Directed by Christopher B. Landon and written by Scott Lobdell, Happy Death Day is the story of a college student who is killed on her birthday as she finds herself reliving that day just to found who killed her. The film is a horror comedy that forces a young woman to figure out who killed her and why as it play into all sorts of hijinks that also include ideas of time loops and satire on slasher films. Starring Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, and Ruby Modine. Happy Death Day is an exhilarating and captivating film from Christopher B. Landon.
A college student wakes up at a student’s dorm room as she spends her birthday dealing with meetings involving her sorority, ditching a lunch with her dad, ignoring other people, trying to get ready for a party, and then gets killed by someone wearing a mask only to find herself in a time loop where she relives that day all over again. It’s a film that has an offbeat premise that definitely owes its idea to the 1993 Harold Ramis film Groundhog Day which the film does reference as it play into a young woman dealing with the fact that it’s her birthday which she’s reluctant to celebrate as she realizes she’s in a time loop as she tries to find the killer only to get killed over and over again.
Scott Lobdell’s screenplay explores the day that Theresa “Tree” Gelbman is reliving over and over again as she tries to find her killer but also try to understand the killer’s motive as well as herself where she’s trying to avoid the fact that her mother had died and they shared the same birthday. At the same time, she tries to find ways to avoid being killed only to be outsmarted by the killer as she seeks advice from fellow student Carter Davis (Israel Broussard) whose room she keeps waking up at who would help her.
Christopher B. Landon’s direction definitely bears an element of style in its approach to repetition as well as recreating scenes that play into Tree’s birthday from waking up in Carter’s room to the moment she is killed. Shot on location in and around Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana where the film is set, Landon mainly emphasizes on medium shots and close-ups to play into the interaction between characters and where they are at. Even as Landon would recreate the same opening sequence of Tree returning to her sorority and having the same conversations with one of the sisters and go on with her day that includes a tryst with one of her professors in Gregory Butler (Charles Aitken). Yet, she would meet these individuals over again and see things in a different light where Landon’s direction does play into the repetitions of the day along with revelations of those that she thought she knew.
Landon would use a few wide shots to get a look at the locations as well as in a few shots that play into the sense of repetition. Even as the second act would break from the routines where Tree is determined to find the killer as there is a montage where she would do things differently only to have things not go her way. Landon would use some slanted camera angles for a few chase scenes as well as some dark humor into moments that play into Tree being killed where she knows she’s fucked and accepts it. The third act is about Tree dealing with who she is where the direction does mixes humor, drama, and suspense as it would play into her attempts to break the time loop and unveil her killer. Overall, Landon crafts an engaging and riveting film about a college student reliving the day she is killed by a mysterious killer.
Cinematographer Toby Oliver does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it does have bits of style in some of the visuals set at night including in the interiors that include a night where Tree is about to make out with a guy in his room. Editor Gregory Plotkin does terrific work with the editing as it has some style in some of the film’s montages as well as rhythmic cuts to play into the repetition and how the opening scene is recreated through different cutting styles. Production designer Cece Destefano, with set decorator Gretchen Gattuso and art director Michelle C. Harmon, does fantastic work with the look of Carter’s dorm room as well as the room that Tree lives in with her sorority and some of the places she goes to. Costume designer Meagan McLaughlin does nice work with the costumes from the dress that Tree wears the first time she gets killed to the more casual look including a t-shirt of Carter’s that she wears every time she wakes up.
Visual effects supervisor Grant Miller does brilliant work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects as it relates to some of the big set pieces involving Tree’s numerous deaths. Sound designer Trevor Gates does superb work with the sound in the way certain sounds appear in the film’s opening sequence and heard again as well as the atmosphere of some of the film’s locations. The film’s music by Bear McCreary is wonderful for its usage of orchestral music mixed in with some electronic music to play into some of the humor and suspense while music supervisor Andrea von Foerster provides a fun soundtrack of music ranging from folk, indie, electronic dance music, pop, and hip-hop to play into the atmosphere of college.
The casting by Terri Taylor is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Tran Tran as a sorority sister that Tree first meets on the day she’s killed, Cariella Smith as a sorority sister who just wants to eat breakfast, Phi Vu as Carter’s dim-witted roommate, Jason Bayle as Tree’s father, Dane Rhodes as a police officer at the hospital, Laura Clifton as Butler’s wife Stephanie, Caleb Spillyards as a fling of Tree’s, and Rob Mello as the suspected serial killer John Tombs. Charles Aitken is superb as the professor Gregory Butler who is having a fling with Tree that isn’t going anywhere while Rachel Matthews is fantastic as sorority head Danielle Bouseman who forces her sisters to look a certain away and avoid eating fatty foods and carbs.
Ruby Modine is excellent as Tree’s roommate Lori Spengler as a med student who is concerned about Tree’s behavior as she also tried to be good to her despite the issues they have. Israel Broussard is brilliant as Carter as college student who helps Tree in trying to find out who killed her as well as provide theories where he proves to be competent ally. Finally, there’s Jessica Rothe in an amazing performance as Theresa “Tree” Gelbman as a college student who has become indifferent about her birthday in favor of being popular where she finds herself in a time loop in getting killed over and over again as it’s a charismatic and witty performance that play with the tropes of typical horror characters with Rothe also giving the character a chance to show some redeeming qualities.
