Thursday, November 21, 2013

Nuns With Guns

I've never been a big fan of the rape-revenge genre. Inevitably, when people hear that you are a woman who enjoys exploitation films, the conversation immediately turns to "oh! Well have you seen "I Spit on Your Grave," because, you know, the protagonist has a vagina and as a vagina-owner, you probably will love it." Like watching one of the few protagonists I can relate to getting brutally gang-raped in the opening scene is going to be an empowering experience for me. Cause that's the basic rape-revenge plot: girl gets raped, gets angry, and goes on a killing spree to get back at her rapists. At best, it shows a lack of imagination when it comes to writing origin stories for "strong women characters." At worst, it's a cartoon idea of what rape is:  a one-dimensional shorthand for female character motivation.

And that's why it took me so long to get around to Ms. 45.


I came to Abel Ferrara through Bad Lieutenant. Ferrara's sleazy, gritty portrait of a New York cop didn't shy away from portraying all sides of a self-destructive soul, so I suspected Ms. 45 would show the same unflinching commitment. And oh boy, did it ever.  This was not a one-dimensional fantasy of a "strong woman." Zoe Lund's performance is amazing, as she mutates from a mute, washed-out seamstress to a stalking killer, a Travis Bickle of sexual politics whose very existence deconstructs the motivations of everyone around her. She's not strong. She's like Batman having a psychotic break. And of course, it's all wrapped in Ferrara's lapsed Catholic imagery.  So by the time she shows up in a nun's habit and red lipstick and starts firing wildly at a party full of people, we know she's about to self-immolate for our sins.  And it's awesome to watch.

Drafhouse is releasing a new, digitally remastered and uncut print of this 70's classic in December, to theaters, DVD, Blu Ray and VOD. Right now they are giving away two tracks from the soundtrack for free, so hustle on over, baby!

http://drafthousefilms.com/film/ms.-45

(By the way, if you want to see "Bad Lieutenant," it's on Hulu for free. You're welcome.)

No comments:

Post a Comment