吞咽2019

Two 2019 feature debuts from aspiring filmmakers that hold fast our zeitgeist by putting a female character in the dead center. Kitty Green’s THE ASSISTANT is exclusively lensed from our titular heroine’s perspective to cast a startling light on a salient social issue in the wake of the notorious Weinstein effect; meanwhile, Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ SWALLOW, doggedly builds up a reductive dissection of a young, gravid bride’s eerie disintegration, by dint of uncomfortable body horror tropes to reify her pica affliction.

Adhering to her technique developed as a documentarian, Green adopts an uncharacteristic angle to tackle her unsavory subject matter. In THE ASSISTANT, Garner plays Jane, a junior assistant in an unspecified NYC film production company, and the film takes place during her overlong working hours on a hectic Monday. We watch her being picked up by a limousine to work long before daybreak, and follow her in clerical drudgery, see the big shots from her peripheral vision and hear things only within her earshot. By doing that, Green risks narrative clarity and leaves the scandalous skinny in connotation or off-screen, consequently the film rather invites an immediate revisit to suss the implications of every casual dialogue and throwaway joke, and for better to piece together what is going on.

Green’s strategy, not audience-friendly, but totally chimes in with Jane’s grunt-level existence in the company, but felicitously, do we really need to see those sordid goings-on with our own eyes? We shall all be thankful to Green for being so considerate in her approach, because such a canker, condoned systemically by the industry and beyond is better limned as this immaterial, omnipresent force of vileness, penetrating every couch and behind every closed doors in every office and hotel room, it is everywhere therefore it must be put paid to.

Carrying the entire film on her slender shoulders, Garner exhibits strenuous stamina and restrained body language as the doormat (Jane is a sponge absorbent of the negative outpourings of the boss’ wife) and the dogsbody (she is virtually invisible in front of her superiors and other colleagues), even the two male assistants callously exploit her newness (only being there for 5 weeks), or maybe also because she is a she, and let her bear the brunt of blame and verbal abuse. Yet, in her position, she has no right to say otherwise.

Jane aspires to be a producer, and she knows all too well that she must pay her dues and turn a blind eye on the seedy matters, if she wants to make it. But on the off chance when that actually happens, she will have already become one of the silent connivers in that toxic working environment (implied by the unseen boss’s sinister motivation). Moreover, she should considered herself lucky, according to the head of Human Resources (Macfadyen), simply because “you are not his type”, it’s all so reassuring! Macfadyen has that peculiar air of faux-earnestness, mixed with veiled hubris, to express the warped normalcy as if it is the most commonplace words to utter, whereas Garner is so utterly disconcerted and anguished in her botched worm-will-turn rebel, their exchange is the crescendo of this gritty film.

Incredibly, THE ASSISTANT plays up the working place’s drabness, impersonality and functional symmetry to keep us absorbed with its coded message. However, SWALLOW is so stunning on the eye level, the young couple, Hunter and Richie Conrad (Bennett and Stowell) are gorgeous, their affluent, minimalistic upstate NYC residence with a killer view, is often filtered through prismatic hues to emphasize the magic power of money.

But what happens inside is far less majestic, Hunter, hailed from a lower class, is maladaptive to her new ascendancy as the cinderella, who has a bun in the oven and develops an anomalous appetite for inedible things (including some small sharp objects, those swallow scenes are fastidiously arranged, and not for the squeamish). Does she subconsciously want to lose the baby? and why is that? A thought never occurs to our prince charm Richie, instead, his family hires a burly minder Luay (Nakli), a Syrian immigrant, to keep an eye on her minute by minute to forestall any self-inflict harm, solely for the safety of their precious progeny.