Happy Death Day is an incredible film from Christopher B. Landon. Featuring a great ensemble cast, a playful music soundtrack, and a witty premise that engages the audience into the suspense and humor. It’s a film that isn’t afraid to play with the conventions of horror while also not being afraid in acknowledging its influences towards its premise. In the end, Happy Death Day is a remarkable film from Christopher B. Landon.
Christopher B. Landon Films: (Burning Palms) – (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones) – Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse - (Happy Death Day 2U)
© thevoid99 2018
Based on the Vanity Fair article The Suspects Wore Louboutins by Nancy Jo Sale, The Bling Ring is about the true story of a group of young teenagers from Los Angeles whose obsessions with celebrity culture has them robbing the homes of various celebrities that include Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson, and many others. Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, the film is look into the world of celebrity culture from the perspective of young teens eager to part of that world where their crimes eventually go out of control as they become disconnected with reality. Starring Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Claire Julien, Gavin Rossdale, Stacy Edwards, and Leslie Mann. The Bling Ring is a fabulous yet entrancing film from Sofia Coppola.
The film is a fictional account to the real-life Bling Ring robberies where a group of teenagers robbed the homes of celebrities when those celebs aren’t at the house. For these five kids, their fascination with celebrity culture and the fact that it was easy to steal from their idols gives them the chance to feel like they’re part of that world of excess. Eventually, things do get out of control where paranoia and mistrust starts to come in where they’re eventually caught and face a world of trouble. It all plays to the fact that these kids want to be in that world of celebrity and wear the finest fashion designer clothes and be the envy of their peers. Yet, they become disconnected with the reality of their crimes as once they face the consequences. There are those who are more concerned with the fact that they’re about to become infamous while wondering about the people they stole from as well as their thoughts on the thefts.
Sofia Coppola’s screenplay is mostly told in a straightforward narrative where it mesh genres from drama, comedy, and suspense yet it does play with some of its conventions as it features bits of voice-over narration and interviews with two of its characters in Marc (Israel Broussard) and Nicki (Emma Watson). The story is largely told from Marc’s perspective where he meets a girl named Rebecca (Katie Chang) as they become friends due to their love for celebrities and fashion as they decide to sneak into the home of Paris Hilton as there are some serious revelations about the world that celebrities live in as well as what goes on in Los Angeles where people don’t lock their cars and leave their belongings there. Once Rebecca’s friend Chloe (Claire Julien), Nicki, and Nicki’s adopted sister Sam (Taissa Farmiga) join in the thefts, things eventually get crazy and all five of these kids are having the time of their lives.
Coppola isn’t interested in judging these kids but is aware that what they’re doing is wrong. Especially as they live in a carefree environment where they go to house parties and clubs where there’s no adult supervision while driving cars and wearing the best clothes of the day. While it definitely will seem to be very alienating to those that don’t live in the suburban posh areas of Los Angeles. There is still something about these kids that are intriguing as they want to be part of something that can make them cool and have other kids be envious of them. At the same time, they want to be people like Paris Hilton, Audrina Partridge, Lindsay Lohan, and all of these celebrities as to live the carefree yet excessive life they have while wearing their clothes, sporting their jewels, and doing the kind of things as if they were them. It’s all part of living the fantasy that these kids want to do no matter how immoral it is. Notably as Nicki’s mother (Leslie Mann) is someone who is also fascinated by the world of celebrity but is clueless to what her daughter is doing.
Coppola’s script has a structure where the first half is about the joy of stealing and being part of that world of celebrity where these kids will post pictures of the stuff they stole on Facebook and party at clubs. The script’s second half is actually much darker once the reality of their crimes is getting the attention of the public and the need to steal more becomes more frightening as they become oblivious to the fact that they’re being filmed by security cameras. The third act isn’t just about the group of kids being caught but also the infamy they’ve gained where Nicki and Marc are interviewed as it shows a contrast of what these kids are feeling over the troubles they’ve caused.
Coppola’s direction is very stylized for the fact that she goes for something that is a mixture of home movies with something that is grand and cinematic. Particularly as Coppola opens the film with the gang stealing objects from the home of a celebrity and then cuts to Marc’s interview with a Vanity Fair reporter (Anne Fitzgerald). While a lot of the visual compositions are straightforward in terms of close-ups and wide shots, there is an energy to Coppola’s compositions that is still enthralling from the moments in the club where the kids see Paris Hilton and longtime Coppola cohort Kirsten Dunst. Even in the club scenes where these kids are dancing as if they’re part of the in-crowd though not fully part of that exclusive club.
There’s also some very exquisite moments in the film where Coppola showcases the thefts that these kids are doing that includes this amazing wide shot of one celebrity’s house where it moves very slow with its zoom lens to see these kids coming and coming out to steal stuff from that person’s house all in one take. It’s among these moments in the film that shows Coppola taking some risks in her direction including scenes where things do play into an element of darkness in the second half with security footage and TV clips to showcase the chaos of the Bling Ring thefts. Particularly as there’s that sense of ambiguity where Coppola does shoot the film in the actual home of Paris Hilton that is quite surreal in some ways to think that they’re actually in Paris Hilton’s home.
