“Women bleed-it’s beautiful and almost no man has seen a used tampon.” Of all the virtuous one-liners spouted from the unequivocally naughty, Elaine in the groovy dark-comedy thriller, The Love Witch, this one takes the cake. Heading to see the film at this years BAMCinemafest, I didn’t know what to expect, but having sat through countless love-centric comedies, I had a theory. Nothing could prepare me for the technicolor occult playpen writer/director, Anna Biller imagined for her leading lady who refuses to abide by modern rom-com rules. The Love Witch opens with a Barbara Eden inspired beauty (bump it and all,) driving up the California coast with nothing but a maddened inner-monologue resembling the iconic car montage in Pyscho, urging the audience to question her mental state.
The film goes on to spotlight the antics of said beauty and modern-day witch, as she hopelessly searches for love, baiting men with potions she concocts in pastel mini dresses. However, when the love spells grow too strong, the buoyant sorceress decides the only suitable antidote for these “weak boys” is murder, naturally. The Love Witch wholeheartedly embraces the anti-romantic comedy. Between the NSFW humor, nods to classic sex-exploitation film and twisted LSD-induced fantasies about love, Biller has created a character with relateable emotions who is writing her own narrative. The tone of the beautifully lit and comically sound film is a twist on those thrilling romantic comedies we painfully endure with that one friend. Instead of leaving audiences left feeling cold and starving for accessible humor and substance, Anna Biller masterfully projects an update to a familiar genre, worthy of your time.
In the the spirit of the fruitful year women have already had in film this year, check out a couple female driven films flipping the script in 2016.
1. American Honey
2. Maggie’s Plan
3. Neon Demon
4. Julieta
5. Norman Lear: Just another Version of You
“The Love Witch” will be released in theaters this fall.
Film list by Danielle O’Neill. Follow her on twitter @doneill13.
