*This article contains some spoilers
This year there are a lot of Xiangyan's films . It's the end of the year, and I will introduce you to the long-awaited one.
Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick also became famous due to the hot IP of youth themes ;
After that, relying on outstanding selection of films, gradually opened up the path of drama in a group of independent productions——
For example, Blake’s continuation of the classic sister film [Summer of Jeans] , cooperating with Woody Allen , starring in the super-English film [Green Lantern] , and [Shark] whose acting skills were called "breakthrough" and praised in the past two years Beach] ;
For example, Anna and Ben Affleck starred in the thriller [Accounting Assassin] , collaborated with George Clooney in the high score [In the Clouds] , and tried [Magic Black Forest], [Perfect Pitch] and [Magic Hair Wizard] Other types of singing, dancing and animation;
Both of them are well-loved on and off the screen:
One is the queen who has a full aura, a superb appearance and a superb body, and can shine in the Met Gala every year ;
One is a sweet and lively elf who can sing and dance, and can switch between the girl next door and nervousness in one second .
Finally, they met.
After watching it, I can only say that this film should have existed long ago—someone should have come specifically to make a movie just to put them in the same frame and fight their wits and courage.
There are not only the expected queen attack + small public exercises, but also countless reversals waiting behind——
At first glance, the two character trends that I got are, as the film develops, there will be more surprises for you.
They are not just what they look like, they have more edges and corners to show;
The deciphering of the characters, stories, and morals in this film is like a magic box to be flattened. It is worthy of your curious and worried hands to peel off the gorgeous and comfortable outer skin and open layers to its charming inner .
Plastic sister flower? More than that, they are twined like snakes spitting out a letter, and after they have shed their long-drawn but still fragile skin, they will find that you are me and I are you, each other equally complicated and deadly .
01
Is it you, my bitch?
Meet on a narrow road, the cheap one wins
When playing two states, it should be in line with the majority of the audience's expectations -
Emily , played by Brick , is a person in the fashion industry, a business woman, and her neat and capable temperament , from her neat and concise dressing to the cold and windy home decoration .
Stephanie , played by Anna , is basically half a housewife, a closet of cute printed shirts and small skirts, loves to record life , has her own video blog-teaches mothers various tips.
After the two got acquainted by chance, the roles they played in this friendship also conformed to the set position.
Stephanie is very excited about making new friends . The high-quality life and mysterious atmosphere of the other party make her like , fascinate and admire ;
When I was excited, I kept talking , like a little squirrel just crawling out of the cave to bask in the sun.
As for Emily, she said casually with a few words and pointed out that she was convinced by the other party, and she didn't reveal her inner state without revealing her values--
Looking at the girl entering her house, she smiled without a smile , and said "she's pretty cute" .
At the beginning, the audience seemed to feel that Stephanie was voluntarily held by Emily in the palm of her hand —and so did the others in the film.
If you take the three-stage structure to disassemble the story, there is no lack of undercurrents in the calm and quiet at the beginning, and some details are simply the squally rains after the crazy hint :
For example, Stephanie whim, as Emily took photos -
Emily's mood turned sharp, her face was blue, and she suddenly broke out. Even if it is not difficult to see that she is a privacy-conscious person, she is still unpleasant enough to make the audience uncomfortable .
More obvious time bomb , and two people drink and chatted about their secret -
Emily talked about playing 3P with her husband , while Stephanie missed the story of her half-brother who fell asleep after her father's funeral .
The audience's heart beat the wall: The little girl has to say it casually, but she has to bear the consequences .
It was also at this time that everyone caught a glimpse of Stephanie's less "pure and innocent girl ."
For Emily, she doesn't care about her "secrets" at all, and listeners don't think it's worth making a fuss;
Stephanie's secret is the fulcrum that can move the story .
This secret is like a branch on a poison ivy, which is surrounded by later sins and grows like bacteria.
The turning point of the film was the day when Emily disappeared—tracing the roots of the characters in the film was the real starting point for the character change .
In the process of being "domesticated" by Emily, Stephanie also learned her tough attitude :
Everyone thought that after Emily died, Stephanie obviously didn't care about idlers' gossip , and the intersection with her husband became more and more.
When everyone stopped investigating, she insisted on believing the "wrong" she smelled , and desperately checked it all.
