Overview
Madeline has become an integral part of a prestigious physical theater troupe. When the workshop's ambitious director pushes the teenager to weave her rich interior world and troubled history with her mother into their collective art, the lines between performance and reality begin to blur. The resulting battle between imagination and appropriation rips out of the rehearsal space and through all three women's lives.
As part of my movie reviewing process I’ll give a film one or more tags if there is something noteworthy – best, worst, favorite, smile, rom com he’ll watch, etc. One of the tags that I’ll use on occasion is “not for everyone”. Madeline’s Madeline is not for everyone.
The film is more of an experience than anything. First and foremost, it takes a while to watch the film. The late great comedian Patrice O’Neal once said that he didn’t know how to watch certain movies and I think of that a lot. It takes a little while to figure out what is going on and then once you get the rhythm and the symbolism in the film it starts to make sense.
That is until it gets turned on its ear several times. The changes in the plot aren’t necessarily earth-shattering and as with all great films (IMHO) the changes are subtle. What you thought one thing is now another thing. The film never sits in one place for too long and often feels like it is in many places all at once without being all over the place (yes, I realize that sounds like a contradiction).
The movie has been described as trippy but I don’t necessarily believe that to be true. I think the director did something special – she came up with a new and fresh way to tell a story. I think what might be the most interesting part of the film is that it didn’t really feel like any other film that I’ve seen before. At times it reminded me of the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey mixed with a little Black mirror but really that’s a stretch. My two favorite films of 2018 (this and The Rider) each came up with creative ways to make film.
And finally…. holy
shit
Some notes that I took during the film, in chronological order.
How to watch?
Future star
Trippy
Movie flips
Meaning changes
Like what movie I’ve seen before?
Coming of age? Mother/daughter conflict?
Unique
New dynamic at the end
Why was the mother chosen?
What does the cat mean?
Repair vs. exploit
Wow can she act
Movie flipped again
Lord of the flies
Atristry vs. Talent vs. Inspiration
Exploitation
Black mirror / unique
IHATEBadMovies.com reviews Madeline's Madeline
Movie title: Madeline's Madeline
Movie description: Madeline has become an integral part of a prestigious physical theater troupe. When the workshop's ambitious director pushes the teenager to weave her rich interior world and troubled history with her mother into their collective art, the lines between performance and reality begin to blur. The resulting battle between imagination and appropriation rips out of the rehearsal space and through all three women's lives.
Date published: 2018-10-21
Director(s): Josephine Decker
Actor(s): Helena Howard, Molly Parker, Miranda July, Okwui Okpokwasili, Sunita Mani, Eva Steinmetz, Felipe Bonilla, Lolo Haha, Jorge Torres-Torres, Lisa B. Tharps, Dana Eskelson, Sophie Traub, Charlotte Hornsby, Jaron Elijah Hopkins, Jamal Batts, Reynaldo Piniella, Henry Leyva, Sharon Mashihi, Alexandra Tatarsky, Eston Clare Jr., Dale Paul Lazar, Ivan Martin, Isolde Chae-Lawrence, Sarah Small, Emily Decker, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Curtiss Cook, Mike Hodge, Suzette Gunn, Julee Cerda, Blake Baumgartner, Jazmyn C Dorsey, Marie Check
Genre: Drama
My Review
As part of my movie reviewing process I’ll give a film one or more tags if there is something noteworthy – best, worst, favorite, smile, rom com he’ll watch, etc. One of the tags that I’ll use on occasion is “not for everyone”. Madeline’s Madeline is not for everyone.
The film is more of an experience than anything. First and foremost, it takes a while to watch the film. The late great comedian Patrice O’Neal once said that he didn’t know how to watch certain movies and I think of that a lot. It takes a little while to figure out what is going on and then once you get the rhythm and the symbolism in the film it starts to make sense.
That is until it gets turned on its ear several times. The changes in the plot aren’t necessarily earth-shattering and as with all great films (IMHO) the changes are subtle. What you thought one thing is now another thing. The film never sits in one place for too long and often feels like it is in many places all at once without being all over the place (yes, I realize that sounds like a contradiction).
The movie has been described as trippy but I don’t necessarily believe that to be true. I think the director did something special – she came up with a new and fresh way to tell a story. I think what might be the most interesting part of the film is that it didn’t really feel like any other film that I’ve seen before. At times it reminded me of the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey mixed with a little Black mirror but really that’s a stretch. My two favorite films of 2018 (this and The Rider) each came up with creative ways to make film.
And finally…. holy
shit
Some notes that I took during the film, in chronological order.
How to watch?
Future star
Trippy
Movie flips
Meaning changes
Like what movie I’ve seen before?
Coming of age? Mother/daughter conflict?
Unique
New dynamic at the end
Why was the mother chosen?
What does the cat mean?
Repair vs. exploit
Wow can she act
Movie flipped again
Lord of the flies
Atristry vs. Talent vs. Inspiration
Exploitation
Black mirror / unique
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My Review - 9.25/10
9.25/10