Back in March of this year, filmmaker Ti West (The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers) and A24 released X, a raunchy, gritty, and superb homage to ‘70s southern horror. What viewers didn’t know at the time (unless you stayed after the credits), was that West had already filmed a prequel to X, titled Pearl, that would focus on one of the main villainous characters, who was played by Mia Goth. Pearl opened up last week with a modest three million dollar weekend, and that was more than enough for A24 to announce a third film in Ti West’s new now-announced trilogy, titled MaXXXine.
Pearl follows the titular character of Pearl (Mia Goth) in 1918. The young, star-struck woman finds herself constantly shifting between her need for fame and notoriety, her glaring mental illness caused by a lifetime of traumatic events, and her obligation to her family’s farm; her father’s sickness, and her husband, who is serving in the military overseas. As Pearl routinely sneaks away to watch films in the local movie theater, she gets word that a talent agency is pulling women from small towns for a national dance routine. Pearl plans to audition and use her talents as a way out, as her very sanity relies on her acceptance.
Pearl is a widely different movie than X, both in style and tone, but it works as a perfect complimentary prequel. Where X was raw, unadulterated grime horror, Pearl was dainty, colorful, and whimsical, capturing a particular style seen in light-hearted TV shows and movies from the 1950-early ‘70s, reminiscent of I Love Lucy, Lassie, or The Little House on the Prairie. The dissonance of extremely heavy themes (let alone, brutal murders), along with a classic chipper tone, isn’t something I knew I needed until I watched the first two episodes of WandaVision when it was released. I’d been longing for it ever since. Ti West knocked one out of the park by using a similar blend of style, and his editing was masterful.
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This is Mia Goth’s movie through and through. Where in X, she was part of a solid ensemble cast, Pearl puts her in every single scene, and she shines throughout the entire film. There were full-length monologue moments where Goth grabbed the audience and dragged them down a shadowy staircase of insight into her character’s traumas and mental illness. Her performance is so phenomenal, that you feel sorry for her, regardless of her unhinged actions and moments of lashing out. It wouldn’t surprise me to see that Goth wrote all of her character’s parts because the dialogue is deep and personal.
If the Academy Awards regularly took into consideration of acting performances in horror movies, Goth’s portrayal of Pearl would sit right near the top. There were a few other members of the cast, and all of them were great, including Tandi Wright, who played Pearl’s mother. However, everyone else in the movie was simply there to cast a spotlight on Mia Goth, which is very much the entire point of the story and movie.
It’s usually not fair to compare movies so much, but it’s important to distinguish that while Pearl and X are part of the same trilogy, they couldn’t be more different. Though the themes of both films are dark and murderous, X was “one g*ddamn f*cked up horror picture,” while Pearl held a level of silliness that matched its tone. From scene to scene, I found myself giggling at the absurdity of the style, while simultaneously reminding myself that things are incredibly messed up.
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There’s a kind of uncomfortable feeling when putting a mask of silliness over such a dark story, and as that was intended, it can be compared to the smiles that come from the faces of the deeply depressed and sad. Even the accompanying scores couldn’t have been more different. Where X had groovy, move-along beats, Pearl’s music was a classic-feeling orchestral piece that swelled with what was on screen. The score was incredibly curated by composers Tyler Bates and Tim Williams.
For those going into Pearl expecting the same level of gore and grime as X, you may be a bit disappointed. While Pearl does have some extremely gory and shocking moments, they’re done a little more artistically, a little more toned-down, and much more story-oriented. Pearl focuses on the storytelling mechanics of the overall trilogy and has a lot more dialogue than I expected. This was a good thing for me, though, as it was a brilliant change-up from its predecessor.
As a set of movies, I liked X and Pearl almost equally. Individually, I liked Pearl even more. It took a lot of chances with style and expectations, and they worked out perfectly. They make for a fantastic double feature, and if Ti West pulls off MaXXXine in the way I think he will, he very well could make one of the all-time greatest horror trilogies ever. Pearl is now playing in theaters everywhere, and I totally recommend the watch.
