Alex Ross Perry's Impolex is a wildly unhinged narrative that is sure to frustrate most viewers with its dry absurdist sense of humor. The film centers around Tyrone, a United States soldier whose mission is to locate and retrieve two German rockets at the end of World War II. As he ventures through the woods in long stretches of silence, Tyrone begins to stumble across various people from his past, most notable his ex-girlfriend, but also a talking octupus for good measure. Impolex isn't your typical first feature, being a balsy examination of masculine ethos that is a scatter shot of ideas and hilarious deadpan humor. There are long stretches that I wasn't sure what Perry was trying to say, but I did particularly like the sequence where he uses the rocket as a phalic device, symbolizing a man's obesession with his penis. This isn't a film that always hits the mark in terms of clarity of vision, but it certainly shows glimpses of the filmmaker Alex Ross Perry has become with Listen Up Philip and The Color Wheel. The film is silly and absurd but eventually there is that scene that comes out of nowhere and startles you with its emotional poignancy. That scene in this film is when Tyrone's girfriend played by Kate Lyn Shiel delivers a fantastic monologue that reveals details about their relationship, a sequence that should resonant with anyone who has been in a relationship. Perry shoots the monologue with a single take, static close-up shot, a sequence the is probably 10 minutes long. The lead actor in this film feel intentionally bad, disinterested in his performance in a way that only elevates this powerful single shot sequence. Impolex just feels befitting of Alex Perry Ross' first film, a hit and miss film showcasing that this was a filmmaker to watch.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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