HAIL SATAN? (A) - Filmmaker Penny Lane hits her stride and nails every angle of this profile of the satanism movement. She has fun trolling along with the provocateurs who take on free speech restrictions and separation of church and state.
Leaders such as Lucien Greaves and Jex Blackmore (and others with entertaining pseudonyms) are engaging company, and Lane ("Our Nixon," "Nuts!") comes into her own as a storyteller -- no fluff, no distractions, no cheap tricks. Just 95 minutes toying with hypocrisy and culture clashes. Some moments are very funny, and she even scores points documenting the inner conflict of the Satanic Temple. This is what documentaries are for.
***
BONUS TRACK: "HER SMELL"
Holy Crap! Damsel in Distress! Life is Short!
(Pick your category)
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hang out backstage with Courtney Love and Hole or watch her melt down in a creative crater during a studio recording session? Yeah, me neither. We squirmed through the first hour of the 8 o'clock showing of "Her Smell" at the Guild Cinema and finally walked out.
Alex Ross Perry, who showed so much promise with his early films "The Color Wheel" and "Listen Up Philip," continues his slide into self-indulgence. He staggered with "Queen of Earth" in 2015, and he returns here with Elisabeth Moss again, over-indulging a great actor and weighing her down with ponderous, awkward dialogue, some kind of mix of Shakespeare and Mamet.
Perry concocts long scenes involving an intoxicated Becky Something (Moss) abusing the people around her (including a baby daughter) and romping with spiritual gurus. The other actors seem confused by what's expected of them. Agyness Deyn, as the perfectly cast tall androgynous bass player, seems particularly stripped of her dignity. A cacophonous soundtrack of noise-jazz distracts much of the time. (Was that supposed to represent the noises in Becky's head? Who knows/cares.) Eric Stoltz and Virginia Madsen look depressingly old.
Stilted expository dialogue is borderline laughable. At times this recalls Gilda Radner's famous Patti Smith goof, only dead serious and dragging on for more than two hours. Perry smugly chooses obscure pop-punk tunes for the soundtrack.
We were so offended that we immediately placed Perry on a watch list and took his previous film, "Golden Exits," out of our queue. That one raised a lot of red flags, and now we see why. At this point, misusing (and embarrassing) Moss is a sin.
Title: HER SMELL
Running Time: 134 min
Elapsed Time at Plug Pull: 60 min
Portion Watched: 45%
My Age at Time of Viewing: 56 YRS, 5 MO.
Average Male American Lifespan: 78.69 YRS.
Watched/Did Instead: Went home and went to sleep
Odds of Re-viewing This Title: 300-1 (and that would be the second half, out of morbid curiosity)
BONUS BONUS TRACK
Becky and the gals cover this pop nugget at the beginning of "Her Smell," getting our hopes up way too much at the outset. It's the Only Ones' "Another Girl, Another Planet":
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