At this point, we can already see that Stephanie, who is carefree and thoughtless in the eyes of others, is a cruel character .
Trying on Emily's clothes -I can understand the psychology of seeing a beautiful dress and wanting to try it , but this detail clearly explains more:
Her subconscious mind is moving closer to Emily; she had just had a relationship with Emily's husband the night before , and she was standing in front of Emily's mirror, dressed as Emily .
Is she gradually becoming Emily, or is it that Stephanie's true heart is actually the same as Emily?
In short, she is not just the girl we saw at the beginning of the movie, she hides a lot under her skin .
The truth continues to be peeled off. We know that her child may belong to her brother. The death of her husband and brother has nothing to do with her. We know that she kissed Emily...
Until she explored the ins and outs of the disappearance, the benevolent faces were completely removed, and the two women finally stood in the center of the stage , sneered and pointed their guns directly at each other.
02
Hire it, don't be shameless
Let you know more today
Compared Stephanie reversal , the degree of risk Emily layers forward , then are we expected.
But she gave a lot of impact -if she didn't have any tricks, she would have been fucked by Stephanie's persistence;
But she won't.
In the last scene of the movie, if it weren't for the almost stylized black comedy elements , we would understand that Emily would not be played in the palm of the hand.
Even if the strategy is seen through, she can easily get back to the situation : she has always done this.
Every time she appears, it is a dramatic advancement of the plot.
From the delicately matched dark suit at the beginning to the white suit with a vacuum at the end , as long as she is in the lens, it is difficult for others to stand out.
Her aura seemed to come at her fingertips, she put out a battle of temptation effortlessly , and the word " winner " was written on her face.
Even if at the end, the chess game in her hand was facing a collapse , she did not hand over the victory . (But the exchange of the two wearing tonal prints has shown that the outcome is reversed.)
Stephanie's video is an important node connecting the film-
In the most critical developments of the story, her different emotional states when recording the video all reflect the gradual upturning of her inner world.
A quick comparison can be seen:
In the picture above, the incident just happened, she was wearing a cute suit with kitchen utensils and food in front of and behind her;
She stood upright in the center of the camera, telling the news of her missing friend, while controlling her tears not to fall, trying to stabilize her emotions , and barely smiled at the audience.
When it comes to the picture below, the house has been cleaned up, and even has the simple taste of Emily’s house ;
She wore a beautiful dark dress , casually leaned on the table , and she spoke to the audience with obvious excitement and provocative words .
Throughout the movie, the process of her transformation is like this, which is presented with a video blog as the highlight.
Anna Kendrick this time can be regarded as a space to give full play to her acting skills and show the complexity and depth of her role——
Anna thought of [Little Thief, Beauty and Wonderful Detective] when she was reading the script ——
This film is exactly this type of movie, which can make people laugh all the time, but still feel the dark feeling all the time .
This "sub-genre" suspense film is cunning, subtle and interesting , just like Blake Lively said when recommending this movie: You will never be bored with constant surprises and surprises .
If you just look at the role, Emily may really easily arouse the audience's disgust ;
But letting Blake Lively control it is quite different.
Anna describe Bu Leike "whole body comes with warm constitution ," although this role is the irony of -
But under Blake’s interpretation, she became lovable and attractive ;
In this way, everyone's practices and choices around Emily in the film are explained.
For the audience, it is easy to fully understand them: With such a woman, the life of the character is destined to be affected by this.
The combination of suspense thriller and black comedy, [a small job] is full of contradictions and tension , it is a "energetic" movie;
Unexpected countless reversals , unique music and visual effects, have strengthened the bipolar sense that is hard enough and small and fresh .
Director Paul Feig believes that this kind of construction allows the audience to fully participate-it is really enjoyable to be surprised and disturbed while being driven by the plot.
These two completely different women have unearthed each other's most frightening impulse and despair in the process of opening the out of control Pandora's Box .
The secret is like a hidden disease, and their desire to escape from the devil or break out of the cocoon is like a sharp blade, just about to pierce the thin layer of scab, allowing blood and pus to flow freely.
Okay, let's fight, I just have to prepare a small bench with melon seeds and see who can stab the knife better .
Reference materials:
A Simple Favor-Anna Kendrick Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-CFEDuKk9s
Text: Yorkshire Viking
The article is from the WeChat public account: movie detoxification
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