'This is perfectly natural' | September in Review

It was such a struggle to start writing this blog, even though I knew, more or less, what I wanted to say. It just goes to show that even if you've been "a writer" your entire life, it never actually gets any easier.

September's stand-out watches lend themselves to a couple of concepts. What it's like to have expectations for a film and have the film exceed those expectations vs. what it's like to have low expectations and then the film doesn't even meet those. Watching a film that's constantly surprising you vs. watching a film that barely surprises you at all. Earned twists vs. twists that just feel dumb.

We're talking Barbarian vs. Don't Worry Darling.

I watched Barbarian one year to the day after I watched Malignant, a coincidence that was perfect because the films are something like siblings in a lot of ways – most notably, in making you think you know what's they're going to be about.

After watching the trailer and seeing the poster, I had high expectations for Barbarian and only a loose idea of what I thought it's focus would be. I was very wrong – and that felt fantastic.

Barbarian plays on expectations the whole way through, and not just by being incredibly unpredictable. It relies heavily on messing with societal expectations and with your expectations as a viewer. From how someone is supposed to act in a given situation, tangled with how they're perceived, to what it means to be a good or a bad person – and if that even matters when a situation is much stranger than you could've anticipated.

The first third of Barbarian is wildly intense; something jarring and delightful happens, structurally, around the middle; and then you never know what's going to happen again, right up until the credits roll. If you like horror movies, you should see it immediately.

On the flip side, there is Don't Worry Darling.

Before I get into where this movie went wrong, let me knock out what it did right. The main characters' house was perfect, Florence Pugh and Chris Pine did the absolute most they could with what they were given and Harry Styles' acting wasn't as bad as everyone thought it would be.

The movie overall, however, was worse.

I can't get too far into all of the things that infuriated me about Don't Worry Darling without spoiling what there is to spoil. But I'll say this: Tim and I were writing a better movie in our heads as we watched it compared to what it ended up being.

One issue I have is that it brings absolutely nothing new to the table. We were able to predict one of the "twists" before we even left for the theater, and if you've seen The Stepford Wives (either version) and The Truman Show, you've essentially seen this film. 

But ultimately, that's fine! A lot of movies are unoriginal, and this one is aesthetically pleasing enough that you could forgive it. What's unfortunate is that it almost does a few things that are interesting, but then it falls short. It's a movie filled with almost-realized potential.

I also have to admit that there is, in fact, one twist we were unable to predict, that is at least somewhat original – it's just also very mishandled and therefore very dumb. We weren't able to predict it because it doesn't make any sense.

Moving on. In September, I also watched Prey (entertaining!), The Turning (terrible) and A Classic Horror Story (good, with a great twist). And it being spooky season, I rewatched these classics: It, Coraline, Practical Magic, It Chapter Two, Beetlejuice, The Invitation, Death Becomes Her, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Ready or Not.

I also finally finished The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware (solid) and started reading the new Riley Sager, The House on the Lake, which I have since finished as of writing this blog (it ended up being much wilder than I expected).

September was also a great month for live music. Incredibly, I attended two "double features," where I saw two artists in 48 hours. First, Panic! at the Disco on my last day of being 29, then The Killers on my first day of being 30. Then I finally saw Florence + the Machine, followed by my second time seeing Harry Styles. Great, life-affirming times all around.