something else interesting to see is Pearl’s reaction when she realizes that Mitsy was the one chosen in the audition. The whole movie Mitsy is shown as the person that Pearl wants to be, which is why Pearl married Mitsy’s brother Howard. To see Mitsy get what Pearl wanted so desperately after a lifetime of seeing Mitsy get what Pearl wanted is deeply upsetting to her, and as I was watching the movie I could see the moment Pearl decided that Mitsy was not going to get out of there alive and it was the moment she found out that Mitsy was chosen over her.
Yup. That was one of the darkest moments. It had seemed that Pearl had worked through a therapy session.. becoming self aware and seeing that there’s an option for her to be different. However, when confronted with her seeing someone else get what she wants.. she switched. She embraced being the killer. That ish was twisted 🥺
I don't think the movie confirmed that Pearl was right in her assumption that Mitsy got the part. She MAY have, but remember that Pearl is already very crazy by this point and she may have jumped to a wrong conclusion. She then ramps up and Mitsy mistakenly thinks agreeing with Pearl is the best way of not being harmed by her. If you have ever dealt with a psychotic person you may know that just disagreeing with them and telling them they are wrong, does not usually work. They will hold on to their wrong belief even if it isn't logical. In this particular case Mitsy was doomed either way. She said yes she was picked so as not to contradict Pearl, BUT if she had said no she hadn't, Pearl would have just said she lied and killed her anyway. I honestly don't know whether Mitsy was picked or not.
i actually feel like Mitsy didn't get the part im pretty sure she was telling the truth to pearl but pearl was already so crazed that it didn't matter if Mitsy got the role or not she was going to die
The movie never confirmed mitsy got the part, i think she genuinely didn’t get the role but was telling Pearl what she insisted on hearing because there is no arguing with crazy when they think they’re right
I understand Mia Goth’s charming portrayal but I am pretty horrified how many people try to say she did nothing wrong. They blame the projectionist for what happened to him. And they forget that in the future she is not only a murderer but a kidnapper, a torturer and rapist. Even her most antagonistic relationship, that with her mother doesn’t excuse anything. Her mother is also trapped, needs help and is a product of her time. Her mother is also a victim. In a way her mother is the same and the opposite of Pearl. She chose not to act on her own desires. For a relationship, for more than what she can expect, for duty to others and it damages her too. I think balance is where the safety lies.
It's amazing how few people can admit that two things can be true, and conflicting feelings can happen. We can feel sorry for Pearl without excusing what she's done. Someone can be both a victim and a perpetrator. Someone can be deserving of sympathy and punishment at the same time. But we live in a world where we are psychologically encouraged to see things in a moral binary. Good people do good things and deserve good treatment. Bad people do bad things and deserve only bad to happen to them, and never the twain shall meet.
@@benmcfee Right? It’s weird because grey characters are usually the most interesting but that doesn’t mean excusable. Especially when they commit a truly horrendous act because that’s my cut off line. I can feel bad for past you but you are now the monster making victims.
I now start to wonder if Pearl's mam really was that bad or whether she was just trying to keep her daughter from straying too far down a dark path in the only way she knew how.
@@satireisnotdead5804 Again. Two things can be true at once. Pearl's mom could be an awful mother to her daughter _and_ be legitimately trying to keep her from going full dark no stars. After all, people who do awful things often have very good reasons for doing so. Road to hell. Good Intentions. All that.
I like the historical details in Pearl. 1. The projectionist calls himself a "bohemian," which is what a guy like him would have called himself in the 1910s. This is a callback to X, when Howard refers to the hippie hitchhiker corpse in the basement as a "bohemian." This is also historically accurate, because a lot of old guys in the 1970s would refer to hippies as "Bohemians" or "beatniks." It's just like today. Old men don't necessarily keep track of the latest subcultures or know the right words for describing what young people are into. So it felt very accurate for Howard to refer to that hippie in the basement as a "bohemian," but when we learn in Pearl that a bohemian fucked his wife, it gives what Howard said in X a deeper meaning. 2. My theory is that Pearl's dad is sick because he contracted syphilis. The drooling, the pockmarks, and the fact that an adult man is turned into a helpless child are all reflective of what syphilis could do to the brain before they invented effective antibiotics to treat that venereal disease. (The first effective antibiotic cure for syphilis hit the market in 1910, but it was probably too late for Pearl's dad & odds are they couldn't get it in rural Texas even if it had been available.) It also suggests that Pearl's dad got that way because he was promiscuous like Pearl is. And it also adds some extra detail to why Pearl's mom is so resentful about her situation in life.
All of the scenes with the projectionist are absolutely perfect. He has a suave and confidence about him that is intoxicating. Even while in his suave persona when speaking to Pearl, you can see his face change when she says “why don’t they just die” lolz 😂 the look on his face is like “WTF is wrong with this girl” haha 😆 it doesn’t hurt that he is so darn sexy in this role.
Definitely what I was thinking about the dad having syphilis part too... while her mom abd her were having their little tiff, Pearl's mom specifically said something about "do you want to sleep around and end up with something like your father?"
@@samanthat7553it’s implied that her dad has the spanish flu. they talk about pearl going to the movies and dancing with “a bunch of city whores” and then the mom says “not to mention the illness you’d spread don’t you see what it does to your father”
The father definitely has syphilis. His symptoms track completely with neurological damage from syphilis. His symptoms don't make sense for Spanish flu. Syphilis also still explains the mother's increased fear of disease, and her fear/hatred of characteristics she associates with "city" women like who Pearl wants to be.
I love the implication that Howard immediately accepted her dark side and became her carer and lover. The whole time during that smile i imagine Howard was making that choice, and in X we can see he decided to stay with her, to help her cover everything up, to be her lover to the end. The perfect fucked up horror love story.
I feel like she kinda forced him into with emotional manipulation. He ultimately got stuck at the farm after being dropped off and kinda accepted that they were alone together now instead of living with the parents. The PTSD from the war made this f-ed up situation his home.
I honestly think he stayed out of fear. Just like everyone else, he was afraid of her. He just didn’t want to end up like Mitsy or her parents or the projectionist.
something that i realized, is that her 8 minute monologue was probably similar to what she said to howard. my theory is the only reason she didn’t kill howard was because he stayed by her side. She only goes into a murderous rage when people try to leave her.
I watched Pearl before finding out about X, and while X was interesting I couldn't help thinking it wasn't nearly as emotionally impactful as Pearl. I'm looking forward to seeing Maxxxine and (hopefully) hearing your thoughts on the dialogue between the 3 movies. Thanks for this well-crafted analysis!
They are not supposed to be the same movies.. I saw X blind in the cinema and as a throwback to 70s slashers and setting up the universe it's amazing.. Pearl wouldn't hit the same if you didn't know where she would end up in X, same as maxxxine won't hit the same without watching X first..
@@mullaosloactually pearl hits harder when you DONT know. i watched pearl first and it was incredible and even made X better when i watched it knowing the context of how she because the person she became. the scene of pearl dancing after killing someone in x was haunting with the context of pearl and confusing and comical without context
Yup. When I found out that Mia Goth has a British accent irl, I was legit shocked because of how well she portrayed a southern accent. And this coming from someone who is from Texas!
I just reflect on the total irony of how Pearl yearns for city life and stardom, to be in a constant spotlight of adulation and celebrity worship, but you have urbanites like me, daydreaming of Pearl’s simple charmed farm life. Her severe living standard is a sharp contrast to the picturesque countryside she lives in. Pearl’s innocent appearance and southern drawl, even her dancing daydreams are surface level child like, but harbor a sinister personality underneath. It’s a type of terrible darkness that builds in time, from too much rejection, feeling unsupported and unloved, poverty stricken, isolated, and unable to live out any dreams without being derailed. This doesn’t justify Pearl’s rage outs or channeling Lizzy Borden, but it’s enough to gain empathy and pity from us. What’s most dangerous about her is she’s able to masterfully manipulate our emotions and have viewers debate where blame for her behaviors ultimately lie. Pearl didn’t get the life she wanted, praise and care from her family, or the big break in show business or romance of a lifetime, but she has a huge problem with being grateful for what she did have, until it was too late. Howard does seem to genuinely care about her. Misty liked Pearl for who she was (prior to the murder confessions and laundry list of bad choices). Her farm was functional and a self supporting ecosystem in a way, so long as they could keep it going. And even though she was passed up at her audition for not being blonde and the proverbial all-American model, Pearl is actually pin up gorgeous. The biggest tragedy of all is Pearl trying to desperately morph into an immortal starlet, yet never embrace who she is or love herself, despite having a mundane existence.
I think most of our generation feels hopeless when looking into the future. A lot of artists are sacrificing their dreams because its impossible to achieve those goals until you're a nepto baby. So many of my peers are terrified of failure, and I COMPLETLY understand Pearl's desire to leave the bullshit environment she was born into and scared that it will never happen.
Feel this... one of my scripts is hauntingly similar to her story, lol. That said: guess there are still more constructive ways to deal with such feelings...
@@thereseemstobeenanerror1219 For real 😅 I’m disabled so the arts is my only chance at being independent. If I can’t survive on art I’ll always be reliant on others. Thankfully I am not unhoused rn but idk if/when that can change
Mia Goth's monologue is one of the most incredible scenes ever filmed. It just keeps going, and she plays it pitch perfect all the way through. I already thought she was good at playing these unhinged characters, but that scene put her on another level.
Same! I was hella impressed with that too. I had to do a monologue once in theater class but that was on another level. Filmed in one take. She's amazing.
From what I’ve read that wasn’t planned, the director told her to hold the smile and just refused to cut so that was her genuine reaction to having to hold it for as long as she had to
In my mind the biggest tragedy of her character is how she actually has some okay stuff going on in her life, but none of that fills her up the way she wants it to so she destroys it, like someone having a tantrum or raging against existence at all… her mom totally sucked but she had a sister in law who genuinely liked her and thought of her, a husband who loved her and was on his way home and a lover who maybe also would have loved her if she had been slightly less unhinged and more realistic in her expectations in general… maybe she gets the audition maybe not, it doesn’t have to be the first and last one, she could put in some actual effort and work and try again, but she is the type of person who expects to be great right from the get go and if she isn’t she can’t handle that and instead of working on it she rejects the idea assuming the problem is with everyone else… honestly low level versions of these types of people are everywhere… we see them audition for American idol all the time, and when they tell them to take voice lessons and come back and try again they say f you and push a cardboard cutout over on the way out, too blinded by rage to learn things from their failures and grow from them. Hell, her sister in law prolly could’ve helped her get a small part in something down the line if she had her foot in the door, rising tide carries all ships is a much better attitude in life than if I can’t have it no one will; jealousy is poison.