If the plot is piled up with unmitigated clichés (cruel, senseless rich people, good-hearted immigrants, a fable of perfect family of origin, the psychological manipulation of negging and nonpology, the list goes on and on…) and Mirabella-Davis might be a lousy fabulist, what gives vitality to SWALLOW, besides Katelin Arizmendi’s stylish cinematography, is Bennett’s metamorphic performance. A frail flower distressed by her parentage (the cat will be let out of the bag later) and conjugal negligence, Bennett, who looks like a poor girl’s Jennifer Lawrence, grandly inhabits Hunter’s compulsion, disorientation and exasperation with such astonishing finesses, one cannot take eyes off her. Even when we cannot relate to Hunter’s weird condition, we are compulsively intrigued by Bennett’s nuanced delivery and delicate mannerism, hoping some deus ex machina can materialize to save her.

Eventually, Mirabella-Davis grants Hunter a touching closure (Denis O’Hare’s brilliant cameo is exactly what the doctor ordered, he can proficiently pull off a complicated emotional range in meager minutes, though on paper, the reconciliation is still a mawkish cliché) and the final shot statically looking at a lady’s room with people come and go writ large the film's emboldened stance: pro-life and pro-woman.

When all is said and done, both THE ASSISTANT and SWALLOW are promising works well wrought by their emergent creators, together, they paint a vivid picture of the wrongs (in the working place or in one’s own home) inflicted upon women by faulty, haughty, selfish men, but they are not just reproachful to the stronger sex, their artistry underlies more hope in women’s resilience, Jane might walk the plank the next day, she can at least have peace with herself and knows better of her goals, as for Hunter, starts anew and puts aside a failed marriage, together with her psychogenic malady, scrumptious comestibles are beckoning and cinderella can get stuffed!

referential entries: Darren Aronofsky’s MOTHER! (2017, 6.6/10); Cory Finley’s THOROUGHBRED (2017, 6.5/10); Leigh Whannell’s THE INVISIBLE MAN (2020, 6.9/10).

Title: The Assistant

Year: 2019

Country: USA

Language: English, Mandarin

Genre: Drama

Director/Screenwriter: Kitty Green

Music: Tamar-kali

Cinematography: Michael Latham

Editing: Kitty Green, Blair McClendon

Cast:

Julia Garner

Matthew Macfadyen

Noah Robbins

Jon Orsini

Kristine Froseth

Dagmara Dominczyk

Alexander Chaplin

Purva Bedi

Juliana Canfield

Makenzie Leigh

Patrick Wilson

Rating: 7.4/10

Title: Swallow

Year: 2019

Country: USA, France

Language: English, Arabic

Genre: Drama, Mystery

Director/Screenwriter: Carlo Mirabella-Davis

Music: Nathan Halpern

Cinematography: Katelin Arizmendi

Editing: Joe Murphy

Cast:

Haley Bennett

Austin Stowell

Elizabeth Marvel

David Rasche

Denis O’Hare

Luna Lauren Velez

Laith Nakli

Babak Tafti

Zabryna Guevara

Rating: 6.9/10

灰姑娘婚后的另一种结局。 女主以为男主爱她，所以嫁给他，所求是爱；男主以为女主无所依所以娶她，所求是一个稳定乖巧的妻子。但男主并不爱她，或者说，男主只爱她带给他生活状态；女主并不贪慕虚荣，男主带给她的生活品质只是她爱情的附属品。从一开始，这就是mismatch的一段关系，双方诉求的错位带来的矛盾在女主怀孕后，不可避免的集中爆发。而诉求是不应该被批判的。若说错，男主的错在于对女主诉求的误判，女主亦然。 从另一个角度，当人过高的估计了自己对物质生活的需求，而过低的估计了自己对自身价值肯定的需求时，会出现自我认知的mismatch。女主被自己一无所长这件事拽入泥潭，吞咽事件表现出了她对“我可以”这件事的执念，希望通过对自己身体机能的挑战达到对自我存在价值的肯定。OCD则是她自我价值缺失的外在体现。童年的经历为女主这两个mismatch提供了充分的理由，供养着她的焦虑感不断增长。希望在她脱离这段婚姻之后，能够重新定位自己和自己的需求，或许和生父的对话能够帮助她与自己和解。

