Narratives.
While my colleague proposes that Sucker Punch is ambitious, I wish to dissent and propose an alternative. When I first joined TRR last November, I mentioned that I was a, well…sucker…for a good story. The compelling narratives of Sucker Punch make it an interesting movie to watch. Be careful of your mindset – if the Gentle Cinema Fan is expecting a straightforward film, one should be warned that this movie is abstract in many ways…
Director Zach Snyder seems to have learned a couple lessons from 300 and Watchmen. 300 included frequent changes in tempo, from fast to slow. This was a source of criticism and utter annoyance from average moviegoers. Watchmen spent plenty of time focusing on the back story of almost every character in one capacity or another. The end result of that was a movie that came off as boring to the average audience (Watchmen fans notwithstanding).
Snyder seems to have learned his lessons. There are still tempo changes in Sucker Punch, but they serve a purpose – enticement to the scenes they are in. Character development has also been turned down – the film freely admits that not every character has a story that needs to be known. Some people get dedicated time, others don’t. This certainly does not mean that the characters are unimportant to the story – pretty much all characters reveal their relevance in one manner or another. It’s as though 300 and Watchmen were dialed down and then combined with a different story. The fact that Snyder has improved on this is worth telling – at least in this critic’s opinion.
Also following the abstract narrative is the naming scheme; Baby Doll (Emily Browning), Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blue Jones (Oscar Isaac) and The Wiseman (Scott Glenn) are a tip of the iceberg here. The use of abstract names is likely intended to distract from reality – a harsh mistress in this film – and instead relies on what is needed to survive. While perception may not in fact be reality, perception helps tell this story better.
There are, in effect, six stories in Sucker Punch. There’s reality, which is quickly thrown out the window and only briefly returned to. There is the perception of Baby Doll – an insane asylum as a burlesque/brothel – clearly she sees the objectification of women in the asylum as an exploitive mechanism that only serves to belittle the people it was meant to help.
The remaining four stories exist when Baby Doll dances. The audience is immediately removed from sub-reality to an imaginary location with a quickly established narrative placed by Wiseman. Glenn is used sparingly, but the character grows on you quickly.
Don’t misunderstand – Sucker Punch is a film that one should enjoy for the ride it gives. Snyder is not shooting for awards for acting; Snyder is taking advantage of his unique ability to tell stories, and telling it in moderate tones, allowing mainstream audiences to enjoy it.
Yes, there are women who are somewhat scantily-clad, but these aren’t dainty women. The women of Sucker Punch are strong, motivated, and all of them have an impact on the other characters. These aren’t sex-pots, these are femme fatales! All serve a purpose. Yes, there is some fan service, but nothing I would call graphic.
If the kiddies are coming along (and they shouldn’t if solo), then the parents should be around to give some context, here. The storylines are sophisticated, and the young ones of us are not likely to understand that, when completely overwhelmed by reality, we escape into ourselves. This is my long-winded way of saying that parents should definitely be around if they give permission for their kids to watch Sucker Punch.
If you enter this film with the mindset that five women are going to kick some butt, but that it’ll take about 20 minutes to get to the point, then I’m confident that Gentle Cinema Fans will reap the optimum joy out of Zach Snyder’s latest hit.
FINAL GRADE: B-
TRR Movie Revue by Geoffrey Beebe