The use of empathy in X and Pearl is brilliant. Even the most horrifying characters are tragic and relatable in their way. Pearl’s mother is a great example - she’s responsible for so much of what goes wrong, but she’s also 1) German-American during World War 1, dealing with 2) a deadly pandemic, with 3) her husband completely disabled and dependent on her, and 4) a daughter with a clear dark side, that she 5) seems to have inherited from her mother, who struggles to control her own violent impulses and extreme emotions. It’s all a great tragedy.
Pearl's mother is not "responsible for so much of what goes wrong." Pearl's nature is responsible for EVERYTHING that goes wrong; THAT is what makes it a tragedy. Everyone in the film is nearly absurdly supportive and indulgent of Pearl (with her mother just trying to reign in Pearl's crazy); the tragedy is that kindness to Pearl can't help her and she is doomed to undo herself.
I wouldn’t say she inherited it from her mother…there is obviously a huge difference in the violence that pearl commits and the kind of violence her mother did. She slapped her daughter and basically fought with her, which is bad, yes, but you don’t have that kind of violent streak and somehow end up at ‘killing animals and people’. People don’t naturally progress that way, what Pearl had was inherently different from any violent streak her mother had.
@@macyskaggs3772 often it is psychological abuse that develops into much more violent abuse. Pearl is most definitely what happens when someone is predisposed to mental illness is in an extremely neglectful environment. I think pearl started out as a quirky child- however adding the existential dread of staying on the farm with the abuse and general neglect she grew up with- it became a little darker, and instead of trying to support pearl, her mother retreated into despair and continued to neglect her while also clearly project some sort of violence. She told pearl she was a dangerous person without actually offering anything to help. So now we have pearl who is isolated, neglected and abused, and likely already had predisposition to mental illness. As someone with bpd severe enough I’m on disability, I could see myself in her show of emotions. How deeply she felt and how quickly she would get attached, mixed with her delusions of becoming “a star”. Imo, pearl shows symptoms of having a severe personality/dissociative disorder, and in that time? All of her previous dangerous behaviour went unchecked because neglect was common- and so it escalated. These days it’s uncommon for people to get to this point because it’s less likely your mom will see you try to kill your dad and simply tell you off instead of anything else.
“there’s one thing stopping pearl from her dreams: her mom” i would also go on to argue that maybe her inability to dance would be then biggest factor 😂
Something I haven’t really seen talked about is Howards choosing to go to the war. In X pearl tells us he fought in WW1 and WW2. And in pearl we learn that he didn’t have to go back if he didn’t want to. A lot of people are confused why Howard stayed with Pearl after coming home to that. But it seems to me Howard went back to war because he liked killing.
i was always told i was gonna do 'great things one day'. i was in advanced classes as early as third grade up until middle school, always well behaved. and then it all fell apart after i developed my own personality and identity and it wasn't what my parents expected. i realized i wasn't special at that point and it did send me into a depressive spiral as a younger person. luckily i didn't go as far as pearl, and i never totally lost my sanity lol but i did once relate to not having any sense of identity other than the success that you're striving for. and feeling yourself fall apart when it doesn't happen. i think that's why she's easy to sympathize with in some ways.
I don't know if anyone watched Pearl before watching X like I did, but doing so hit me different. I watched Pearl when it was in theaters, and I didn't expect to relate so much to her and her desire to escape from horrible circumstances and be free. She really stuck with me, I downright loved her. A month or so after watching Pearl, my friend showed me X and...learning that she lived and (spoiler alert, just in case) died on that wretched cage of a farm broke my heart.
I empathize with her but she needed to die in 'Pearl' so she could be taken out of her misery. Essentially, she continued to cage herself by expressing her sick, shadow self of murdering people.
Interesting that people empathise so much with the character they are heartbroken over her not living out her fantasy of life. But not the fact she was a kidnapping, torturing , serial killer, rapist. I can’t help but think it wouldn’t be the case for a male character.
I also thought the audition may have been good because of her line in X where she says she is a dancer. I thought we would see her rise to fame then losing everything and winding up back at the farm.
Seeing X after Pearl this also struck me. I believe Pearl telling Maxing she was a dancer in X, is Pearl still clinging to that idea of her and keeping up that facade. She probably never got to dance or perform for an audience.
I got a horrible depressive episode when the entire theater burst out laughing at Pearl sobbing after her audition. All she wanted was to be loved and in that moment she felt like she would never have that. It was just beyond fucked up. I've never seen a horror movie before or since Pearl that actually brought me to tears as well. Ti and Mia are movie magic.
People often laugh in painful and embarrassing situations. I can see moviegoers feeling a little unsettled recognizing themselves in that scene, however grotesque Pearl says it out loud.
I did feel sorrow for Pearl even though she is a brutal killer. Pearl's mother may have felt that she had to be harsh with her daughter due to the difficult circumstances in the world at large, but Pearl needed more softness and love especially from her mother. I also felt sympathy for Pearl and wondered what was fair to expect of her. She was trapped as many of us are in life, sometimes you just have to do what you can to make your prison a liveable place. Even though she may have hated her life's circumstances, the truth is she had it better than most people.
I actually did not care for X when I first saw it in theaters. The more I thought on it, the more I realized I loved it, then Pearl really just drove home my love for this series of movies.
honestly, same. i mean i liked X, but i thought i really only like it for Mia Goth and Jenna Ortega's performances. I thought I was being biased since they are two of my favorite actresses, but i couldn't stop thinking about X after i watched it and slowly realized its one of my all time favorites. finally saw Pearl, and wow. Mia is the icing on the cake, but these movies are soooo good on their own merit
Kinda samesies for me. I watched Pearl and X as a double feature in theaters and the whole time X was playing I could just not stop thinking of this movie the whole time. I eventually did come to love X, although Pearl getting her head eviscerated at the end is still too upsetting for me to watch again. "It'll all be taken from you! Just like it was from me!"😢
When you think about it, Pearl was always a bad person even before her first murders however it was her punishment in a karmic way to keep living in the farm a sad/boring life until the events of X
If you lack empathy for others why should you succeed at anything. Compassion goes a long way, and Pearl was so self obsessed she never once thought to see anything from someone else's perspective.
I didn’t feel a sense of empowerment when she kills Mitzi. I felt horror. Much like in the way I didn’t feel empowerment in the ending to Midsommar. These people are psychopaths. You can empathize with the situation they’re in, but the acts are inexcusable and terrible.
Exactly! I am not that manipulated by the emotional weight of the story or character to sympathize and root for her. I didn't see midsommar as empowering. I saw it as an infection allowed to grow septic, like Pearl's jealous desire for fame.
@@tahlenri do real people even think that dani got a good ending in midsommar? I watched it with my mom and we both agreed it was an obviously bad end for her and everyone involved, but i've seen several videos on here talking about how the movie "makes" you think dani got a good ending... Like no, it kinda was an obviously unfortunate ending if you paid even the slightest attention to the movie. I never would root for a character like pearl, it's just sad knowing the dreams she had and what she ends up becoming
I find it fascinating that people see empowerment in the finales of either of these films. Like in Midsommar Dani is fairly obviously falling into a cult, having spent her last several days being indoctrinated during an incredibly vulnerable time in her life. She's not there in those eyes at the end. She's as much disassociated then as she is in the beginning, it's just now it's bright and happy colours, and theres a man being burnt alive. And in Pearl, she's *literally* quoting the words her mother said that so frightened her, and locking herself into a future of misery. It's not like she's happy when we see her in X. It stands in especial contrast to Maxine's "I will not accept a life I do not deserve". The moment Pearl kills poor Mitsy is the moment she accepts a life she doesn't think she deserves. Both these moments to me feel like a character giving in, and accepting something that will never really make them happy and will only serve to control the rest of their lives (right down to their premature deaths).
Excellent analysis. Pearl creates such a beautiful and disturbing juxtaposition for the viewer, as she is undeniably reprehensible and yet we almost want to root for her. I don't think I would have cared about either of these movies if not for Mia Goth's incredible performance, and I'm glad she drew me in because it really is a fascinating and horrific story.
I wish people explored the generational trauma of the children of immigrants angle of this movie more! Pearls mother is an immigrant to the US that is fleeing war in her home country in hope for a better life. That’s something a lot of present day Americans girls have in common with Pearl. There’s this insane pressure to be everything your parents never had and to be it perfectly, and a constant sense that no mater what it won’t be enough. Then cut to X, where that anger and trauma is moved onto the next generation. And think of Pearl dancing and smiling over a backdrop of WW1 trenches, then cut to X where Howard kills a guy who shows him empathy about living through being a drafted solider.
As someone mentally ill and had extreme rage episodes, I saw myself in her so much when she was going insane :( especially the ending where she decided she will just forever bottle up who she really is and put a facade to be loved
@arraikcruor6407 I guess it can be seen that way too. I interpreted as her bottling it up because of that monologue she did to her sister in law, saying she will let herself be forever trapped in the farm and be this picture perfect couple, as long as her husband will love her, and that ending where she fakes her smile despite the absolute misery and regret she's experiencing. but at the end, we already know she can't contain who she really is because she still does those crime at an old age..
There is nothing like being vulnerable, being hopelessly, desperately yourself in front of others who at first seem to enjoy your company, only to later watch their entire being shift and pull away. But they don’t say why even though you know why. It turns a lot of people to intense sadness and others to rage.
@@arraikcruor6407 by not pretending I’m above it. I’m just as human as anyone else. The worst traits of characters we see on the screen are buried inside all of us.
This is so well written, you express exactly what I couldn't. just happened to stumble on your it follows video and the quality lead me here, i subbed in the middle of this beautiful analysis.
15:06 ummm I was definitely not rooting for pearl to catch up with mitzy and kill her. That scene was the worst to me. It solidified Pearl was not some kind of misunderstood villian. Her mental illness and loneliness did not have to give way to murdering so many innocent people. There is a difference between a "bad mental state" and evil.
Seems to me the film made it quite clear that she is an evil person who has a bad mental state in addition. Regular people don’t take pleasure in killing animals, even if they are mentally ill
I had to skip it. Pure evil when she wants Mitzy to lie so she can justify her rage. Almost like she couldn’t kill for self-preservation it had to be ‘in a fit of rage’.