另，这部电影大概是个心理学病理教材lol

平凡人嫁入豪門，對著奢華大宅獨自過著乏味的生活，嘗試突破舒適區每日嘗試一件新鮮事，她卻想到生吞危險物品。電影拋出高概念綽頭，女主角吞嚥的鏡頭拍出心驚膽戰的感覺，當中一鏡到底的吞嚥鏡頭配上背景小孩呢喃聲音，刻劃震撼的恐懼感，視聽語言精準擴張女主角面對陌生環境、全新身份的孤獨與壓抑感，試圖合理化女主角產生怪癖的理由。

實質上故事遊走於女性主義被踐踏與抬頭之間，長期處於失語狀態的女主角不僅無法踏入上流階層，亦因角色轉換而喪失原有的身份，疲勞奔波的丈夫下班後寧願滑動電話不願多聊幾句，對女主角提出種花的要求敷衍帶過，對於公公婆婆的認知接近為零，電影刻意留白男女主角的背景，意圖放大女主角的渾然不知狀態建構觀眾共情。

故事早半段視點落於女主角陷入身份認同與失語的焦慮及孤獨，確診患上異食症後丈夫一家人對女主角判若兩人的態度，亦正正凸顯他們得悉女主角出事後才亡羊補牢，其實更著緊她肚中的嬰兒，然而故事落到女主角嘗試掙扎，拆開女主角不為人知的秘密，背後引出的故事老套而無趣，而兩個部分無法形成有機融合。

《吞上癮》講述年輕貌美的杏特擁有令人羨慕的生活：住豪宅、坐名車、嫁靚仔富二代。本來婚後極速懷孕理應高興，杏特卻發生令人難以理解的變化，患上病態癖好：吞食各種危險物品，愈鋒利愈難吞就愈興奮愈上癮。即使家人發現後嚴格控管，杏特變本加厲陷入失控的慾望黑洞，逐步親手摧毀了美滿的生活，更迫使她吞上癮後，吐出不願面對的真相……

女主角長期被撇除於富裕家庭之外，片初四人同檯享用晚宴，男主角要求女主角敘說童年故事，說到一半突然被公公支開話題，及後三人儼然形成小圈子排開女主角，無法加入他們的對話，此處亦相當巧妙地分開女主角、男主角以及公公婆婆三組鏡頭，透過大量女主角的個人鏡頭加強壓抑感，呈現失語狀態，女主角被迫吞下冰塊表達不滿，宣洩主權，使他們重新把視點聚焦回自己身上，發現湊效後展開吞嚥之旅。

其中有一段情節相當有趣，男主角在家舉辦派對，男主角連同工作夥伴們在泳池邊閒談，以玻璃幕門架開了男主角及女主角的世界，男主角的同事進入室內空間，儼然闖進女主角的小天地，苛求一個擁抱，躊躇不前的女主角聽到他緩緩拋出一句「我很孤獨」，女主角決意擁抱他，彷彿兩顆孤獨的弱小心靈終於找到歸屬，暗示女主角的生世為後續留下伏筆。

***************以下有輕量劇透***************

確診異食症後，女主角突然獲得家人無微不至的照料，某程度導致女主角誤解要透過如斯方式才獲得關注，與此同時丈夫的掌控越來越激烈，甚至欲將她送去精神病院，陷入身份、階層矛盾的女主角嘗試掙扎逃離被掌控的魔掌，開展第二段故事，才發現導致女主角患病的原因，除了無法加入全新階層地位，呈現失語狀態，原生家庭的陰影亦扭曲女主角的性格。

其父母親顯然不想認領女主角，加入豪門後母親彷如放下了包袱，母親潛意識中認為女主角來到地球是場意外，而女主角的存在會勾起母親慘痛的回憶，最後女主角尋回親生父親進行自我救贖。利用父母的背景解讀女主角的行為動機無趣，站不住腳，早段只字未提父權問題，單憑女主角的行為動機，未能妥善連結彼此關係。

