The Moth Diaries (2011) Reviews

• Run-of-the-mill schoolgirl Gothic; Lily Cole is incredible, though

  drownnnsoda2012-03-29

  "The Moth Diaries", based on the book by Rachel Klein, tells the story of a sixteen-year-old girl who is returning to boarding school for the year at Brangwyn, a secluded girl's school that was once a grand hotel in its heyday. The girl is Rebecca (Sarah Bolger), and she's still dealing with the trauma of losing her poet father to suicide, so she seems to invest all of her time and emotion into her friendship with fellow student Lucie (Sarah Gadon). It's a new year, Rebecca has her circle of friends, there's a hot new English teacher at school (Scott Speedman), and by all accounts, it seems like it's going to be a great year for her. That is, until Ernessa (Lily Cole) arrives at the school. Tall, dark-haired, and mysteriously brooding, Ernessa seems to have a secret. And when she and Lucie become too close for Rebecca's comfort, she goes a bit mad. Is Rebecca overreacting, or does Ernessa have ulterior motives? I'm going to be frank here; with Mary Harron (the woman behind "The Notorious Bettie Page" and "American Psycho") penning the screenplay for this and directing it, I expected more and got less. I'll begin by telling you what's wrong with this movie and then end my review on a more positive note with what was done well. The biggest problem with this film is, almost fatally, its overall plot structure. Harron's script is terribly choppy, and the transitions in the film are wooden and seem like filler material. Since the film is based on a book that was written in journal form, Harron opted to use internal dialogue and asides from the Rebecca character, drawn out of her diaries. The problem this creates is that her placement of these asides and "thoughts" as they may be come across as inappropriate and almost cheapen the film to Lifetime status. The poor transitions here kill the plot momentum and also eliminate suspense, which a film like this needs in order to gain investment from its audience. Secondly, there is the dialogue. It's stiff, boring, and completely uninspired, ala a made-for-TV B-movie. Acting-wise, we've got performances all over the spectrum. Sarah Bolger is competent as our obsessive leading lady, and Sarah Gadon is decent as her object of obsession, but neither are particularly impressive. The incredibly good-looking Scott Speedman is awkward as the English professor whose oh-so-convenient literary insight provides the film's classic vampire arcs, but I think his on screen stiffness is more a fault of the script than his acting ability. The other girls in the film are, well... pretty bad. That's all I'm going to say. So, this brings us to Lily Cole, who plays our vampy new girl; simply put, Cole outshines everybody here. Although her role is nothing new in the horror/vampire genre, her embodiment of this classic character was flawless. She plays up the brooding aspects without becoming hammy, and at times comes across as charming and sweet— just like a vampire. Physically speaking, she's intimidating on screen; the camera-work accentuates her height, and her raven hair and doll-like face add to her character's overall eeriness. In short, she's really, really great in this. In addition to Cole's performance, I also really enjoyed the visual aspects of the film. Where Harron has failed her script, she's succeeded as a visualist. Her work on "American Psycho" displayed her talent for imagery, and she does a great job in that department here. The Gothic overtones and the atmosphere of the school take center stage through the cinematography, and there are several sequences that do impress- the raining blood scene in the school library is the standout scene in the film; visually disturbing as well as thematically relevant. I'd also like to point out the very obvious allusions that the film makes, the biggest one being to Carmilla, the classic precursor to the vampire novel, and an inspiration for countless horror films. There are parallels to Dracula as well, and the film stays true to a lot of the classic plot devices of these stories rather than opting for the more modernistic approaches to the subgenre, such as the tweeny aspects we see in the "Twilight" franchise. For that, I congratulate this film for sticking to its guns. In true Gothic fashion, there's a heaping helping of repressed homoeroticism, unexplained deaths, foggy courtyards, anemic young girls, and mysterious trunks in the basement. Overall, "The Moth Diaries" is as much of a success as it is a failure. The script is weak and unfortunately fairly stagnant in terms of plot momentum. The dialogue is also poorly-written and the acting from the supporting cast is very much TV-movie status. If you can deal with the teenage melodrama, there are appealing visuals and nice Gothic overtones here as well as parallels to the classics, but I'm not sure that's enough to save the film for most people. 5/10.

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• An excellent example of what filmmaking used to be...

