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Murder and Mean Girls Make Strange Bedfellows


Someday the movies are going to understand the youths, but not today it seems. And it is perhaps the fatal flaw of Bodies Bodies Bodies, the English-debut of Dutch filmmaker Halina Reijn, that it posits to represent and “get” the personalities of college-age Gen-Zers whilst resorting to simple stereotypes and stock drama for their driving conflicts. The movie is a horror-mystery set against the backdrop of a hurricane, but I found myself constantly distracted from its’ tension by the vain and vapid characters that populate the piece.
There’s no shortage of talent there. Amandla Stenberg plays Sophie, who recently started dating a Russian girl Bee (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’s Maria Bakalova). They’re on their way to the mansion of Sophie’s friend David (Pete Davidson) -alongside a gaggle of other similarly wealthy partiers. Rachel Sennott is one of them, Alice, dating creepy older man Greg (Lee Pace); also, David’s girlfriend Emma (Chase Sui Wonders) and Sophie’s ex Jordan (Myha’la Herrold). Their specific plan is to party during the hurricane -they start with a game of “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (an in-the-dark murder mystery game) that quickly turns into an ugly clash of egos and sensitivities. This defines what the movie will be going forward, and that’s before any of the real murders take place.
The fact that most of these kids are trust fund one percent-ers is likely a way to re-direct criticism in this ostensible satire: it’s not necessarily because they are young that they’ re this obnoxious, but that they are rich -which is a sentiment most of us non-rich people can get behind. Still that excuse can only go so far, especially where the nuances of their wealthy brat lifestyles draw so much on contemporary social mores, online culture, and youth politic -or rather an interpretation of these by people a few generations removed from that miasma. These are still characters who are terminally online, wholly dependent and irresponsible, who think so morally highly of themselves, and who flippantly reduce ethically conscious terminology to mere buzzwords -it’s as though they were a right-wing parody of the young left as perceived by that specific echo chamber determined to find hypocrisy in their values. Gen Zers as written by someone who has read tweets by or about Gen Zers without ever having met one themselves.
Apart from the condescension in this, the movie just really delights in making sure no character is all that decent a person. These are horrible people, but never in a fun way, only a petty, uncomfortable way. Again the rich excuse can’t answer for how none of these people could be real friends given how deeply its’ revealed they hate each other. So much of the film is given over to their squabbling, vindictive impulses, and personal hang-ups as a way of snidely pointing out how destructive ego is -most of the violence comes out of this rather than any horrors they imagine. But it’s not near as clever as it thinks in making this observation -one that ultimately doesn’t say much considering the caricatures that it pertains to. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that the majority of the cast are women (albeit treated like stock teen girls), and that the men for their own asshole behaviour are invariably innocent and removed from much of the toxic drama. At its’ worst, this makes it feel like just another exploitation of the angry, naive shrew archetype. The Real Housewives of the Twitter age.
It obstructs and diminishes what the movie does have to offer as a thriller. Where that side of things is concerned, the plotting is really effective -Reijn has a solid grasp of what she’s doing and cleverly hones in on ironic or unnerving elements like Alice’s glowstick necklace or the neon lighting in the gym where Greg meditates. The mystery at the heart of it all shouldn’t be so difficult to crack, but the film succeeds at sweeping you up in its’ immediacy and shock. And this continues through the fallout acts of violence set off by one startling death. To this, Reijn adequately conveys the force of these extremities, which actually does cast some good relief against the insignificant pettiness that inspires them. There are a handful of moments where intent and execution do come together and give a glimpse of what the movie is capable of in terms of its’ vision and commentary -then the script itself just gets in the way.
And it’s unfortunate that it is what the cast is made to work with, a group of otherwise radiant performers struggling against the confines of their narrow parts. This seems especially the case with Stenberg, whose subtle spoiled narcissist is maybe the dullest character of her career, and I’m including Dear Evan Hansen in that. Wonders is little better as the least developed in an already underwhelming roster, and Davidson seems to just be playing another extension of his general comic personality. Herrold though makes a solid effort as the most openly abrasive of the group, and in some moments even shines the more unhinged things get. And Pace plays well the off-putting impulsive attitude of a man clearly aware on some level he’s being a creep but to a point he’s okay with. Bakalova carries a lot as the only moderately sincere personality of the bunch, essentially the point-of-view figure as the newcomer into both this group and environment. She takes on more than a few “final girl” traits because of this, but even her performance feels a touch restricted. The one person who seems to understand in totality and embrace the loathsomeness of her character is Sennott, and it’s part of what seems to have made her already the stand-out of the cast (which is fine, she deserves more attention -Shiva Baby is the scarier movie anyways). And it is a more striking performance for this, though not a terribly attractive one -giving off the impression of a very committed but somewhat dry SNL caricature. She’s a scene-stealer, maybe that’s enough.
Through her and a couple of the other characters, the movie does find some funny moments, though usually these stem from choices that seem outside of the script, more actor-oriented. I will admit the final punchline, though again not so unexpected, lands pretty well for both the humour and dark irony that it’s going for.  But coming out of Bodies Bodies Bodies and thinking on it, the less it seems this statement matters -something that might be easier to overlook had the movie not submitted to such a mean-spirited outlook. I was honestly surprised there was no pumpkin-spice latte joke, but that’s probably just because the movie’s set in the spring. That is the level of authenticity it lends its’ ensemble, and I think Gen-Zers and us older folks alike looking to empathize with them deserve better.

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