The horror comedy PEARL (2022) ends with probably the longest selfie in the history of cinematography. Welcoming her husband back from the war, the anti-heroine (Mia Goth) tries to put on a smile. Her grimace never stabilizes, it turns into a helpless grin, and continues into bad infinity. This is an ironic commentary on today’s obsession with social validation. In the mad race for likes, we feel the pressure to smile for an invisible audience.
But confirmation does not come: after the breakdown of traditional society, there is no father’s gaze that would praise Pearl. Instead of her father’s authority, she tries to satisfy an endless series of norms. What should a woman look like, how should she behave, what diet should she follow, how fast should she become a celebrity. It turns out that this concept is even more oppressive than traditional authority. Father’s gaze was sometimes too demanding, his prohibitions were painful. But it was still possible to find confirmation in his eyes. Now that the father has left the scene, we are faced with the impossible — to meet ALL the expectations of the world.
Betrayed by tradition and modernity, Pearl has no choice but to go insane. She goes on a murderous rampage, killing her conservative mother, disabled father, hypocritical lover and envious sister. At first it seems Pearl’s project is an attempt to fulfill her ambitions. But when she fails to win the dance contest, the dream of liberation turns sour. Pearl demonstrates she is still dependent on the expectations of others. She might have removed physical authority, but her desire still depends on society’s approval.
PEARL continues a long tradition of ‘murderous female’ narratives: CARRIE, FURY, MISERY, FATAL ATTRACTION. These films were feminist critiques with a visionary idea. They pointed to the threat that male society experiences from a ‘monstrous’ female. The woman was Medusa, whose gaze turns the man into stone. At the same time, the films hinted that the woman eludes the man’s understanding. She is like Cassandra, seeing beyond the world’s limited possibilities. This new woman could oppose male authority by forging new paths to the future.
At the turn of the century, we saw many feminist movies in which the woman takes over the man’s role. The plot unfolds as vengeance against patriarchy. PEARL, however, treats the subject differently. The idea is that her madness shows a way out of ideological paralysis. She presents an enigma that men cannot solve, and this challenges their power. But unlike traditional feminists, Pearl does not simply attack patriarchy. She fights for singularity: her own creative madness. The message might come in the form of horror-tinted irony. But the film’s hopeful heart shines through its cynicism. In a world where ideologies are exhausted, singularity is the only reasonable policy. Be a pearl, unique in the world.
