PEARL – AN ORIGIN FILM AS IT SHOULD BE

Bruno Ricardo de Souza Dias
EEdition: Marco Aurélio Lucchetti

Already considered a success cult, the movie Pearl, produced, written and directed by American Ti West, is the prequel to X – The Mark of Death (2022), which pays homage to and references the classics of Slasher, a subgenre of horror.

Original (American) poster of X – The Mark of Death.
In many respects, X – The Mark of Death It operates within the same universe as the franchise. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which began with the iconic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), directed by Tobe Hooper (1943-2017).

(Open a parenthesis).
You slashers These are low-budget films that are generally characterized by featuring a psychopathic killer who attacks and kills without any apparent reason..
As an example of slasher, In addition to what has already been mentioned, I can cite... The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween – The Night of Terror (Halloween, (1978), in which the villain Michael Myers appeared. And, in this film directed by John Carpenter, we have one of the best examples of a character characteristic of... Slashera final girl, That is, she is the only girl who, at the end of the film, manages to survive the killer's attacks.

Jamie Lee Curtis, playing Laurie, the final girl of Halloween – The Night of Terror.

Close the parenthesis.
Pearl e X – The Mark of Death They are part of a trilogy, the so-called X Trilogy, completed in 2024, with the launch of MaXXXine (idem).
Produced and distributed by A24, a company that has been standing out for giving filmmakers a certain amount of freedom, the X Trilogy It caught the attention of the public and critics..
The world premiere of Pearl It occurred on September 3, 2022, during the 79th edition of Venice International Film Festival. In the United States, the premiere took place on September 16 of the same year.

On the catwalk of International Film Festival Venice 2022, Mia Goth, the star of Pearl, poses for the photographers.

Original (American) poster of MaXXXine.

In Pearl, We can understand, or at least get to know, how all the insanity shown in X – The Mark of Death originated.
The lead actress in both films, Mia Goth, is also the star of MaXXXine.
In all three films, Mia demonstrates her full talent as an actress.

Mia Goth, playing Pearl.

A curious fact about Mia Goth: she is the granddaughter of the Brazilian actress Maria Gladys (Maria Gladys Mello da Silva), known for her work in film.Pretty, but vulgar. (1963), by JP Carvalho; The Rifles (1994), by Ruy Guerra; All the Women in the World (1966), by Domingos de Oliveira; No way, Spider! (1970), by Rogério Sganzerla; Bar Esperança (1983), by Hugo Carvana], in soap operas and television series.

Maria Gladys, portraying the character Lucimar da Silva, in the telenovela. Anything Goes (1988), one of Rede Globo's biggest hits.

The story told in Pearl It takes place during the year 1918, when a family of German origin lives on a farm in the interior of the United States.

The bucolic setting where much of the action takes place. Pearl.

Due to their origins and because we were in the midst of the First World War (1914-1918), this family suffered prejudice from their neighbors..
The matriarch of the family is Ruth (played by Tandi Wright), a conservative, religious, harsh, uncompromising, authoritarian, and controlling woman. Her husband is confined to a wheelchair, in a near-vegetative state. The couple's only daughter, young Pearl (Mia Goth), suffers from being separated from her husband, who went to fight in Europe on the front lines and hasn't sent news for some time.

Pearl, her father, and Ruth, gathered around the dinner table.

To make matters worse, along with the uncertainty of the war, the Spanish flu pandemic is raging in the United States and other parts of the world, bringing concern to everyone on the farm and in the nearby small town..
Director Ti West emphasizes the scenes where the characters are wearing their masks, so as not to let us forget the personal terror we have experienced in recent years with the Covid-19 pandemic..
We quickly realize that Pearl is an unconventional girl, as she has obsessions related to animal deaths, blood, and sex. Furthermore, she has great difficulty relating to her mother and treats her bedridden father with, to say the least, morbid curiosity. The family's lack of money is a serious problem that intensifies these erratic relationships. In order to escape an ordinary and suffering life, Pearl, passionate about arts such as dance and cinema (at the time, what is considered the Seventh Art was already attracting attention), dreams of becoming a star at any cost. Then, she learns, through her sister-in-law, that a dance competition will tour the entire state. One of the auditions will take place in the town's church. However, between visits to the town's cinema and the frustrated attempt to be chosen as a dancer, she will discover in the worst possible way that things are not always as we wish, including in relation to love and sex.

