Her Smell (Alex Ross Perry; 2018): USA

Film Review by: Bethany Burns Viewed at AFI Film Festival 2018.

Those of us who follow Rock and Roll music are familiar with a toll fame and artistic vision can take on an individual’s soul and psyche.  The film Her Smell (Alex Ross Perry, 2018) is a loud and abrasive peek into one version of how a life of fame can meld it’s slow turn into mania with substance abuse to the point of absolute disillusionment with the rest of the world.  This work of narrative fiction won Pinkenson Award – Honorable Mention at the Philadelphia Film Festival 2018. This stunningly vibrant and colorful film creates the visual equilibrium to match the erratic and manic behavior of lead character Becky Something (Elizabeth Moss) and her descent into the depths of the person she no longer recognizes.

Basking in the catastrophic effects that alcohol and drug abuse have taken on her life, Becky Something is brought to life by Moss. Her stunning performance in this film derails all notions of sense in every moment of her life. It is clear in this film that Becky Something has taken over and the shards of the excited young artist who once thrives exists behind a shroud of ego, confusion, abuse, and struggle. A mostly non diegetic soundscape of white noise and low frequency anxiety inducing wavelengths pulse beneath scenes in which Becky seems to have completely lost her mind. The opening scene is a long, in real time take from a handheld camera following Becky at chest and face height throughout the back rooms as the end of a live show. Her struggle to maintain herself even in the presence of her daughter and inevitable fainting onto the floor reveal a truly troubled existence for this young woman. As the narrative continues Becky never ceases her ego and slowly destroys every close relationship she has in life.

True to the nature of most alcohol and drug abuse stories, it is the dramatic climax and point of hitting rock bottom that shifts Becky’s story into one where she can see and recognize who she is and who she wants to be. We see her ascent into support and a recognition of need and self-love arise as sobriety inevitably is forced on her. Though she had no choice but to submit, it is the submission and acceptance of this new reality that allow her to come full circle with those she had caused emotional and physical damage to.

Though the first hour of this film were difficult to watch, Perry does an amazing job of creating a matching visual and audio aesthetic that truly drive the viewer into the mania on screen. He explores the root of the self-important god complex so many artists subscribe to. The pervasive insanity throughout is never lost on Moss. Her commitment to diving head first into the life of Becky Something had me captivated. Extreme close ups and rapid movement when the on screen energy was heightened kept my heart racing enough to never know (but deeply wanting to guess) what Becky was going to do next.  When the true nature of her authentic self is finally revealed however, it is also the dynamic support of her friends and family that inevitably aid in her recovery.   It is this message of divine love, both for oneself and from others that spoke to my heart and touched me on a soul level by the end of this film.