Dec 9, 2022·edited Dec 9, 2022Liked by Anna Rettberg
I would be interested to know the screenwriting process as well, to me it feels like they didn't care about coherent arcs, suspense or anything like that, but instead, they tried to put as much stuff in as they could to give the film a chaotic vibe. Since there's a carnivalesque atmosphere it made sense to me that things were not super tight, but I would not praise that as good screenwriting. On that particular instance, I felt it could be compared to Ed Wood's "Plan 9 from Outer Space", with three different villains, changes of tone, etc. I like that kind of stuff so it didn't bother me, but I'm not sure they were telegraphing it enough to make it obvious.
On a thematic level, the timing is great for watching the film, I think parallels can be made between the Catwoman's origin story and Jeanne Dielman. I have no problems watching a character peeling potatoes for 3 and a half hours, but I think the portrayal of Selina in Batman Returns is very good as well. You see how there was no consideration for her in the meeting at the beginning, she's threatened by her boss (and the weird lighting emphasizes that), she's attacked in the streets by a thug, and you see her doing domestic tasks (sewing). Obviously, it goes faster than in Jeanne Dielman, but the staging is very effective and made the point of social alienation very clear I think.
The music is brilliant too. One thing I noticed that was very interesting is that they used a harp for the Penguin motif and the Penguin mentioned the harp in the dialogues ("I played this stinkin' city, like a harp from hell!"). So it's a direct reference to the way motifs are used for characters. It's a little bit counter-intuitive to think about the harp as dark, but it can be and Elfman took his inspiration from Mahler and Shostakovich. Elfman was also inspired by Schnittke and Bartok for Catwoman's music. And there's a chord change in the Batman theme that comes from Schoenberg's Transfigured Night. I'll find the clips and put that in another comment.
All in all, I really enjoyed the film. As you said, it's also very elaborate on the visual side. The sewer scenes made me think of Fellini, with the clowns and the penguins, it had a very carnivalesque, surreal vibe. But yes, the writing is a little bit puzzling.
I would be interested to know the screenwriting process as well, to me it feels like they didn't care about coherent arcs, suspense or anything like that, but instead, they tried to put as much stuff in as they could to give the film a chaotic vibe. Since there's a carnivalesque atmosphere it made sense to me that things were not super tight, but I would not praise that as good screenwriting. On that particular instance, I felt it could be compared to Ed Wood's "Plan 9 from Outer Space", with three different villains, changes of tone, etc. I like that kind of stuff so it didn't bother me, but I'm not sure they were telegraphing it enough to make it obvious.
On a thematic level, the timing is great for watching the film, I think parallels can be made between the Catwoman's origin story and Jeanne Dielman. I have no problems watching a character peeling potatoes for 3 and a half hours, but I think the portrayal of Selina in Batman Returns is very good as well. You see how there was no consideration for her in the meeting at the beginning, she's threatened by her boss (and the weird lighting emphasizes that), she's attacked in the streets by a thug, and you see her doing domestic tasks (sewing). Obviously, it goes faster than in Jeanne Dielman, but the staging is very effective and made the point of social alienation very clear I think.
The music is brilliant too. One thing I noticed that was very interesting is that they used a harp for the Penguin motif and the Penguin mentioned the harp in the dialogues ("I played this stinkin' city, like a harp from hell!"). So it's a direct reference to the way motifs are used for characters. It's a little bit counter-intuitive to think about the harp as dark, but it can be and Elfman took his inspiration from Mahler and Shostakovich. Elfman was also inspired by Schnittke and Bartok for Catwoman's music. And there's a chord change in the Batman theme that comes from Schoenberg's Transfigured Night. I'll find the clips and put that in another comment.
All in all, I really enjoyed the film. As you said, it's also very elaborate on the visual side. The sewer scenes made me think of Fellini, with the clowns and the penguins, it had a very carnivalesque, surreal vibe. But yes, the writing is a little bit puzzling.