FILM ANALYSIS: Pearl (2022)

FILM ANALYSIS: PEARL (2022)

dir. Ti West 

BBFC 15 , MPAA R 

Opening Length: 6 minutes

Budget: $1 million 

Box Office: $9.7 million

Theatrical Distribution: US and Canada only

Production Company: Mad Solar Productions, Little Lamb Productions

Distributor: A24, Universal

Synopsis: In 1918, a young woman on the brink of madness pursues stardom in a desperate attempt to escape the drudgery, isolation and lovelessness of life on her parents' farm. (IMDB)

LINKS: wikipedia , imdb, boxoffciemojo, artofthetitle

Trailer: 

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Possible Influences For My Film: The slasher genre, killing methods.                                  

Companies/Idents: 

The idents for the companies are shown. They all last between 8 seconds, and are silent. This is very unconventional, as typically idents vary in length, and always contain non-diegetic music, or an audio-bridge. 

Opening Shot: 

The opening shot is an ELS of a dark barn door. The darkness creates narrative enigma, as there is some light coming through the windows and cracks. The shot tightens as the camera zooms in, and the barn doors then open. The ELS is conventional, as it is also known as an establishing shot, and gives information about the narrative. However, it is unconventional to have such a dark opening shot. 

Titles: 

The first title (A24) appears on a black background with white letters to make it stand out. The title font is used for the company, and a sans-serif capitalised font is used for the linking words. The same is seen in the second production title, but the text appears over the opening shot. 

The cursive font signifies the primarily female target audience, as well as being an intertextual reference to the technicolour films of 1940s America, specifically The Wizard of Oz, 1939.

The remainder of the titles are centrally framed, and appear over the opening sequence. There is an effect on them where the letters appear one by one, which gives an analog and vintage effect.

The main title appears 6 minutes into the sequence, and is a freeze-frame of Pearl feeding a dead goose to a crocodile, which is foreshadowing for the remainder of the film. The title covers the majority of the screen and is centrally framed, with a fade to black to continue to the remainder of the film, and signify the end of the opening sequence. 

Mise-En-Scene/First Five Shots:

The ELS of the farm exterior reveals exposition of the previously built up narrative enigma. The house and machinery seem dated, placing the setting in the past. 

There is a panning shot at a close-up showing an old black and white family photo, further reinforcing the past setting. The photograph is of the protagonist and her parents, and denotes the close bond between the family. The panning continues around the room, revealing small details about the protagonist. 

Here, the pan has ended at a medium shot of the protagonist looking at herself in the mirror. Exposition is immediately revealed here and the dress anchors the film as a period piece. She is wearing a stereotypically feminine pink and lace dress of the time, and has her long brown hair tied up in 

ribbons. She wears no makeup or jewellery, which denotes the simple life she lives on the farm. 

The lights abruptly go off and then turn back on, showing her dancing in a dark room in front of the mirror. The use of light here emphasises the protagonist, and symbolises her love of performing and dancing. 

The lights then turn back on and there is a panning shot to the door, where her mother walks in. This over the shoulder shot denotes conflict and tension due to the distance of the characters. Binary opposition is seen, as the pink and feminine dress of the protagonist, is juxtaposed by the structured grey and modest outfit  of her mother. She also has her hair tied back, but this is seen as a practical measure rather than a conscious fashion choice, like her daughter. 

Sound: 

There is a bright orchestral soundtrack playing with many strings, that intertextually references the technicolour productions of the 1940s. When the barn doors open, and the lights turn back on in the mirror this music increases and conveys the dramatic narrative. Once the protagonist is seen, the strings quite down and wind instruments are heard, and sound more sinister. When the door opens, the sound of a vinyl scratching is heard, and the music abruptly stops, signifying that the illusion is over.