@@imsittingonmars I have been diagnosed with BPD. I am well aware of the black and white thinking and the love or hate and no in between feelings toward everyone in your life. As well as the extreme fear of abandonment that can lead to paranoia and jealousy. I guess something that could explain the murders (in relation to her possibly having BPD) is the not so talked about required symptoms of temporary onset of psychosis when dissociation, hallucinations, breaks with reality and irrational thinking. A genuine episode of psychosis could lead to a bpd sufferer killing another person. But I'm torn about this bc in the movie Pearl seems to be killing out of rage and not in a delusion. She was also shown killing small animals for the fun of it with no remorse. If we were to analyze pearl like she was a real person we could get into the whole "is it a mental disorder where a person is unable to feel emotions including empathy or are they just plain evil" debate. But I was just so disgusted with the character when she chased mitzy and so violently hacked her to death with an axe.
Pearl is a very relatable character. We all feel trapped in some way or another. Desperately grasping an overreaching at any new opportunity for change and feeling the anguish as they fizzle out. We all want to lash out. Pearl takes lashing out to a bit of an extreme, but it's relatable.
Although I can relate to Pearl in feeling trapped in her circumstances somewhat, it doesnʻt negate the fact that Pearl herself ultimately was her biggest enemy. She killed animals for a sense of control then she moved onto people. None of the people she killed really deserved to die, especially Mistzy. Although people may despise Pearlʻs mother, she was still right about her daughter. Pearl could have possibly achieved her dreams if she had kept trying instead of quitting after getting rejected at one audition. She couldʻve found a way to escape that farm if she really put in the effort, but ultimately she didnʻt. It really emphasizes the unjustness in all the murders she committed. Pearl just gave up on herself.
At 7:16. I read this slightly differently. The mother is clearly saddened by the way her life turned out--an invalid husband, taking care of a huge farm all by herself, a feckless daughter who shirks her responsibilities thereby doubling her own labor. It's A LOT to take on day after day. I feel for the mother's bitterness and anger. But the mother doesn't allow Pearl off the farm for a very good reason--she knows that her daughter is deeply disturbed and will be a danger to others in the community. The mother hints at this during the climatic fight: she knows that Pearl kills animals for fun, that Pearl has random s*x with scarecrows (Pearl wasn't exactly quiet in that scene; the mother heard that), that Pearl has an exceedingly violent streak in her anger. The mother knows that Pearl will snap at random strangers outside the farm, maybe even killing them for sadistic pleasure. And the mother is proven right.
I find your interpretation of the ending so fascinating and it makes me want to watch it again with a more willingly empathetic lens. Although I never identified with Pearl, I did feel a profound sense of pity for her. She fought so hard against a fate that was already set in stone the moment the movie began. No matter what she did she couldn't win and so she became the monster she was so afraid of. I have a feeling that Maxxxine will end similarly.
Excellent analysis of Pearl! It always saddens me when the horror community knocks it. Glad I stumbled upon your channel. I will definitely be here for more!
bro maybe im just mentally ill myself but i didnt find any of her wailing funny personally, i understand it too well. mia goth is a phenomenal actress.
Her smile at the end was absolutely terrifying. I loved this movie & X. The plot is original when it comes to the characters. Mia Goth is an amazing actress & writer.❤❤
People think she's insane, and they would be right, but it's not insanity that's motivating her actions. It's not uninvolved, but it's not the reason. It's a commentary on the collective obsession with fame, and it's hard not to see why. In Homer's Iliad, Achilles had said that he'd prefer eternal glory over eternal life because he knew he'd be remembered forever, as opposed to living forever and being forgotten. Pearl doesn't just want love, she wants an immortal kind of love, where people will know her name and love her even when she's gone. In some way, we all want that. We all want to be wanted, to feel important, even if it's just a little bit. Pearl eventually becomes resentful toward people who became more successful than herself, trapping her in a mire of envy. She adopts the idea that if she can't have that dream, then no one can have it. No one could enjoy the opportunity that had seemed to allude Pearl her entire life. She's a well-crafted anti-villain: she's got a motive that's understandable and superficially innocuous, had it not resulted in the outcome shown in the film.
Her mom doesn't simply "resent" her. Her mother knows Pearl for who she truly is. She said this at the dinner table which started the rage in Pearl until she eventually exploded and fought her mother leading to the fire scene. Her mother said that she's seen the things she's done with the animals. She didn't mention it but her mother also saw her call Theda over and attempted to push her own father in the water. Her mother thought she's protecting Pearl to not go out there, do more of what she's doing and show the world what a monster she is. This fact, possibly is that 'resentment' from her mother.
Technicolor nightmare of a reality LOL! This was a really good explanation of the deeper workings of the movie Pearl. Pearl is one of my absolute fave horror movies of 2023. Great video essay! You explained sooo well what soo many missed. She was written off simply as mentally ill or BP or a sociopath but no one considered what made her that way. She was indeed a v relatable character and your explanation of Pearl was simply perfect!
Loooooved the movie and pearls character but I sure as shit wanted misty to survive, she was so sweet 😭 I felt sympathy and hope for pearl but it never changed the way I viewed her actions, she is a monster
I don't like when people blame people's actions on "society" or their family. No. We are all responsible for our own actions. I grew up in an abusive home and was bullied at school for the crime of being disabled. I had no friends and no one to talk to so I became semi-mute. I could choose to be evil because people were evil to me but I don't. People have so much pathos for serial killers but none for shy "losers." It's morally sickening to me.
I Remember this girl I used to help with homeworks. She got picked at a lot. She came from a very weird household, and I say weird in a very bad way. They were all acting strange but they didn't know any better... Literally... They barely were civilized. So I would not say they were abusive.. it was not really on porpoise. So the girl would not sit, speak, move, go to the bathroom, remove the jacket. I had to move her hand with the pencil until one day she started actually moving it herself, and it was a long long process. She still got considered somewhat a discard, but the kid that destroyed everything and hurt others would be considered at least "funny" from the other educators. That really stayed with me
Have you watched X and Pearl? I feel like shy losers in particular will actually find Pearl very understandable. She's deeply lonely and afraid nobody will ever truly see her and not immediately leave her. She's also, yah know, kinda evil, but for me personally that's what I find compelling about her. Seeing this terrifying fun house mirror of me. And Maxine in X is the same story. She and Pearl are extremely similar in background, but they aren't not the same person. Maxine is basically a decent person who's doing her damn best by herself *and* everyone else in a way Pearl doesn't or can't.
I think its unfair to describe Pearls mother as resenting Pearl just because Pearl might have a better future. She does resent that Pearl isnt the supportive daughter she might want given she has literally nobody else to support her. But shes also clearly *afraid* of Pearl. She sees the Pearl kills innocent animals just for the joy of it. She catches Pearl half way through Pearls first (on screen) attempt to kill him, and shes not even surprised by it.
I’m not a fan of saying “revealing who they were all along”. It’s more so, if only it were another way… but I’ve driven down this dark road too long. Our tendencies don’t match with our desires, inevitably amplifying our destruction.
This movie and X is strangely and horrifically sympathetic. Everyone has dreams and some sacrifice everything (literally in this case) only to end up with nothing. As a writer, I hope to make a stable career that I can live off of, but the fear of working hard and having nothing to show for it is *always* there, lurking in my mind, like a ghost, haunting me as a reminder of that innate dread I can never fully shake. I do not feel Pearl is in the right but she is a victim - of both her circumstances and herself.
I watched pearl first, haven’t seen the other two yet though I plan to. I remember liking the movie and thinking to myself “ah this isn’t that bad” until the end sequence which 100% made me cringe and grossed me out and sticks in my head. Really well made horror movie and it’s wild because you feel bad for this entirely sick and twisted character.
I’d love to see Pearl’s karma play out in a third film, where she is her mother as a young woman. Where she IS a stage star and silver screen silent movie star right at the time when sound is coming to the screen in “talkies” with a blonde ingénue as competition - and a dark ambition is surfacing - the blonde who threatens her is her own younger sister like “Whatever happened to Baby Jane” which explains why Pearl’s cousin Mitsy in the second story is a blonde ingénue with stage aspirations - she is so much like her own mother, sisters but, it goes wrongly and she swears to protect her daughter from that. She marries and moves out to the farm but, she’s not able to escape the generational trauma and the karma that must play out through her own daughter. She sees the signs in Pearl and she knows that she, herself has given Pearl her own disorder as if it’s genetic, in the blood and body when it’s just as much spiritual. She swears to stop it but, she doesn’t tell anyone the truth about her secret. She is a murderess. She thinks she passed it to Pearl like a disease “Why do you hate me, momma?” “I shoulder a burden you could never understand” “You dare sit there and talk to me about regret?”
MAYBE the first murder made sense but then it was just senseless. I thought we were just enjoying the campy unhinged ride, I didn't know we were supposed to relate to her
Reading comments and hearing the narrator talk about how relatable Pearl is makes me look at society a lot differently. It seems the world is full of psychopaths who are one bad day away from going on murderous rampages. That's even more frightening than the actual movie.
@@BlakeGildaphish76 boiling down a complex piece with so many themes to her just being a "psychopath" is why literary analysis and deep thought is dying. everyone is one bad day away from something, but as the movie clearly showed this is a bad LIFE for someone who is trapped and acting out accordingly
@@AdrianDiaz-u9l No. You can empathize with her plights but she clearly is a psychopath, a murderer and later in life you can add kidnapper and rapist to the list. The themes exist and do not exclude the fact she is a murderous unhinged person. I don´t believe there´s evil to the core people, we all have our reasons to lash out, the difference is when you only account for yourself and your desires and reduce all those around to meat puppets that if they were to act in ways you don´t want them to you´ll find yourself justifying offing them from existence. Misty won the audition? she deserves to be chopped off. The projectionist gets scared at the CLEAR mental illness signs and runs away? impalled by a pitchfork the motherfucker. Small farm animals just minding their bussines? welp!! I guess my rage needs an outlet whoop de do!! That´s the thing. She can have all the reasons in the world and a mental illness to pile on to that but the thing is that the mental illness is psychopathy. And that fact can coexist with all the themes of the movie without needing us to look past the fact that she was prone to violence and murderous rage all the time
It’s awful Ik, but a part of me felt sick satisfaction when Pearl got rid of the people who stood in her way. granted the dad deserved to go via morphine overdose and the hot projectionist didn’t deserve to die at all but there’s something so sweet about seeing someone that took your dream get punished. Great analysis!
