Sucker Punch - escape from reality
What does that tell you? Not that the movie is bad, because I cannot see Zack Snyder doing a bad movie, but that people have a difficult time grasping metaphors. Because the movie is filled with them. You need to watch it carefully to understand Snyder's magic. He handpicked each actor, carefully painted every scene and put together excellent classic song remixes for us to have a truly amazing experience.
And many of us did have an amazing experience. The rest just bitched about how women were so badly depicted in that movie and that is a kitsch and so on. Fact is we are in the era of fast forward and multi-tasking. People often do not take their time to really watch a movie from beginning till end without checking their phones or doing God knows what. But it is a true shame when critics are doing just that.
The movie is really a sucker punch. You believe it is the story of Babydoll, the young girl who is institutionalized by her abusive stepfather after he murdered her mother and then went after her and her sister. You believe that she wants to escape the harsh reality of accidentally killing her beloved sister when fighting off her stepfather and that is why she imagines the asylum as a brothel. Maybe she imagines all those fights to make her life easier.
But the fact is each scene in the movie has clues, it gives you hints of what it is to come. It is not the story of Babydoll. It is not about her life and as the director let's us know from the beginning:
'Everyone has an Angel. A guardian who watches over us. We can't know what form they'll take. One day, old man. Next day, little girl. But don't let appearances fool you.'
It is a movie made with care. Each girl's appearance matches her character. Babydoll is fragile but protective, Amber is the intelligent one, Blondie, who is never blonde is the overly emotional who cracks under pressure, Sweet Pea is the strong and protective and Rocket is her impulsive baby sister with a huge heart. Their weapon's choice reflects their strengths. Their guardians are perfectly played by Carla Gugino who is Polish psychiatrist/ Madame Gorsky and Oscar Isaac who plays Blue Jones, the man who runs the asylum. He is the right mix of weird and intense to play it right and she is a perfect dominatrix choice.
The soundtrack is one of a kind. Emily Browning performing Eurythmics 'Sweet dreams' and Emiliana Torrini's 'White rabbit' are addictive. Bjork's 'Army of me' and 'I want it all' cover can raise you from the dead.
All in all is a film to remember and a strong visual experience. Like all Zack Snyder movies.
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