Strange Darling

Grade: A-

Every critic blurb featured in Strange Darling’s trailer is absolutely correct. It’s a fascinating, well-crafted thriller, and you are best to go in blind. I’ll share as much as I feel is safe, that won’t spoil the experience, but if you’d rather see it first and come back to this review later, I don’t blame you. An opening crawl (narrated by Jason Patric, affecting a great “true crime” voice) displays a couple paragraphs about a serial killer who was active between 2018 and 2020, and states that this film is about the last few kills. Then we see a man with a rifle madly and persistently pursuing a woman – via automobile, on foot, you name it. There’s your plot summary. The End.

We also find out during the beginning credits that it’s split into 6 chapters. Chapter 3 is the first one we get. The movie isn’t linear, and it quickly makes sense why. If we got the story chronologically, some big reveals would be telegraphed early, and we’d see everything from only one perspective, having all the information up front. It’s easier to keep track of than you might think. Even without taking notes, I could remember which chapters we’d already seen, and what was left. Also, it’s just one story, and there aren’t many people involved.

You know I am a sucker for locations and cinematography, both of which Strange Darling possesses in spades. We spend a significant amount of time amongst the mountain back roads. Chapter 1 has some awesome lighting, bathed in blue, from a neon motel sign. The great character actor Giovanni Ribisi serves as Director of Photography, and his work in 35mm is a chef’s kiss. By this point, we’ve already seen at least Chapters 3 and 5, then along comes the first two, which changes the way we originally interpreted the “later” scenes (earlier for us).

The soundtrack is highly effective. This is a great cover of Love Hurts – in the key of F, played in G, with the guitar tuned down. Willa Fitzgerald gives a star-making performance as The Lady. She is superb for reasons I can’t talk about, as is Kyle Gallner (from Smile and the upcoming Smile 2) in the role listed as The Demon. A familiar social talking point comes into play without coming off as woke or preachy. It’s given a fresh, lesser-explored angle. The movie ends with satiating poetic justice, and fades from color to beautiful black-and-white.

I hope I’ve adequately teased you. I loved Strange Darling. It works as well as it does because of WHEN we learn what we learn. It’s gritty, hard-hitting, and delightfully Tarantinian. We’ve seen this kind of film before – particularly in the second half of the 90s, with all those Tarantino copycats coming out of the woodwork – but it’s among the best of the lot. I want to see the movie again. Hell, I want to see the TRAILER again. I want to talk about it with people who have seen it. It’s the widely-used saying “If you know, you know.” And I’m looking forward to all of you knowing.

Grade: A-