Pearl, ready to get to work on her farm.
VDressed in her usual overalls, she looks like a little girl.

Standing in front of the town's movie theater, Pearl, wearing a protective mask, observes the poster for the film currently showing.

Origin story films come with a great deal of responsibility. The expectations they generate are inevitable, as we are aware of what has been done before. And, when it comes to villains, there's always the fear of over-justifying their future actions by giving them an overly turbulent past. However, Ti West handled this aspect very well..
The protagonist of Pearl, which in X – The Mark of Death She is an elderly woman nearing the end of her life, living with her elderly husband in a hidden and mysterious way, with almost no prospects and only longing for a past that will never return. Here, she is presented with many details that help us interpret not only the character's actions, but also understand her city and especially the surroundings of the farm, with its gloomy lake where a hungry crocodile lives.

Pearl is feeding the crocodile in the lake with a goose she has just killed.

Mia Goth, transformed into the elderly Pearl of X – The Mark of Death.

In Pearl, Ti West lays bare important facts that helped shape the terror of this world he created. However, the main highlight that helps him materialize all the carnage is Mia Goth's visceral performance..
Mia, who was also the co-writer of Pearl, She shines from the very first minutes of the film. Her character shocks us, making us understand that the best she can offer is her psychopathy, which both captivates and terrifies, right up to the final credits. This is a macabre, morbid, but incredibly realistic realization within that context. sui generis. And, if we don't go so far as to exonerate her, which would be a total exaggeration, we realize that small everyday events, whether we wanted to or not, triggered all her worst delusional impulses and her predilection for death. We can even ask: could a less unfavorable fate for her dreams have, at least, minimized her terribly diabolical life? However, there are no definitive answers to such a question.

From beginning to end of Pearl, Mia Goth presents the audience with an intense performance.
AAt the end of the film, we are left frustrated that we no longer have access to the life of the frustrated and bloodthirsty character played by Mia.

There is no way to get through Pearl, unimpressed by Mia Goth.
In X – The Mark of Death, Mia was already perfect, playing Maxine, a young porn actress, and also the older Pearl. But what happens in Pearl It's striking. It's a total commitment to a very difficult character, with certain complexities. Her performance in the film will leave her marked as a new star in the world of horror.

Mia Goth, portraying Maxine, in X – The Mark of Death.

After being the star of Pearl, Mia Goth also gave exceptional performances in two other horror films: Infinity Pool (Infinity Pool, 2023), directed by Brandon Cronenberg; and the aforementioned MaXXXine, the sequence of X – The Mark of Death.

Mia Goth, playing Gabi Bauer, the main female character in Infinity Pool.

Mia Goth, portraying porn star Maxine Minx, is the highlight of MaXXXine.

Mia Goth's incredible performance in Pearl This generated an interesting and heated debate on social media, due to her not even being nominated for the position. Oscar of Best Actress of the year.
Founded in May 1927 and with actor Douglas Fairbanks (1883-1939) as its first president, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Hollywood emerged to celebrate and award drama films. For this reason, even today, genre films are practically forgotten in the awards ceremony. Oscar. It is very rare for horror, comedy, or other films to be made this way. blockbusters to be considered in the main categories. But I believe that this conservatism of the Academy can, little by little, be overcome, thanks to pressure from fans and also due to social evolutions, which have already managed to bring about some changes over the years. The recent awards of Parasite (2019), a South Korean production that blends drama, dark humor, suspense, and tragedy, such as Best Film This is proof of that..
In conclusion: if Pearl had won something Oscar, It would undoubtedly have been very good for horror. But, regardless, Mia Goth managed to show that great performances belong to any genre.

Another photo of Mia Goth, in character as Pearl.

Pearl (idem, United States and Canada, 2022, 102')
Ddirection: Ti West
Rscript: Ti West & Mia Goth
Fphotography: Eliot Rockett
MAssembly: Ti West.
Mmusic: Tyler Bates & Tim Williams
Etissue: Mia Goth (Pearl), David Corenswet (projectionist), Tandi Wright (Ruth, Pearl's mother), Matthew Sunderland (Pearl's father), Emma Jenkins-Purro (Mitsy, Pearl's sister-in-law), Amelia Reid-Meredith (Pearl's mother-in-law), Alistair Sewell (Howard, Pearl's husband)