And her mother didnt deserved to suffer an awful death;suffering by days on a basement,she was just a woman triyng to hold her family survival,she was stern,she was harsh;but she was living how she could and that is admirable,she didnt blamed her retarded kid for her problems,pnly wanted her to be helpful around the house and she was right,pearl was weak and selfish,because she never ever once tought on her husbad or parents,never ever once she cared for then and the movie shows it greatly. She only did,when she lost then,all,but howard.
I’ve always loved the charming style early cinema had. Finding out there’s a psychological horror movie that imitates it has been a highlight of my horror flick search recently
I've known somebody irl who legit had BPD and that feeling of being on eggshells in case you are a bit too nice to them and they get clingy, or if they feel you slighted them and explode with rage is very familiar
Maybe this is obvious, I feel like there were a lot of parallels between Pearl and The Wizard of Oz, but I'd have to watch it again to concisely say what it means
this really helped me investigate pearl with a different lens. while i love X, and i also found things in common with maxine, pearl hit me like a freight train. but even further, i didnt realize how symbolic it all is, and how relatable it is for most other people. i grew up in a bible belt in a town no one knows the name of- my immigrant mother was also overbearing and has some issues of her own, but pushed a lot of expectations and such on me. it’s a similar reason why i relate to and enjoy carrie and the vvitch so much (im not one of those femcel horror fans i promise im just a genderfluid with trauma) for the maternal relationships that end horrendously- it’s cathartic in the sense of “i know how she feels and im glad she gets to win” but also terrifying in that sense of… does she win? but i didnt think about how relevant it was for other people. love this
This was An awesome analysis. To be perfectly honest, I’ve just watched a few of your reviews and I think there’s a bit too much focus on the futility of life, but in this one, there was much more than just a film plot analysis being used to delve into a similar speech on the bleak march towards decay and death. This film gave you a lot more to work with. I’m just trying to give constructive criticism because I think you have some brilliant ideas and clearly a lot of film knowledge and are certainly built to do these kinds of breakdowns. It’s very possible the tone and themes of the films you’ve chosen to review are a bit too similar and your interpretations are probably as legit as they sound. Not saying to be more “optimistic” which isn’t much of a choice in horror, but there’s definitely this tendency to conclude with something about ‘coping with or fighting a predestined and awful existence until death’ that i can’t help but notice standing on top of all of your reviews up to this point. As someone recommend in one of your comment sections, do NOT review St. Maude. That would be painfully redundant. I think for the sake of expanding from the same, very bleak, and after a few videos, very uninteresting and singular philosophy of predeterminism, I would love to hear your take on something a little less about agonizing, despair filled and desperate female leads walking into the void and maybe, idk, anything else lol. Not to say ur work thus far isn’t great, in fact I think your channel is a likely up and coming baller in the horror film essay niche, and only took the time to write this comment because I like your ideas as much as I do! Feel free to disregard my criticism, as it’s prob not worth all too much, either way I’ll be subbing and looking forward to the next analysis!
Thanks for writing, I really appreciate this kind of constructive criticism. I can see how the heavy existential stuff can get repetitive after a while and will definitely take that into consideration. Evil Dead Rise is next up on my docket and it's far less subtextually dower and heavy compared to the likes of X or It Follows so you can expect a different angle there.
The movie was great. I felt no empathy or sympathy for her. Ive met people like her. She chose her fate. It was her own design. They taught her how to be what she wanted. The movie just gave her an excuse. Id bow as respect. She was a true demon. Top tier character. Its like shes the author. Its like that joker movie, shes convincing me shes not evil.
I’ve never seen this movie, I have a habit of watching movie breakdowns for movies I don’t think I’ll watch, and even if I do it doesn’t bother me to know pieces of the story before watching it, anyway I HAVE to watch this movie now :)
The more and more I saw the trailer the more pearl reminded me of lizzie borden the time period the clothes especially the dress she wears her hair kind of her killing her parents one of them overbearing and definitely the hatchet axe scene lol her murderous tendencies are basically the same as lizards both wanted a high lifestyle and leave that home technically lizzie didn't kill animals or she didn't want to her dad made her kill some both lizzie and sister was trapped in life they don't want once parents then they could get a good home with electricity and try to have lavish lifestyle though everyone knows what she did in pearl nobody knows like in Texas chainsaw massacre lol
I watched X when it came out and liked it. I just saw this yesterday and had no idea it was a prequel. I did notice the gator/lake was the same but didn’t put any of it together until watching this. I really enjoyed Pearl and this makes it even cooler.
i subscribed today i love psychology an in some philosophy in darker mediums of tv movie or even arg , im a few videos in a still liking then next more then the previous
I just imagine Robert Pattinsons preacher character is in this same universe and was a judge at pearls audition! When she says " but I'm a star!" Rob retorts with "DELUUUUUUUSSSIONS!"
Man, I just keep finding video essays dissecting movies about how not all dreams come true these days. I don't know how RUclips figured out that I just recently gave up on my dreams but man.
I would say Mitsy's indifference and selfish response was what got her killed. Imagine if Mitsy responded in a sensitive and understanding manner, that would have established trust between the two and a bit of security for Pearl. She needed reassurance that what she was experiencing were normal human feelings. Pearl didn't want to feel alone anymore and gives up hiding it. ("You're not going to say anything?" - Pearl) In that moment when Pearl realized her only "friend" didn't care about her at all, she allowed herself to fall into the darkness of her murderous ways again. Also she knew that Mitsy wasn't going to keep quite so she did what she had to do in her mind.
Pearl had just told her she'd murdered several people, and you expect Mitsy to in the moment where she realises that she's in danger of joining them validate that that's normal? And you're calling her indifferent and selfish for *not* validating that?
I just wish there was more details of how she became like that. Like did something happen to her and she went dark, how many more people did her and her husband killed that came to the house, what was it that her husband did to not get killed like the others. The movies were good but it left you with more questions than answers
The fact that so many people in the comments defending the mom's actions towards Pearl is crazy. OFC didn't deserve to die, no one did. The mom still took her anger and self-hatred out on her daughter to the point that her daughter lashed out in an unhinged manner.
Also, the symbolism in her dresswear. How towards the movie’s end we see her wearing a blood crimson dress. Secondly, how, in the dance, you can see her dancing with destruction in the background, representing how much a fantasy fame is.
I don’t ever really watch movies so to click on this and find it’s a prequel to a movie I’ve actually WATCHED gave me whiplash. The alligator in the lake already seemed peculiar so when you said it I was like huh. Yea that checks out
I don't agree with all your points but I'd say this was a very interesting feminine horror. That monologue was impressive and that end shot. Gold. Mia Goth is amazing. And I liked this way better than X. Looking forward to Maxxxine...
When she is sobbing uncontrollably, is so painful. Its from the gut and the pain and hopelessness just pouring out of her
I found it funny
@@leafyishereisdumbnameakath4259I’m ngl I did too
wow u guys are soo edgy and cool!!!
@edpscupcake bruh your name is edp cupcake. Don't tell us we're edgy
i cried because i’ve been there
something else interesting to see is Pearl’s reaction when she realizes that Mitsy was the one chosen in the audition. The whole movie Mitsy is shown as the person that Pearl wants to be, which is why Pearl married Mitsy’s brother Howard. To see Mitsy get what Pearl wanted so desperately after a lifetime of seeing Mitsy get what Pearl wanted is deeply upsetting to her, and as I was watching the movie I could see the moment Pearl decided that Mitsy was not going to get out of there alive and it was the moment she found out that Mitsy was chosen over her.
Yup. That was one of the darkest moments. It had seemed that Pearl had worked through a therapy session.. becoming self aware and seeing that there’s an option for her to be different. However, when confronted with her seeing someone else get what she wants.. she switched. She embraced being the killer. That ish was twisted 🥺
I don't think the movie confirmed that Pearl was right in her assumption that Mitsy got the part. She MAY have, but remember that Pearl is already very crazy by this point and she may have jumped to a wrong conclusion. She then ramps up and Mitsy mistakenly thinks agreeing with Pearl is the best way of not being harmed by her. If you have ever dealt with a psychotic person you may know that just disagreeing with them and telling them they are wrong, does not usually work. They will hold on to their wrong belief even if it isn't logical. In this particular case Mitsy was doomed either way. She said yes she was picked so as not to contradict Pearl, BUT if she had said no she hadn't, Pearl would have just said she lied and killed her anyway. I honestly don't know whether Mitsy was picked or not.
@@jacquelinecallejas1390 This is how I interpreted it as well! She was agreeing out of self preservation
i actually feel like Mitsy didn't get the part im pretty sure she was telling the truth to pearl but pearl was already so crazed that it didn't matter if Mitsy got the role or not she was going to die
The movie never confirmed mitsy got the part, i think she genuinely didn’t get the role but was telling Pearl what she insisted on hearing because there is no arguing with crazy when they think they’re right
I understand Mia Goth’s charming portrayal but I am pretty horrified how many people try to say she did nothing wrong. They blame the projectionist for what happened to him. And they forget that in the future she is not only a murderer but a kidnapper, a torturer and rapist. Even her most antagonistic relationship, that with her mother doesn’t excuse anything. Her mother is also trapped, needs help and is a product of her time. Her mother is also a victim.
In a way her mother is the same and the opposite of Pearl. She chose not to act on her own desires. For a relationship, for more than what she can expect, for duty to others and it damages her too. I think balance is where the safety lies.
This!!!
It's amazing how few people can admit that two things can be true, and conflicting feelings can happen. We can feel sorry for Pearl without excusing what she's done. Someone can be both a victim and a perpetrator. Someone can be deserving of sympathy and punishment at the same time.
But we live in a world where we are psychologically encouraged to see things in a moral binary. Good people do good things and deserve good treatment. Bad people do bad things and deserve only bad to happen to them, and never the twain shall meet.
@@benmcfee Right? It’s weird because grey characters are usually the most interesting but that doesn’t mean excusable. Especially when they commit a truly horrendous act because that’s my cut off line. I can feel bad for past you but you are now the monster making victims.
I now start to wonder if Pearl's mam really was that bad or whether she was just trying to keep her daughter from straying too far down a dark path in the only way she knew how.
@@satireisnotdead5804 Again. Two things can be true at once. Pearl's mom could be an awful mother to her daughter _and_ be legitimately trying to keep her from going full dark no stars. After all, people who do awful things often have very good reasons for doing so.
Road to hell. Good Intentions. All that.
I like the historical details in Pearl.
