One of the largest film projects of 2016 is a painting by the Dutch director Martin Kulhoven, which shows how women are forced to fight for their rights under the strict laws of the Wild West. The European film cost its creators € 12,000,000 and represented its state at the Venice Film Festival. The thriller attracted public attention, largely thanks to the first-magnitude Hollywood stars involved in the production. Critics of the film “Underworld” recall the author’s interpretation of the atmosphere of the Wild West as a definite advantage of the film “Underworld”. The era does not appear to be romantic, but a truly terrifying, nightmare time period of widespread endless mockery of women.
Structure
The duration of the project is 148 minutes - almost two and a half hours. According to filmmakers in the reviews, the film "Underworld" can be conditionally divided into two equal parts. The first should be referred to as "continuous bloody violence," mostly male, and the second, "heightened expectation of violence." Epic timing was used by the director to turn the picture into a compendium of indescribably brutal, sophisticated bullying, and sometimes perverse abuse. Therefore, the MPAA-R rating is justified more than ever. But the score according to IMDb: 7.10 is quite high, which allows us to say that the film “Underworld” (the reviews of movie experts confirm this) has a certain artistic value. Of the mass of similar film projects, the brainchild of Kulhoven is distinguished by an explicit feminist message and religious overtones.
Short description of the movie plot
The plot of the film "Underworld" reviews of critics are positioned as an intriguing, albeit cruel narrative.
The main character Liz (Dakota Fanning), despite the dumbness, took place as a mother and wife, lives in a beautiful mansion with her husband and children. Her well-being collapses when a new shepherd arrives in their settlement (Guy Pearce), causing unaccountable horror for the heroine. Once at one of the parishioners, simply during the church service, labor begins, Liz has to take birth. A newborn is dying. The girl accuses the minister of the church of the curse, and he in response, claims that this is her sin.
The intrigue about who is obsessed with evil - the reverend or Liz, is not deliberately kept by the authors for long. Along with this, it becomes clear that there is no mystical background in the thriller. The root cause of evil is the nature of man, no matter how you try to disguise its impulses with religious concepts and explanations of biblical quotes. In fact, the title of the picture “The Underworld” is nothing more than a brothel, in which the heroine was before the marriage.
Advantages of the tape
The advantages of the film “Underworld” include cinema connoisseurs' reviews that look deliberately religious, there were no hellfire, sections of the picture were even named thematically: Genesis, Revelation, Retribution, and Exodus, but their order is inconsistent. Here are lining up associations with the "Abominable Eight." Tarantino's tape has a similar entourage of a hard cold western and charades with a plot chronology.
Also, the red line in the reviews of the film "Underworld" is the significance of the dumbness of the characters, who played the most important plot role, having a symbolic load. In the barbaric world of men, a woman is doomed to silence as long as she endures violence. And only the assertion of their rights, consolidating the generation, will be able to give voice to the weaker sex.
main character
Beauty Dakota Fanning (Dreamer, I Am Sam, Anger) managed not to turn her character into a victim. Liz, observing the whole life of the consequences of disobedience, does not cease to take risks and make not always sinless, but effective decisions. This character is interesting. This character trait does not allow Liz to hope for miraculous salvation, but encourages her to resist evil on her own, despite all the torment that befell her throughout her life.
In addition, a significant part of the picture, the actress had to communicate in sign language, so all the attention of the beholder is focused on her facial expressions. Therefore, the audience’s reviews of the film “Underworld” mark the performer’s brilliant skill. Only through the expression of her eyes does the actress convey the entire spectrum of her character’s emotions. They recognize a chilling fear and a dumb cry from the irreparableness of what is happening. It is surprising that there are no tears, which says that their supply was exhausted during the long-suffering youth and childhood.
Antagonist
The second most important person in Kulhoven’s work is the pastor, who decided that in the name of God he can cover all his actions and motives. The character of Guy Pearce (“Iron Man 3”, “The King Says!”, “Remember”), of course, personifies the true evil. The preacher himself admits that he is doomed to eternal torment in fiery hell. By religion, he justifies his base deeds, the most serious sins, which resembles another false prophet played by R. Mitch in The Night of the Hunter. The actions of both characters seem to be a source of powerful fear built on the psychological method of changing roles: from individuals from whom support, guardianship and care are expected, they are transformed into immoral murderers.
Verdict
The film “Underworld” is a very exciting thriller, sometimes almost a horror movie with an incredibly powerful charismatic acting ensemble, a talented lined with grim visualization, a verified plot, hints of mysticism and a desire to explore the wrong side of religious fanaticism.