While it’s a film that has no sense of defining genre where Coppola can use comedy and drama for elements of the film. She also employs some suspense in the third act where there is that element of paranoia that occurs about the idea that these kids could be caught. Notably as there’s that feeling that these kids should stop but that doesn’t happen where there is that troubling aftermath about the crimes they face. Coppola could’ve ended the film with some exposition about what happens to them but she doesn’t do that by just revealing what needs to be shown and said. Yet, it is followed by the two different paths of two of the members of the gang that showcases an uneasy ending that plays to the what these kids want no matter how shallow or how unrealistic it is. Overall, Coppola creates a wild yet fascinating film about a group of kids’ desire to be part of the world of celebrity culture.
Cinematographers Harris Savides and Christopher Blauvet do amazing work with the film‘s very colorful yet evocative cinematography to play out some of the beauty of the locations in Los Angeles in day and night as well as the more use of stylish lights for the scenes at the houses and clubs at night. The photography include some truly gorgeous work that is typical of Savides in his final contribution to cinema as the film is dedicated to his memory as his work with Blauvet‘s contributions is a technical highlight of the film. Editor Sarah Flack does fantastic work with the editing to bring in a flair of style in the cutting from montages to some dazzling rhythmic cuts to play out the craziness of the thefts as well as using TV clips to establish the awareness of the thefts.
Production designer Anne Ross, with set decorator Sara Parks and art director Kevin Bird, does brilliant work with the set pieces from the look of the clubs and some of the homes of the celebrities to the design of the objects the kids steal. Costume designer Stacey Battat does wonderful work with the clothes the kids wear from sweats to designer clothing in their desire to be like their idols. Sound designer Richard Beggs and co-sound editor Michael Kirschberger do excellent work with the sound from the way sirens and helicopter sounds to create that air of suspense to the atmosphere of the film‘s party scenes.
The film’s music by Brian Reitzell and Daniel Lopatin is superb for its moody ambient score to play out some of the drama and suspense that occurs in the film. The film’s soundtrack that is supervised by Reitzell features an array of artists ranging from hip-hop and R&B to indie as it features pieces from Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Rick Ross with Lil’ Wayne, 2 Chainz, Phoenix, Sleigh Bells, and Can to play out the sense of excitement and terror in the film.
The casting by Nicole Daniels and Courtney Sheinin is spectacular as it features cameo appearances from Paris Hilton and Kirsten Dunst as well as small appearances from Stacy Edwards and Marc Coppola as Marc’s parents, Carlos Miranda as Chloe’s friend Rob, Gavin Rossdale as the club owner/black market dealer Ricky, Annie Fitzgerald as the Vanity Fair reporter, Georgia Brown as Nicki’s younger sister Emily who takes part in one of the thefts, and Leslie Mann as Nicki and Emily’s mom who is very funny for her fascination with The Secret and how she tries to raise her daughters and Sam by living in that world.
Claire Julien is terrific as Chloe as the girl who helps everyone out in the thefts while being the one to introduce the girls to Ricky so they can sell stuff to him and make a profit. Taissa Farmiga is wonderful as Sam as Nicki’s adopted sister who shares the gang’s fascination for clothes, shoes, and jewelry while being very comical in a scene involving a gun. Katie Chang is excellent as the gang’s ringleader Rebecca as she is the one who always leads in the thefts while becoming more obsessed with stealing more as she also brings some wit to her performance. Israel Broussard is superb as Marc as the lone boy in the group who finds the homes of the celebrities while becoming more troubled later on as things get out of control. Finally, there’s Emma Watson in a remarkable performance as Nicki where Watson brings this air of shallowness and grand delusion to a character who is full of herself and is not afraid to be dangerous while is yearning to be famous one way or another.
The Bling Ring is a phenomenal and entertaining film from Sofia Coppola. Thanks to a great ensemble cast along with a vibrant look courtesy of the late Harris Savides as well as a fun film soundtrack. The film is definitely Coppola’s most accessible film since The Virgin Suicides in terms of the way kids are portrayed. It’s also a film that plays into a wild world that has no rules despite the fact that these kids are committing terrible crimes with no sense of remorse or morality. In the end, The Bling Ring is a sensational film from Sofia Coppola.
Sofia Coppola Films: Lick the Star - The Virgin Suicides - Lost in Translation - Marie Antoinette - Somewhere - A Very Murray Christmas - The Beguiled - On the Rocks - Priscilla (2023 film)
Sofia Coppola Soundtracks: Air-The Virgin Suicides OST - The Virgin Suicides OST - Lost in Translation OST - Marie Antoinette OST - (The Bling Ring OST) - (Priscilla OST)
Related: The Ads & Videos 1993-2008 - The Auteurs #1: Sofia Coppola - Favorite Films #1: Lost in Translation - Favorite Films #4: Somewhere
© thevoid99 2013
