Scare Value Award Winner – Best Actress
Top 10 film of 2022
Pearl review.
Mia Goth’s year’s best performance elevates Ti West’s X prequel above its predecessor. Pearl is a showcase for two talented, wonderfully twisted, artists.
This review will contain no spoilers for Pearl, but there will be some unavoidable spoilers for X.
Pearl
Directed by Ti West
Written by Ti West and Mia Goth
Starring Mia Goth, Tandi Wright and David Corenswet
Pearl Review
If Ti West’s X was about the jealousy and regret that come from aging, its prequel Pearl is about the desperation of feeling trapped. Set as an origin story for the elderly, murderous farm owner in X, Pearl is deepened by the knowledge of how Pearl (the character) will end up. It also deepens its predecessor in unexpected and moving ways. As much as one can be moved by the story of a very disturbed serial killer at least.
While the existence of X lends a rich backstory (forestory?) to Pearl make no mistake…this movie is a must watch because of Mia Goth. Goth, who co-wrote this film with West, played the older Pearl in X as well as its final girl Maxine. Here she plays a much younger version of Pearl (six decades younger to be precise) with her whole life ahead of her. And that’s the problem.
Young Pearl is trapped in a terrible situation. Pearl’s husband, Howard, is fighting in World War I. Her father has been stricken invalid by the pandemic of 1918. That leaves Pearl, basically, alone with her strict, demanding mother Ruth (Tandi Wright). Ruth’s protective, rigid demeanor leaves Pearl feeling unloved and unable to have a life of her own. She dreams of being a dancer and that talent taking her away from the farm. Stolen moments at the movie theater in town or when she’s alone in her room, or barn, provide only temporary escape.
At this point it’s worth pointing out that you really should see X before tackling Pearl. Pearl can play as a fine film if you haven’t seen X, but its themes and nuanced performance from Goth are given extra weight to those familiar with how this beginning ends. At the very least it throws a different shade into the eye-popping technicolor motif of Pearl.
A local dance troupe tryout with the promise of traveling out of her small town gives Pearl the hope that her talent can be the ticket out that her husband failed to be. When she brings it up to her mother, however, she is met with some harsh realities. Tandi Wright gives a standout performance in this scene. Her quiet, stern demeanor masked the anger and regret that came from her personal entrapment. When the mask slips Pearl gets a look into her own future that she is not willing to accept.
You can’t watch Pearl and talk about standout performance without bringing it back to Goth. She dominates this picture. At turns heartbreaking and terrifying…sometimes in the same moment. The climax, and creative peak, of Pearl is an extended monologue by Goth that should have award shows falling over themselves to hand her statues. Ti West spotlights Goth’s moment by accentuating it the best way he can. By doing nothing. He holds her face in frame in a one shot with no cuts for most of her speech. In this moment Goth delivers among the finest acting in horror’s long history. It is worth the price of admission alone.
Despite this review focusing on performances and themes…Pearl is still a slasher movie. Like X, it takes some time for the killing to begin but by the time the credits roll you’ll have gotten your fix of bloodletting. Unlike X, the kills this time occur mostly in daylight. The benefit of living in the isolation of farmland. West takes the opportunity to push colorful moments of violence. For those who may be wondering…yes, the pond had an alligator in 1918 too.
Scare Value
Ti West has another winner on his hands in Pearl. Mia Goth’s fearless multilayered performance is the best in any film, in any genre, this year. Knowing that the two will team once again for a proper sequel to X (titled MaXXXine) is a prospect that couldn’t be more exciting after seeing Pearl. X set a high bar that Pearl manages to clear.
4.5/5
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