1. The projectionist calls himself a "bohemian," which is what a guy like him would have called himself in the 1910s. This is a callback to X, when Howard refers to the hippie hitchhiker corpse in the basement as a "bohemian." This is also historically accurate, because a lot of old guys in the 1970s would refer to hippies as "Bohemians" or "beatniks." It's just like today. Old men don't necessarily keep track of the latest subcultures or know the right words for describing what young people are into. So it felt very accurate for Howard to refer to that hippie in the basement as a "bohemian," but when we learn in Pearl that a bohemian fucked his wife, it gives what Howard said in X a deeper meaning.
2. My theory is that Pearl's dad is sick because he contracted syphilis. The drooling, the pockmarks, and the fact that an adult man is turned into a helpless child are all reflective of what syphilis could do to the brain before they invented effective antibiotics to treat that venereal disease. (The first effective antibiotic cure for syphilis hit the market in 1910, but it was probably too late for Pearl's dad & odds are they couldn't get it in rural Texas even if it had been available.) It also suggests that Pearl's dad got that way because he was promiscuous like Pearl is. And it also adds some extra detail to why Pearl's mom is so resentful about her situation in life.
Nice comment
All of the scenes with the projectionist are absolutely perfect. He has a suave and confidence about him that is intoxicating. Even while in his suave persona when speaking to Pearl, you can see his face change when she says “why don’t they just die” lolz 😂 the look on his face is like “WTF is wrong with this girl” haha 😆 it doesn’t hurt that he is so darn sexy in this role.
Definitely what I was thinking about the dad having syphilis part too... while her mom abd her were having their little tiff, Pearl's mom specifically said something about "do you want to sleep around and end up with something like your father?"
@@samanthat7553it’s implied that her dad has the spanish flu. they talk about pearl going to the movies and dancing with “a bunch of city whores” and then the mom says “not to mention the illness you’d spread don’t you see what it does to your father”
The father definitely has syphilis. His symptoms track completely with neurological damage from syphilis. His symptoms don't make sense for Spanish flu. Syphilis also still explains the mother's increased fear of disease, and her fear/hatred of characteristics she associates with "city" women like who Pearl wants to be.
I love the implication that Howard immediately accepted her dark side and became her carer and lover. The whole time during that smile i imagine Howard was making that choice, and in X we can see he decided to stay with her, to help her cover everything up, to be her lover to the end. The perfect fucked up horror love story.
She didn't even care when he was killed. She just used him for her supply of validation. Howard was too good for her.
I feel like she kinda forced him into with emotional manipulation. He ultimately got stuck at the farm after being dropped off and kinda accepted that they were alone together now instead of living with the parents. The PTSD from the war made this f-ed up situation his home.
I don’t think Howard accepted it, I think Howard angrily helped her cover everything up, and then became her mother.
I honestly think he stayed out of fear. Just like everyone else, he was afraid of her. He just didn’t want to end up like Mitsy or her parents or the projectionist.
something that i realized, is that her 8 minute monologue was probably similar to what she said to howard. my theory is the only reason she didn’t kill howard was because he stayed by her side. She only goes into a murderous rage when people try to leave her.
In a just world, Toni Collette (Hereditary) and Mia Goth (Pearl) would have received Oscar nominations.
Let’s add Florence Pugh for Midsommar, Lupita Nyongo for Us, and Elizabeth Moss for the Invisible Man !!!
Also Anya Taylor-Joy for (The Witch)
@Gabreya Christian Bale overrated
In a just world, meaning anytime before social media
In a just world, Beauty and the Beast would have won Best Picture instead of Silence of the Lambs. Fuck the Academy.
I watched Pearl before finding out about X, and while X was interesting I couldn't help thinking it wasn't nearly as emotionally impactful as Pearl. I'm looking forward to seeing Maxxxine and (hopefully) hearing your thoughts on the dialogue between the 3 movies. Thanks for this well-crafted analysis!
I wasn't that impressed with X but on a lark I saw Pearl & thought it was far better.
Mia goth co-wrote the script and it definitely showed throughout the film
I can’t wait till it’s out!!!!
They are not supposed to be the same movies.. I saw X blind in the cinema and as a throwback to 70s slashers and setting up the universe it's amazing.. Pearl wouldn't hit the same if you didn't know where she would end up in X, same as maxxxine won't hit the same without watching X first..
@@mullaosloactually pearl hits harder when you DONT know. i watched pearl first and it was incredible and even made X better when i watched it knowing the context of how she because the person she became. the scene of pearl dancing after killing someone in x was haunting with the context of pearl and confusing and comical without context
Mia deserved an Oscar for her performance in Pearl.
Edit: My gosh, what a beautifully written video. Keep up the amazing work.
Yup. When I found out that Mia Goth has a British accent irl, I was legit shocked because of how well she portrayed a southern accent. And this coming from someone who is from Texas!
I just reflect on the total irony of how Pearl yearns for city life and stardom, to be in a constant spotlight of adulation and celebrity worship, but you have urbanites like me, daydreaming of Pearl’s simple charmed farm life. Her severe living standard is a sharp contrast to the picturesque countryside she lives in.
Pearl’s innocent appearance and southern drawl, even her dancing daydreams are surface level child like, but harbor a sinister personality underneath. It’s a type of terrible darkness that builds in time, from too much rejection, feeling unsupported and unloved, poverty stricken, isolated, and unable to live out any dreams without being derailed. This doesn’t justify Pearl’s rage outs or channeling Lizzy Borden, but it’s enough to gain empathy and pity from us.
What’s most dangerous about her is she’s able to masterfully manipulate our emotions and have viewers debate where blame for her behaviors ultimately lie. Pearl didn’t get the life she wanted, praise and care from her family, or the big break in show business or romance of a lifetime, but she has a huge problem with being grateful for what she did have, until it was too late. Howard does seem to genuinely care about her. Misty liked Pearl for who she was (prior to the murder confessions and laundry list of bad choices). Her farm was functional and a self supporting ecosystem in a way, so long as they could keep it going. And even though she was passed up at her audition for not being blonde and the proverbial all-American model, Pearl is actually pin up gorgeous. The biggest tragedy of all is Pearl trying to desperately morph into an immortal starlet, yet never embrace who she is or love herself, despite having a mundane existence.
Damn. This comment deserves wayyy more likes.
Love this take.
Very eloquently put
I thought the biggest tragedy was the murders
I think most of our generation feels hopeless when looking into the future. A lot of artists are sacrificing their dreams because its impossible to achieve those goals until you're a nepto baby. So many of my peers are terrified of failure, and I COMPLETLY understand Pearl's desire to leave the bullshit environment she was born into and scared that it will never happen.
A lot of people need to understand that dreams are just that. Some are not necessarily beneficial to your reality and that’s ok.
Feel this... one of my scripts is hauntingly similar to her story, lol. That said: guess there are still more constructive ways to deal with such feelings...
Its "nepo" baby...as in nepotism. You either are one or arent, there is no "until". You might want to look up the meaning of the word
@@fox1actual
Man, I rather delete myself than accept that reality.
@@thereseemstobeenanerror1219
For real 😅 I’m disabled so the arts is my only chance at being independent. If I can’t survive on art I’ll always be reliant on others. Thankfully I am not unhoused rn but idk if/when that can change
Mia Goth's monologue is one of the most incredible scenes ever filmed. It just keeps going, and she plays it pitch perfect all the way through. I already thought she was good at playing these unhinged characters, but that scene put her on another level.
Same! I was hella impressed with that too. I had to do a monologue once in theater class but that was on another level. Filmed in one take. She's amazing.
That final, insanely long shot as the credits start rolling is one of the most iconic slay moments in modern film
I thought the same. I just stared at her the whole time. She doesn’t even blink! It’s nuts. Very memorable
I was left disturbed and speechless. That slow descent to madness. Brilliant.
From what I’ve read that wasn’t planned, the director told her to hold the smile and just refused to cut so that was her genuine reaction to having to hold it for as long as she had to
In my mind the biggest tragedy of her character is how she actually has some okay stuff going on in her life, but none of that fills her up the way she wants it to so she destroys it, like someone having a tantrum or raging against existence at all… her mom totally sucked but she had a sister in law who genuinely liked her and thought of her, a husband who loved her and was on his way home and a lover who maybe also would have loved her if she had been slightly less unhinged and more realistic in her expectations in general… maybe she gets the audition maybe not, it doesn’t have to be the first and last one, she could put in some actual effort and work and try again, but she is the type of person who expects to be great right from the get go and if she isn’t she can’t handle that and instead of working on it she rejects the idea assuming the problem is with everyone else… honestly low level versions of these types of people are everywhere… we see them audition for American idol all the time, and when they tell them to take voice lessons and come back and try again they say f you and push a cardboard cutout over on the way out, too blinded by rage to learn things from their failures and grow from them. Hell, her sister in law prolly could’ve helped her get a small part in something down the line if she had her foot in the door, rising tide carries all ships is a much better attitude in life than if I can’t have it no one will; jealousy is poison.
That's the psychopathy aspect. Which makes this film so brilliant. It goes deeper than surface level.
The use of empathy in X and Pearl is brilliant. Even the most horrifying characters are tragic and relatable in their way.
Pearl’s mother is a great example - she’s responsible for so much of what goes wrong, but she’s also 1) German-American during World War 1, dealing with 2) a deadly pandemic, with 3) her husband completely disabled and dependent on her, and 4) a daughter with a clear dark side, that she 5) seems to have inherited from her mother, who struggles to control her own violent impulses and extreme emotions. It’s all a great tragedy.
Pearl's mother is not "responsible for so much of what goes wrong." Pearl's nature is responsible for EVERYTHING that goes wrong; THAT is what makes it a tragedy. Everyone in the film is nearly absurdly supportive and indulgent of Pearl (with her mother just trying to reign in Pearl's crazy); the tragedy is that kindness to Pearl can't help her and she is doomed to undo herself.
I wouldn’t say she inherited it from her mother…there is obviously a huge difference in the violence that pearl commits and the kind of violence her mother did. She slapped her daughter and basically fought with her, which is bad, yes, but you don’t have that kind of violent streak and somehow end up at ‘killing animals and people’. People don’t naturally progress that way, what Pearl had was inherently different from any violent streak her mother had.