  kevin-12722013-07-22

  I randomly selected and streamed this film last night on Netflix, enjoyed it, and checked today to see what others were saying about it. I was surprised to find harsh words about the film, and they made me wonder why people would react this way to a well-made story like this. The cinematography is lovely. The music is so well suited that it plays unnoticed beneath the visuals – never clashing with the emotional content of the scenes. The sound editing is top notch. The young actors are all excellent. Set design is spot on for the story. No dialog is wasted. Etc. etc. So what was the problem? My personal reaction was quite good. When it started, I expected a bad film – another sappy story about girls at school. In fact, the only scene I didn't care for was the girls "partying" in their rooms. Such a cliché rendering. But the rest was endearing. The film seduced me, drawing me in further and further as I watched. It's not revolutionary, to be sure, but why does every film have to be revolutionary? We don't hold music to that type of criteria. "Oh, another blues song. That's been done…" Harron's achievement here is in the mood of this piece. I see people complaining about the connecting scenes, and I think about how much they must hate a film like Upstream Color or Tree of Life or Melancholia (though those films are rated quite a bit higher). The Moth Diaries is not like those films because it has a much more grounded story. Why are people down on this film? My best guess is that the negative reactions this film received are indicative of the altered nature of film itself. The Moth Diaries takes a different tack than contemporary blockbusters. It's not The Conjuring (a great horror film), which twists every few minutes and keeps throwing shocks at you, making you squirm in your seat. But it's not intended to be. It's not a shock piece. It is a mood piece, and Harron does a beautiful job of establishing a consistent mood throughout, a mood that captures appropriate emotional content for the age-rage of the characters in the story. Had this movie been released in the 1970s, it would have found a large, receptive audience. I, for one, found it refreshing to watch a film that takes its time building mood and environment and character. The strength of the film is its subtlety. Unfortunately, it appears that subtlety is lost on many contemporary film goers. For me, The Moth Diaries returned me to the days when movies could be captivating and sensory without abandoning story in service to "art." I liked it and I'll be tracking Mary Harron's work from now on.

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• Good, but could have been great.

  thebody62012-09-03

  I think that this film had an interesting (while not entirely original) plot, but from what I've heard about the book, should have been better than it was. It showed some very promising acting from a few young actresses and I liked the directing. The main problems are that there wasn't enough character development of, well, any of them, the resolution seemed rushed and not nearly as epic as it could have been, and the mystery surrounding the character of Ernessa was, instead of intriguing, just puzzling. It's a little hard to describe, but I didn't feel that intangible suspense and relation to the characters that I'd like to have felt. Overall, I'd say it's worth a watch, but I do wish it had been better crafted.

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• The Moth Diaries is quite interesting

  Argemaluco2012-07-19

  Director Mary Harron works more frequently on the TV, but I have always found her films (I Shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page) interesting mainly because of their mixed focus, commercially accessible and also with enough personal vision in order to bring them an unusual artistic varnish. That's why I was interested in watching The Moth Diaries, Harron's first incursion in the horror genre, and it fortunately ended up being very interesting. The screenplay from The Moth Diaries displays an unexpected dimension and deepness, and it always keep us on the constant doubt about the nature of the phenomenons we witness. We never exactly know whether there's a supernatural influence at the school, or if that's just a metaphor of the main character's nerves. Besides, the somber corridors from the building and the whispering woods which round on it contribute to create a melancholic atmosphere, very appropriate in order to accentuate the main character's emotional conflict. In the leading role, Sarah Bolger takes the biggest advantage of her expressive face in order to transmit her character's emotions without the need of words. Sarah Gadon also makes a perfect work as Lucie, and I also liked Lily Cole's performance very much. I usually can't swallow the "models who become actresses", but Cole has displayed genuine histrionic talent in The Moth Diaries, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and St. Trinian's. On the negative side from The Moth Diaries, a few moments feel a bit dull, and the ending feels kinda convenient. Nevertheless, I think this movie is worthy of a recommendation, and I will definitely keep having interest in Harron's filmography.

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• Pasty White Female

  soncoman2012-08-08

  Director Mary Harron ("American Psycho," "The Notorious Betty Page") tackles neo-Gothic horror in her latest film, an adaptation of Rachel Klein's novel "The Moth Diaries." Set at a remote Canadian BoardingSchool for Girls, "…Diaries" is the story of Rebecca (Sarah Bolger) and Lucie (Sarah Gadon,) really, really, REALLY close roommates who are looking forward to spending their last year at school together. Enter Ernessa (Lily Cole) a suspiciously gaunt, pale, yet dark figure who quickly attaches herself to Lucie. Rebecca finds herself on the outside looking in as Ernessa and Lucie's relationship grows stronger; all the while Lucie herself appears to be getting weaker and weaker. Hmmm… Life force ebbing… Ernessa never seen during the day… Ernessa never seen eating or drinking… Could she be a… super model? No, no, that's not it. How about a vampire? A ha! Could be. Coincidentally, one of the books being taught by the new hunky English teacher (Scott Speedman) is "Carmilla," a Gothic novel about a female vampire and her prey (that actually predates Stoker's "Dracula" by about a quarter of a century.) Is this a case of life imitating art? Or would that be art imitating life imitating art? Regardless, Rebecca can't get anyone to believe her that Ernessa is a danger to them all, even after students and staff start dropping like flies. What's a good Catholic school girl to do? Harron does her best with the material, and the film does a good job of establishing an overall mood of dread with several effective set pieces. The ending, however, underwhelmed me. It seems rushed and incomplete, which may reflect the film's apparent low budget more than the filmmaker's intent. Harron has done much with little before, so I found myself let down with this film's conclusion. Solid performances, good location work and moody cinematography can't make up for a haphazard script and the lack of a solid ending. www.worstshowontheweb.com

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