Originally posted April 25, 2008.
Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe—two tragic figures (well, in Michael’s case, perhaps the jury is, so to speak, still out). Who would want to exchange identities with them? In Harmony Korine’s new film, Mister Lonely (and how great to hear uninterrupted that emotional Bobby Vinton song), we soon learn the answer: a young man and a young woman so unhappy with themselves that they choose to live full-time as their impersonations—along with a group of similar misfit/lookalikes that include the Three Stooges, Abe Lincoln, the Pope, Queen Elizabeth II (played by Stones muse Anita Pallenberg) and, natch, Madonna, all living in a castle commune in the Scottish Highlands with a flock of beloved sheep. Not unexpectedly from the director of Gummo, this bizarre setup begets many bizarre sights, such as the Three Stooges armed with rifles to fulfill a sad mission and a tiara’d Queen in bed with the Pope. The movie also has a parallel story involving an alcoholic priest pilot (Werner Herzog) and miraculously sky-diving nuns, which, though it has its charms and allows for exhilarating visuals, I found ultimately puzzling. But no matter: Diego Luna (Y Tu Mamá También) and Samantha Morton (fittingly zoftig here) are lovely and affecting as Michael and Marilyn, two peas in an odd pod who discover you can’t get away from yourself or life’s problems (in Marilyn’s case caused mainly by a sadistic “Charlie Chaplin”)—but find very different ways of dealing with that fact. And then there’s the egg song…
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| Diega Luna and Samantha Morton play obsessive Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe impersonators who meet in Paris. |
Mister Lonely
Directed by Harmony Korine
Screenplay by Harmony Korine and Avi Korine
Starring Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, James Fox, Anita Pallenberg, Denis Lavant, and Werner Herzog
Directed by Harmony Korine
Screenplay by Harmony Korine and Avi Korine
Starring Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, James Fox, Anita Pallenberg, Denis Lavant, and Werner Herzog
I believe the nuns and the celebrity impersonators are parallel characters. They are all allowing themselves to be defined by ideas, or personas that are not actually themselves. Just as the young girl and boy living their lives as Marilyn and Michael, the nuns are living for the idea of Christianity, to an extreme extent. They believe their faith will help them defy nature and the "celebrities" are looking for ways out of themselves. And in the end, both groups find themselves tumbling down (no pun intended), and only deepening their internal struggle and pain.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I'm giving the film's meaning enough merit through my explanation. It's definitely one of those feelings you understand completely from seeing the images and emotion Korine's writing and cinematography lavishly elaborated. I would recommend that you watch it again to better find connections between the two storylines. If I'm not mistaken, I think Luna's character was raised by the nuns (the little boy in the beginning segments), too - which would explain his feelings of isolation and seclusion from other people in the world.
May 18, 2008 9:18 PM