@@macyskaggs3772 often it is psychological abuse that develops into much more violent abuse. Pearl is most definitely what happens when someone is predisposed to mental illness is in an extremely neglectful environment. I think pearl started out as a quirky child- however adding the existential dread of staying on the farm with the abuse and general neglect she grew up with- it became a little darker, and instead of trying to support pearl, her mother retreated into despair and continued to neglect her while also clearly project some sort of violence. She told pearl she was a dangerous person without actually offering anything to help. So now we have pearl who is isolated, neglected and abused, and likely already had predisposition to mental illness. As someone with bpd severe enough I’m on disability, I could see myself in her show of emotions. How deeply she felt and how quickly she would get attached, mixed with her delusions of becoming “a star”. Imo, pearl shows symptoms of having a severe personality/dissociative disorder, and in that time? All of her previous dangerous behaviour went unchecked because neglect was common- and so it escalated. These days it’s uncommon for people to get to this point because it’s less likely your mom will see you try to kill your dad and simply tell you off instead of anything else.
“there’s one thing stopping pearl from her dreams: her mom” i would also go on to argue that maybe her inability to dance would be then biggest factor 😂
and her constant lashing out and killing people 😭
The main thing getting in the way of Pearl’s dream is both others and herself
She is not that bad😭
@@GamerMage2k-kl4iq oh my goddddds yes that’s obvious. i was making a joke
@@bojo07 Sorry 😓
Something I haven’t really seen talked about is Howards choosing to go to the war. In X pearl tells us he fought in WW1 and WW2. And in pearl we learn that he didn’t have to go back if he didn’t want to. A lot of people are confused why Howard stayed with Pearl after coming home to that. But it seems to me Howard went back to war because he liked killing.
Ooooo that’s good!!! Love that
yes! nobody mentioned this
i was always told i was gonna do 'great things one day'. i was in advanced classes as early as third grade up until middle school, always well behaved. and then it all fell apart after i developed my own personality and identity and it wasn't what my parents expected. i realized i wasn't special at that point and it did send me into a depressive spiral as a younger person. luckily i didn't go as far as pearl, and i never totally lost my sanity lol but i did once relate to not having any sense of identity other than the success that you're striving for. and feeling yourself fall apart when it doesn't happen. i think that's why she's easy to sympathize with in some ways.
In her case, I'm guessing jealousy is just a killer. It really is deserving of a place on the original sins
I don't know if anyone watched Pearl before watching X like I did, but doing so hit me different. I watched Pearl when it was in theaters, and I didn't expect to relate so much to her and her desire to escape from horrible circumstances and be free. She really stuck with me, I downright loved her. A month or so after watching Pearl, my friend showed me X and...learning that she lived and (spoiler alert, just in case) died on that wretched cage of a farm broke my heart.
I empathize with her but she needed to die in 'Pearl' so she could be taken out of her misery. Essentially, she continued to cage herself by expressing her sick, shadow self of murdering people.
Interesting that people empathise so much with the character they are heartbroken over her not living out her fantasy of life. But not the fact she was a kidnapping, torturing , serial killer, rapist. I can’t help but think it wouldn’t be the case for a male character.
@@akelly4207it does happen with male characters. See Joker.
@@akelly4207it is the case for male characters. See Joker.
@@akelly4207whomp whomp
Goth not being nominated for best actress in a leading role is beyond me. One of the best performances of 2022.
Oh, I’m sure it’s not beyond you. It’s a case of the Academy being biased against particular genres, like horror. You know that.
@@DarkPrince784 horror is to the Oscar’s is just like how the Grammys treat rock and metal. It is not ‘popular’ and mainstream
The Academy doesn't recognize horror sadly.
I also thought the audition may have been good because of her line in X where she says she is a dancer. I thought we would see her rise to fame then losing everything and winding up back at the farm.
Seeing X after Pearl this also struck me. I believe Pearl telling Maxing she was a dancer in X, is Pearl still clinging to that idea of her and keeping up that facade. She probably never got to dance or perform for an audience.
When she screams “I’m married!!!” It just makes me laugh 🤣🤣🤣
The worst she can say is no 😂😂😂
i wanna dress up as pearl for halloween just to scream “I’M MARRIED.” at random people lol.
@@frog3630don't forget your pitchfork 😂
I got a horrible depressive episode when the entire theater burst out laughing at Pearl sobbing after her audition. All she wanted was to be loved and in that moment she felt like she would never have that. It was just beyond fucked up. I've never seen a horror movie before or since Pearl that actually brought me to tears as well. Ti and Mia are movie magic.
That's because most people are messed up and lack empathy. But not all of us are like that. I'm proud of you for being sweet
What a litmus test.
I was deeply horrified and almost traumatized by the end and never would have thought to laugh.
People often laugh in painful and embarrassing situations. I can see moviegoers feeling a little unsettled recognizing themselves in that scene, however grotesque Pearl says it out loud.
Pearl is basically the story of every aspiring RUclipsr, but with murder 😂
So, no difference then…
I did feel sorrow for Pearl even though she is a brutal killer. Pearl's mother may have felt that she had to be harsh with her daughter due to the difficult circumstances in the world at large, but Pearl needed more softness and love especially from her mother. I also felt sympathy for Pearl and wondered what was fair to expect of her. She was trapped as many of us are in life, sometimes you just have to do what you can to make your prison a liveable place. Even though she may have hated her life's circumstances, the truth is she had it better than most people.
Many parents make a mistake of being strict without love. Don't have kids if you cannot show your kids your love.
@arraikcruor6407 As someone's whose life has been feeling like this, especially with abusive parents, it's painful.
I actually did not care for X when I first saw it in theaters. The more I thought on it, the more I realized I loved it, then Pearl really just drove home my love for this series of movies.
honestly, same. i mean i liked X, but i thought i really only like it for Mia Goth and Jenna Ortega's performances. I thought I was being biased since they are two of my favorite actresses, but i couldn't stop thinking about X after i watched it and slowly realized its one of my all time favorites. finally saw Pearl, and wow. Mia is the icing on the cake, but these movies are soooo good on their own merit
Kinda samesies for me. I watched Pearl and X as a double feature in theaters and the whole time X was playing I could just not stop thinking of this movie the whole time. I eventually did come to love X, although Pearl getting her head eviscerated at the end is still too upsetting for me to watch again. "It'll all be taken from you! Just like it was from me!"😢
So much pain starts from childhood.
When you think about it, Pearl was always a bad person even before her first murders however it was her punishment in a karmic way to keep living in the farm a sad/boring life until the events of X
Yep!!! Also her Mom was right.. remember her Mom found out she was killing those animals on the farm. She knew her daughter was messed up.
If you lack empathy for others why should you succeed at anything. Compassion goes a long way, and Pearl was so self obsessed she never once thought to see anything from someone else's perspective.
i don’t really understand this bc if u look at ppl in hollywood a lot of them lack empathy
This is why I didn't relate to her character I suffer but there are so many other forms of love and fame is glorified slavery
you'd be surprised how many psychopaths make it far in the economic/societal pyramid.
@@itsnotmeBLEUFH-se5gnright?!
conflating empathy with being a good person is a bad look
I didn’t feel a sense of empowerment when she kills Mitzi. I felt horror. Much like in the way I didn’t feel empowerment in the ending to Midsommar. These people are psychopaths. You can empathize with the situation they’re in, but the acts are inexcusable and terrible.
Exactly! I am not that manipulated by the emotional weight of the story or character to sympathize and root for her. I didn't see midsommar as empowering. I saw it as an infection allowed to grow septic, like Pearl's jealous desire for fame.
@@tahlenri do real people even think that dani got a good ending in midsommar? I watched it with my mom and we both agreed it was an obviously bad end for her and everyone involved, but i've seen several videos on here talking about how the movie "makes" you think dani got a good ending...
Like no, it kinda was an obviously unfortunate ending if you paid even the slightest attention to the movie. I never would root for a character like pearl, it's just sad knowing the dreams she had and what she ends up becoming
I find it fascinating that people see empowerment in the finales of either of these films.
Like in Midsommar Dani is fairly obviously falling into a cult, having spent her last several days being indoctrinated during an incredibly vulnerable time in her life. She's not there in those eyes at the end. She's as much disassociated then as she is in the beginning, it's just now it's bright and happy colours, and theres a man being burnt alive.
And in Pearl, she's *literally* quoting the words her mother said that so frightened her, and locking herself into a future of misery. It's not like she's happy when we see her in X. It stands in especial contrast to Maxine's "I will not accept a life I do not deserve". The moment Pearl kills poor Mitsy is the moment she accepts a life she doesn't think she deserves.
Both these moments to me feel like a character giving in, and accepting something that will never really make them happy and will only serve to control the rest of their lives (right down to their premature deaths).
Excellent analysis. Pearl creates such a beautiful and disturbing juxtaposition for the viewer, as she is undeniably reprehensible and yet we almost want to root for her. I don't think I would have cared about either of these movies if not for Mia Goth's incredible performance, and I'm glad she drew me in because it really is a fascinating and horrific story.
I wish people explored the generational trauma of the children of immigrants angle of this movie more! Pearls mother is an immigrant to the US that is fleeing war in her home country in hope for a better life. That’s something a lot of present day Americans girls have in common with Pearl. There’s this insane pressure to be everything your parents never had and to be it perfectly, and a constant sense that no mater what it won’t be enough. Then cut to X, where that anger and trauma is moved onto the next generation.
And think of Pearl dancing and smiling over a backdrop of WW1 trenches, then cut to X where Howard kills a guy who shows him empathy about living through being a drafted solider.
As someone mentally ill and had extreme rage episodes, I saw myself in her so much when she was going insane :( especially the ending where she decided she will just forever bottle up who she really is and put a facade to be loved
I don't think she bottled it up. She accepted who she is. Hence the dinner table scene and her allowing Howard to see who she really is.
@arraikcruor6407 I guess it can be seen that way too. I interpreted as her bottling it up because of that monologue she did to her sister in law, saying she will let herself be forever trapped in the farm and be this picture perfect couple, as long as her husband will love her, and that ending where she fakes her smile despite the absolute misery and regret she's experiencing.
but at the end, we already know she can't contain who she really is because she still does those crime at an old age..
There is nothing like being vulnerable, being hopelessly, desperately yourself in front of others who at first seem to enjoy your company, only to later watch their entire being shift and pull away. But they don’t say why even though you know why. It turns a lot of people to intense sadness and others to rage.
It's the society of the spectacle, the culture of narcissism, the century of the self. I fucking love these films. And can't wait for the next one.
I don't know how you can stare into the abyss that modern time narcissism and enjoy it. Makes me feel nihilistic and hopeless.
@@arraikcruor6407 by not pretending I’m above it. I’m just as human as anyone else. The worst traits of characters we see on the screen are buried inside all of us.
Pearl's confession at the end should have won an award.
