played out music is the substance of the movie.
It tries to provoke the audience with its full on visual. It basically lacks any substance and as a fantasy in reality it hardly makes any waves. The song “Where is my mind “aptly describes the entire span of the movie. The role of Emily Browning is very impressive and stands out to the core with her attitude and sheerness.
It is a stunner, in the sense that, the visuals do provide an extreme impact but it is advisable to leave your mind at home before you watch this movie.
Cast & Crew:
Cast: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish,Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn, Oscar Isaac
Director: Zack Snyder
Screenwriter: Steve Shibuya and Zack Snyder
Producers: Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder
Banner: Cruel and Unusual Films
Music: Tyler Bates and Marius De Vries
Editor: William Hoy
Cinematographer: Larry Fong
Verdict: Stunning visuals but a no-brainer
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