With concern to the film Lady vengeance I write that I am surprised. The
first 20 minutes felt like a foreign puzzle, which I truly enjoyed in
an uncomfortable squeamish way. As the movie continued I was drawn in by
the alliances she had made in prison more than the main character
herself. She was background it seemed... A pale companion for these
interesting people placed in her path. Her ways-to-means type of
allegiances felt more like a large story that we only caught cuts of.
I expected a slasher, and got exactly what it promised. Vengeance. But
not the normal well placed justice/revenge plot, there was more
emotionally (of course) than that. It brought me to tears at the point
where the mother saw her daughter hung. Most of the children weren't
tortured that we saw, for which I am grateful. For the implication was
more than torture could have done.
This movie left space for imagination, space for implied narrative and story telling either cut or written to question.
However I felt strongly on the subject that it was mediocre. Even with
tears in my eyes I could not bring myself to like or sympathize with the
main character, mainly because of those exact blanks left in story. The
families and girls were the only impacting part that I walked away
resonating with. Their grief in silence during the scene where cake is
served, was the end for me.
Lady vengeance was only important for her role in the jail to me. And I
feel disappointed in her that she let THEM down. Outside of that, I
couldn't connect.
Not having or losing a child might attribute to that.
But her friendships forged in the prison were intricate, the hardship of
the Thief living with the very man that she was waiting to kill, was
more emotionally jarring than she was. The elder lady labeled as a
problematic Alzheimer's spy was more interesting.
The gap between how she was in the prison and after left so many holes
that I felt like I was more so staring at some red eyelined Swiss cheese
than a great female role.
Heck, I was even more drawn in to the workmanship and effort on her gun than her personality.
What does that say of me? Probably that I'm a horrible viewer, with a lack of understanding for the true meaning of the movie.
But in this case...
I honestly think I'm perfectly ok with that.
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