This is so well written, you express exactly what I couldn't. just happened to stumble on your it follows video and the quality lead me here, i subbed in the middle of this beautiful analysis.
Same. This is honestly the output of a MUCH larger Channel
15:06 ummm I was definitely not rooting for pearl to catch up with mitzy and kill her. That scene was the worst to me. It solidified Pearl was not some kind of misunderstood villian. Her mental illness and loneliness did not have to give way to murdering so many innocent people. There is a difference between a "bad mental state" and evil.
Seems to me the film made it quite clear that she is an evil person who has a bad mental state in addition. Regular people don’t take pleasure in killing animals, even if they are mentally ill
I had to skip it. Pure evil when she wants Mitzy to lie so she can justify her rage. Almost like she couldn’t kill for self-preservation it had to be ‘in a fit of rage’.
Unfortunately a thing about BPD (which she likely has), extreme jealously is a symptom of that. So it does kinda tie back to her mental illness.
@@imsittingonmars I have been diagnosed with BPD. I am well aware of the black and white thinking and the love or hate and no in between feelings toward everyone in your life. As well as the extreme fear of abandonment that can lead to paranoia and jealousy.
I guess something that could explain the murders (in relation to her possibly having BPD) is the not so talked about required symptoms of temporary onset of psychosis when dissociation, hallucinations, breaks with reality and irrational thinking. A genuine episode of psychosis could lead to a bpd sufferer killing another person.
But I'm torn about this bc in the movie Pearl seems to be killing out of rage and not in a delusion. She was also shown killing small animals for the fun of it with no remorse. If we were to analyze pearl like she was a real person we could get into the whole "is it a mental disorder where a person is unable to feel emotions including empathy or are they just plain evil" debate.
But I was just so disgusted with the character when she chased mitzy and so violently hacked her to death with an axe.
It's like people rooting for Walter White all over again, but this time from the feminine side.
Pearl is a very relatable character. We all feel trapped in some way or another.
Desperately grasping an overreaching at any new opportunity for change and feeling the anguish as they fizzle out.
We all want to lash out.
Pearl takes lashing out to a bit of an extreme, but it's relatable.
Bro, I’m not relating to anyone who kills small animals no matter how much she’s just “lashing out.”
A bit?
@@alexschneider8494 yeah it s the animal Killing the one thing wrong ...
@@alexschneider8494She killed animals to feed a gator, I feel like that’s fair.
Although I can relate to Pearl in feeling trapped in her circumstances somewhat, it doesnʻt negate the fact that Pearl herself ultimately was her biggest enemy. She killed animals for a sense of control then she moved onto people. None of the people she killed really deserved to die, especially Mistzy.
Although people may despise Pearlʻs mother, she was still right about her daughter.
Pearl could have possibly achieved her dreams if she had kept trying instead of quitting after getting rejected at one audition. She couldʻve found a way to escape that farm if she really put in the effort, but ultimately she didnʻt.
It really emphasizes the unjustness in all the murders she committed. Pearl just gave up on herself.
At 7:16. I read this slightly differently. The mother is clearly saddened by the way her life turned out--an invalid husband, taking care of a huge farm all by herself, a feckless daughter who shirks her responsibilities thereby doubling her own labor. It's A LOT to take on day after day. I feel for the mother's bitterness and anger. But the mother doesn't allow Pearl off the farm for a very good reason--she knows that her daughter is deeply disturbed and will be a danger to others in the community. The mother hints at this during the climatic fight: she knows that Pearl kills animals for fun, that Pearl has random s*x with scarecrows (Pearl wasn't exactly quiet in that scene; the mother heard that), that Pearl has an exceedingly violent streak in her anger. The mother knows that Pearl will snap at random strangers outside the farm, maybe even killing them for sadistic pleasure. And the mother is proven right.
I find your interpretation of the ending so fascinating and it makes me want to watch it again with a more willingly empathetic lens. Although I never identified with Pearl, I did feel a profound sense of pity for her. She fought so hard against a fate that was already set in stone the moment the movie began. No matter what she did she couldn't win and so she became the monster she was so afraid of. I have a feeling that Maxxxine will end similarly.
Excellent analysis of Pearl! It always saddens me when the horror community knocks it. Glad I stumbled upon your channel. I will definitely be here for more!
bro maybe im just mentally ill myself but i didnt find any of her wailing funny personally, i understand it too well. mia goth is a phenomenal actress.
Same here. That need to be seen and validated hits close to home if you've been neglected from childhood
same, that hard crying after failure is so real to me
I found it terrifying
Her smile at the end was absolutely terrifying. I loved this movie & X. The plot is original when it comes to the characters. Mia Goth is an amazing actress & writer.❤❤
this is incredible!! phenomenal work. ive been binging your channel and thoroughly enjoying it. damn!!! keep up the amazing work
Your channel is so intriguing. Really happy I found it 😁
I’m happy for all people who never knew someone like this in real life.
People think she's insane, and they would be right, but it's not insanity that's motivating her actions. It's not uninvolved, but it's not the reason. It's a commentary on the collective obsession with fame, and it's hard not to see why. In Homer's Iliad, Achilles had said that he'd prefer eternal glory over eternal life because he knew he'd be remembered forever, as opposed to living forever and being forgotten. Pearl doesn't just want love, she wants an immortal kind of love, where people will know her name and love her even when she's gone. In some way, we all want that. We all want to be wanted, to feel important, even if it's just a little bit. Pearl eventually becomes resentful toward people who became more successful than herself, trapping her in a mire of envy. She adopts the idea that if she can't have that dream, then no one can have it. No one could enjoy the opportunity that had seemed to allude Pearl her entire life. She's a well-crafted anti-villain: she's got a motive that's understandable and superficially innocuous, had it not resulted in the outcome shown in the film.
This movie was wild and it stayed w me for a while after watching. Great analysis.
Her mom doesn't simply "resent" her. Her mother knows Pearl for who she truly is. She said this at the dinner table which started the rage in Pearl until she eventually exploded and fought her mother leading to the fire scene. Her mother said that she's seen the things she's done with the animals. She didn't mention it but her mother also saw her call Theda over and attempted to push her own father in the water. Her mother thought she's protecting Pearl to not go out there, do more of what she's doing and show the world what a monster she is. This fact, possibly is that 'resentment' from her mother.
Exactly. She's afraid, both of Pearl and for Pearl.
Technicolor nightmare of a reality LOL! This was a really good explanation of the deeper workings of the movie Pearl. Pearl is one of my absolute fave horror movies of 2023. Great video essay! You explained sooo well what soo many missed. She was written off simply as mentally ill or BP or a sociopath but no one considered what made her that way. She was indeed a v relatable character and your explanation of Pearl was simply perfect!
Loooooved the movie and pearls character but I sure as shit wanted misty to survive, she was so sweet 😭 I felt sympathy and hope for pearl but it never changed the way I viewed her actions, she is a monster
This was so damn good. Really well put together. I could see your channel blowing up. Keep up the great work!
I don't like when people blame people's actions on "society" or their family. No. We are all responsible for our own actions. I grew up in an abusive home and was bullied at school for the crime of being disabled. I had no friends and no one to talk to so I became semi-mute. I could choose to be evil because people were evil to me but I don't. People have so much pathos for serial killers but none for shy "losers." It's morally sickening to me.
I Remember this girl I used to help with homeworks. She got picked at a lot. She came from a very weird household, and I say weird in a very bad way. They were all acting strange but they didn't know any better... Literally... They barely were civilized. So I would not say they were abusive.. it was not really on porpoise. So the girl would not sit, speak, move, go to the bathroom, remove the jacket. I had to move her hand with the pencil until one day she started actually moving it herself, and it was a long long process. She still got considered somewhat a discard, but the kid that destroyed everything and hurt others would be considered at least "funny" from the other educators. That really stayed with me
Have you watched X and Pearl? I feel like shy losers in particular will actually find Pearl very understandable. She's deeply lonely and afraid nobody will ever truly see her and not immediately leave her.
She's also, yah know, kinda evil, but for me personally that's what I find compelling about her. Seeing this terrifying fun house mirror of me. And Maxine in X is the same story. She and Pearl are extremely similar in background, but they aren't not the same person. Maxine is basically a decent person who's doing her damn best by herself *and* everyone else in a way Pearl doesn't or can't.
i hated mitsy’s death. i was really rooting for her :(
Her monologue made me cry minus the murderdous tendencies i related a loottttt to it
I think its unfair to describe Pearls mother as resenting Pearl just because Pearl might have a better future. She does resent that Pearl isnt the supportive daughter she might want given she has literally nobody else to support her.
But shes also clearly *afraid* of Pearl. She sees the Pearl kills innocent animals just for the joy of it. She catches Pearl half way through Pearls first (on screen) attempt to kill him, and shes not even surprised by it.
I’m not a fan of saying “revealing who they were all along”. It’s more so, if only it were another way… but I’ve driven down this dark road too long. Our tendencies don’t match with our desires, inevitably amplifying our destruction.
i love Mia Goth. she could replay this type of role over and over again and id never get tired of it. she does it so well.
super underrated video, this deserves way more views!
24K STILL isn't enough!!!
The video so well edited
This is underrated, I'm sure you will get views.
How is her meltdown after failing the audition "comedy gold" lmao
It's one of those moments where you wanna laugh, but you'll feel like an asshole if you do.
I saw X and was like......meh.
Went back after watching pearl and was really surprised how much more i enjoyed X after seeing pearl
This movie and X is strangely and horrifically sympathetic. Everyone has dreams and some sacrifice everything (literally in this case) only to end up with nothing. As a writer, I hope to make a stable career that I can live off of, but the fear of working hard and having nothing to show for it is *always* there, lurking in my mind, like a ghost, haunting me as a reminder of that innate dread I can never fully shake. I do not feel Pearl is in the right but she is a victim - of both her circumstances and herself.
I dont think ive seen this actress before i saw Pearl but holy shit her acting is top notch
Fantastic examination of this character. I just love this cinematic universe. Mia's performance is one for the ages. Oscar worthy IMO
11:10 - 11:20 OKAYYYY THIS ONE GOT A LIL KICK TO ITTT😭😭‼️‼️‼️
I watched pearl first, haven’t seen the other two yet though I plan to. I remember liking the movie and thinking to myself “ah this isn’t that bad” until the end sequence which 100% made me cringe and grossed me out and sticks in my head. Really well made horror movie and it’s wild because you feel bad for this entirely sick and twisted character.
