Some seem to write-off Abel Ferrara's Ms. 45 as just another sleazy revenge flick about a woman (Thana), who is raped and turned into a woman on a mission for revenge, but it's really so much more. Thana is a mute, whose incredible introverted-having barely any interaction with men, at least on an intimate level. It's Thana's timid nature that makes Abel Ferrara's deconstruction of the cruel mental anguish which sexual violence can cause on the individual so effective. Ferrara uses frantic editing, some sort of high-pitched jazzy type synth score and varied camera movements and compositions to create a rather searing portrait of a woman whose essentially been pushed over the edge, losing her sanity completely. This isn't a film where the protagonist seeks revenge on the men who wronged her, rather, she begins to take revenge on the entire gender, viewing all of them as animals with only carnal desires. Zoe Tamerlis performance must be mentioned when talking about this film, as she is particularly fantastic at capturing the nuances and shift in perceptive the character experiences. A scene towards the end of the film which really captures the essence of the experience involves Thana, dressed as a nun for a costume party, kissing each of the bullets, before loading them in the chamber. Thana clearly believes she is in the right, almost viewing herself as some type of Angel of Death. The film is really a tragedy and it's great stuff that I would argue deserves to be in the same discussion as Scorsese's Taxi Driver. 9/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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