《吞上癮》憑藉豐富的視聽語言烘托出異樣的驚慄氣氛，抓緊觀眾的注意力，而事先張揚的吞嚥鏡頭恰到好處，沒有偏移故事的方向，女主角Haley Bennett成功演活角色的怪異，尤其是一鏡到底的吞嚥鏡頭幾個心境的切換自如順暢，但故事結局的處理較為潦草。

3星，还可以。就是并不恐怖，也不惊悚。相反画面干净，场景优美。女主角也很美，如果不是演孕妇有点胖，那就更美了。只有小部分镜头下会让人觉得有那么一点揪心。影片缺点是节奏比较慢，简单故事拖了时长，可能导演想多表达变态吞咽异物的原因。聚焦无聊富人病， 物质太过于丰富，生活失去目标，情感得不到满足，空虚寂寞，产生了寻求刺激与快感的心理。可怜的女人啊，太无聊了，吞个东西作作死。其实身边这种女人也挺多的，只不过大部分不会太过于疯狂。

也许只有能感同身受的人才能静心看完电影吧。能看到很多和自己相像的地方，原生家庭没有正常的爱，结婚后老公疏于关心，公婆漠不关心，他们在乎的只是肚子里的孙子，反复的刺激，终于导致了我的抑郁，女主是异食癖。女主只有通过吞咽这些尖锐的物体，感受到痛从而感受到活着的感觉，因为在别人眼中，她一点都不重要，但是她在她自己感受中，是真实存在的能感受到痛的，她并不是没有感情的动物。就像开场白那几只弱小的无助的白绵羊那样任人宰割。“高攀是要吞针的”。女主在周围人每次刺激她时，都会病情变得严重。刚开始从叙利亚来的保姆理解不了女主，觉得她只是矫情，到后来红着眼眶帮助女主逃走，可是女主的老公和公婆在女主不要去精神病院并在她出发的时候要求她交出结婚戒指和手表，也就是女主老公和公婆对于女主的关心和关切，连一个保姆都不如。她周围任何一个人如果与她的沟通能够带有爱，带有安慰善意和关心，她都会好转，可是一个都没有。在变得越来越严重的边缘，连她的妈妈都说地方不够，她不方便过来同住一段时间，她崩溃了。幸而最后她找到亲生父亲，亲口告诉她，她与他不同，她什么都没错，他没有因为她而感到羞耻，她终于被这次谈话救赎了，是的，她其实不难满足，然而身边的人都满足不了她如此小的需求。她终于看清一切，与她妈妈选择生下她不同，她选择堕胎，她想重新开始生活。最后她在厕所一个人忍受了自己选择所带来的疼痛之后，扎着清爽干净利落的头发，背着书包，对着镜子微笑，走去人群，开始她自己做主的生活。

其实应该是三星半吧。很多人会觉得女主矫情，但是精神疾病就是只要经历过、被压垮过的人才明白，我们是没有什么理由评价她是不是因为矫情才生病。

女主演技和颜值撑着整部片，节奏是真的慢，我也没有感受到足够的压抑和诡异气氛，但是真的很喜欢片的色调和音乐。

故事很明确，女主一个灰姑娘，没特长，嫁给富二代，却被婆家忽略，加上本身是母亲被强暴的产物，因此患上异食癖开始吃钉子吃金属吃泥土。

本质是她对自我的否定和自我失控。

我比较喜欢的是片子里“卫生间”的运用。 片子最后就是一段看似没有内容的女子卫生间，一群人来来往往，来了又走。

但是卫生间在片中其实出现了好几次，女子吞下异物后再卫生间拉出来再洗干净、女主在护工监督下也是藏在卫生间吃东西、女主从家里逃走也是借由卫生间、最后女主离开卫生间。

如果是女生应该会对“卫生间”这个点有共鸣，这是提供安全感和隐藏秘密的地方，这是“私人空间”。每个人都有卫生间的小秘密。