I’d love to see Pearl’s karma play out in a third film, where she is her mother as a young woman. Where she IS a stage star and silver screen silent movie star right at the time when sound is coming to the screen in “talkies” with a blonde ingénue as competition - and a dark ambition is surfacing - the blonde who threatens her is her own younger sister like “Whatever happened to Baby Jane” which explains why Pearl’s cousin Mitsy in the second story is a blonde ingénue with stage aspirations - she is so much like her own mother, sisters but, it goes wrongly and she swears to protect her daughter from that. She marries and moves out to the farm but, she’s not able to escape the generational trauma and the karma that must play out through her own daughter. She sees the signs in Pearl and she knows that she, herself has given Pearl her own disorder as if it’s genetic, in the blood and body when it’s just as much spiritual. She swears to stop it but, she doesn’t tell anyone the truth about her secret. She is a murderess. She thinks she passed it to Pearl like a disease
“Why do you hate me, momma?”
“I shoulder a burden you could never understand”
“You dare sit there and talk to me about regret?”
MAYBE the first murder made sense but then it was just senseless. I thought we were just enjoying the campy unhinged ride, I didn't know we were supposed to relate to her
Reading comments and hearing the narrator talk about how relatable Pearl is makes me look at society a lot differently.
It seems the world is full of psychopaths who are one bad day away from going on murderous rampages.
That's even more frightening than the actual movie.
@@BlakeGildaphish76 definitely
Frr, like wtf
@@BlakeGildaphish76 boiling down a complex piece with so many themes to her just being a "psychopath" is why literary analysis and deep thought is dying. everyone is one bad day away from something, but as the movie clearly showed this is a bad LIFE for someone who is trapped and acting out accordingly
@@AdrianDiaz-u9l No. You can empathize with her plights but she clearly is a psychopath, a murderer and later in life you can add kidnapper and rapist to the list. The themes exist and do not exclude the fact she is a murderous unhinged person. I don´t believe there´s evil to the core people, we all have our reasons to lash out, the difference is when you only account for yourself and your desires and reduce all those around to meat puppets that if they were to act in ways you don´t want them to you´ll find yourself justifying offing them from existence. Misty won the audition? she deserves to be chopped off. The projectionist gets scared at the CLEAR mental illness signs and runs away? impalled by a pitchfork the motherfucker. Small farm animals just minding their bussines? welp!! I guess my rage needs an outlet whoop de do!! That´s the thing. She can have all the reasons in the world and a mental illness to pile on to that but the thing is that the mental illness is psychopathy. And that fact can coexist with all the themes of the movie without needing us to look past the fact that she was prone to violence and murderous rage all the time
It’s awful Ik, but a part of me felt sick satisfaction when Pearl got rid of the people who stood in her way. granted the dad deserved to go via morphine overdose and the hot projectionist didn’t deserve to die at all but there’s something so sweet about seeing someone that took your dream get punished. Great analysis!
And her mother didnt deserved to suffer an awful death;suffering by days on a basement,she was just a woman triyng to hold her family survival,she was stern,she was harsh;but she was living how she could and that is admirable,she didnt blamed her retarded kid for her problems,pnly wanted her to be helpful around the house and she was right,pearl was weak and selfish,because she never ever once tought on her husbad or parents,never ever once she cared for then and the movie shows it greatly.
She only did,when she lost then,all,but howard.
I’ve always loved the charming style early cinema had. Finding out there’s a psychological horror movie that imitates it has been a highlight of my horror flick search recently
Bro amazing content - been looking for a channel like this
this was so well done I just watched the movie and this was the perfect analysis
To me, many of the moments you cited as comedic or comedic adjacent are not funny at all. Her explosive reactions were gut wrenching
I agree I honestly thought it was pretty scary
I've known somebody irl who legit had BPD and that feeling of being on eggshells in case you are a bit too nice to them and they get clingy, or if they feel you slighted them and explode with rage is very familiar
God I wish all bipolar people would just go away, I nearly offed myself 4 times last year because of bipolar people toying with me and my emotions
Mia Goth is a treasure.
Maybe this is obvious, I feel like there were a lot of parallels between Pearl and The Wizard of Oz, but I'd have to watch it again to concisely say what it means
The way these movies understand women is almost unnerving. I love it.
That's because the script for "Pearl" was written by a woman--Mia Goth herself! :D
I don’t have much to say except, excellent analysis!!
absolutely stunning analysis.
this really helped me investigate pearl with a different lens. while i love X, and i also found things in common with maxine, pearl hit me like a freight train. but even further, i didnt realize how symbolic it all is, and how relatable it is for most other people.
i grew up in a bible belt in a town no one knows the name of- my immigrant mother was also overbearing and has some issues of her own, but pushed a lot of expectations and such on me. it’s a similar reason why i relate to and enjoy carrie and the vvitch so much (im not one of those femcel horror fans i promise im just a genderfluid with trauma) for the maternal relationships that end horrendously- it’s cathartic in the sense of “i know how she feels and im glad she gets to win” but also terrifying in that sense of… does she win?
but i didnt think about how relevant it was for other people. love this
This was An awesome analysis. To be perfectly honest, I’ve just watched a few of your reviews and I think there’s a bit too much focus on the futility of life, but in this one, there was much more than just a film plot analysis being used to delve into a similar speech on the bleak march towards decay and death. This film gave you a lot more to work with. I’m just trying to give constructive criticism because I think you have some brilliant ideas and clearly a lot of film knowledge and are certainly built to do these kinds of breakdowns. It’s very possible the tone and themes of the films you’ve chosen to review are a bit too similar and your interpretations are probably as legit as they sound. Not saying to be more “optimistic” which isn’t much of a choice in horror, but there’s definitely this tendency to conclude with something about ‘coping with or fighting a predestined and awful existence until death’ that i can’t help but notice standing on top of all of your reviews up to this point. As someone recommend in one of your comment sections, do NOT review St. Maude. That would be painfully redundant. I think for the sake of expanding from the same, very bleak, and after a few videos, very uninteresting and singular philosophy of predeterminism, I would love to hear your take on something a little less about agonizing, despair filled and desperate female leads walking into the void and maybe, idk, anything else lol. Not to say ur work thus far isn’t great, in fact I think your channel is a likely up and coming baller in the horror film essay niche, and only took the time to write this comment because I like your ideas as much as I do! Feel free to disregard my criticism, as it’s prob not worth all too much, either way I’ll be subbing and looking forward to the next analysis!
Thanks for writing, I really appreciate this kind of constructive criticism. I can see how the heavy existential stuff can get repetitive after a while and will definitely take that into consideration. Evil Dead Rise is next up on my docket and it's far less subtextually dower and heavy compared to the likes of X or It Follows so you can expect a different angle there.
‘Coping with or fighting a predestined and awful existence until death’ is more or less what everybody is doing; why shouldn’t we discuss it?
The movie was great. I felt no empathy or sympathy for her. Ive met people like her. She chose her fate. It was her own design. They taught her how to be what she wanted. The movie just gave her an excuse. Id bow as respect. She was a true demon. Top tier character. Its like shes the author. Its like that joker movie, shes convincing me shes not evil.
I’ve never seen this movie, I have a habit of watching movie breakdowns for movies I don’t think I’ll watch, and even if I do it doesn’t bother me to know pieces of the story before watching it, anyway I HAVE to watch this movie now :)
The more and more I saw the trailer the more pearl reminded me of lizzie borden the time period the clothes especially the dress she wears her hair kind of her killing her parents one of them overbearing and definitely the hatchet axe scene lol her murderous tendencies are basically the same as lizards both wanted a high lifestyle and leave that home technically lizzie didn't kill animals or she didn't want to her dad made her kill some both lizzie and sister was trapped in life they don't want once parents then they could get a good home with electricity and try to have lavish lifestyle though everyone knows what she did in pearl nobody knows like in Texas chainsaw massacre lol
You might like the movie Lizzie :-)
I watched X when it came out and liked it. I just saw this yesterday and had no idea it was a prequel. I did notice the gator/lake was the same but didn’t put any of it together until watching this. I really enjoyed Pearl and this makes it even cooler.
i subscribed today i love psychology an in some philosophy in darker mediums of tv movie or even arg , im a few videos in a still liking then next more then the previous
Absolutely beautiful vudeo essay, this was brilliant
You have some excellent material here!
I just imagine Robert Pattinsons preacher character is in this same universe and was a judge at pearls audition! When she says " but I'm a star!" Rob retorts with "DELUUUUUUUSSSIONS!"
Man, I just keep finding video essays dissecting movies about how not all dreams come true these days. I don't know how RUclips figured out that I just recently gave up on my dreams but man.
This is an excellent breakdown of this film. You nailed it.
Just discovered your channel, amazing stuff!! Please don’t stop creating
I would say Mitsy's indifference and selfish response was what got her killed. Imagine if Mitsy responded in a sensitive and understanding manner, that would have established trust between the two and a bit of security for Pearl. She needed reassurance that what she was experiencing were normal human feelings. Pearl didn't want to feel alone anymore and gives up hiding it. ("You're not going to say anything?" - Pearl) In that moment when Pearl realized her only "friend" didn't care about her at all, she allowed herself to fall into the darkness of her murderous ways again. Also she knew that Mitsy wasn't going to keep quite so she did what she had to do in her mind.
Pearl had just told her she'd murdered several people, and you expect Mitsy to in the moment where she realises that she's in danger of joining them validate that that's normal? And you're calling her indifferent and selfish for *not* validating that?
I just wish there was more details of how she became like that. Like did something happen to her and she went dark, how many more people did her and her husband killed that came to the house, what was it that her husband did to not get killed like the others. The movies were good but it left you with more questions than answers
The fact that so many people in the comments defending the mom's actions towards Pearl is crazy. OFC didn't deserve to die, no one did. The mom still took her anger and self-hatred out on her daughter to the point that her daughter lashed out in an unhinged manner.
Also, the symbolism in her dresswear. How towards the movie’s end we see her wearing a blood crimson dress. Secondly, how, in the dance, you can see her dancing with destruction in the background, representing how much a fantasy fame is.
I don’t ever really watch movies so to click on this and find it’s a prequel to a movie I’ve actually WATCHED gave me whiplash. The alligator in the lake already seemed peculiar so when you said it I was like huh. Yea that checks out
I don't agree with all your points but I'd say this was a very interesting feminine horror. That monologue was impressive and that end shot. Gold. Mia Goth is amazing. And I liked this way better than X. Looking forward to Maxxxine...
JustPearlyThings