Thoughts on Assassination Nation - *SO MANY SPOILERS*
Do not read this if you haven't seen it yet unless you have no plans to. Enjoy!
Firstly - the film in general - was, so good. It was so tense and immersive and my heart was pounding SO hard for most of it (like, I had to control my breathing and drink water to make sure I stayed stable 😂). It was definitely intense.
But what made it so good, and what I think was criticized wrongly, were the breaks in tension for comedic relief. Some jokes or comedic bits were placed so perfectly after tense scenes that it gave you relief and a breather and I LOVED that. Especially the ending; I NEEDED the ending.
I think as a young woman who is the age of the main girls, I reckon I probably experienced the movie far more intensely than the older guy next to me and most of the room. For example, a lot of the room laughed at moments which I found relatable or hard hitting (the scene at Lily's dinner table discussing the Principal made people laugh but I was like! That's not funny, bruh! I know how she feels.)
Towards the end when girls from Salem started to join them, it genuinely made me start to tear up. I felt that so strongly. Female strength and community is so powerful to see on screen and it happens very rarely. So, thank you to Sam for writing that into the script (even if once again, some of the people in the audience and many reviews kinda saw it as a joke).
The audience also applauded when Lily hit the guy with the shovel 😂
I'm super glad Hari was cast in this too, it's so important and although of course trans issues were focused on, it didn't feel like she was there as some sort of token or focal point. She was able to be her own character and I loved it 🎉
But um, most of you are probably reading this for my thoughts on Joel so WHEW BOI, here goes nothing! Please note that when I say I enjoyed stuff, I mean it in the sense of Joel and not his character 😂 Trash will be marked with 🗑️
1.) He was in the first scene! I was not expecting that and I enjoyed it thoroughly. And it was interesting that he wasn't actually Lily's personal neighbour. It honestly would have been interesting to know if anyone guessed he was Daddy soon after this (obviously I already knew, lmao). I also kinda wish Lily had gone to dinner with them (completely inappropriate fic, anyone?)
2.) So, the messaging wasn't technically Joel because it was just written on screen but it helped progress his story line which was great. Also, GOD, any reference of "little girl" was so... Ugh. More on this later
3.) WHEN HE WATCHED LILY AND MARK.
Okay, so, I knew this was gonna happen because it was spoken about in one of the very first reviews out of Sundance but ONLY in that one review so I was kinda intrigued to see what would happen. The direction in this was so good (especially how there was never really a close up on him or his face). 🗑️: His hand was moving. (The Blu-Ray comes out in December and I have a feeling that could be an extended/deleted scene).
4.) Him being behind the house invasion and torturing Marty was SUCH a shock and was definitely not what I was expecting at all. He did a great job of this, of course. And properly WENT for it in both scenes. I also liked how you could only really tell it was him if you knew what his eyes looked like 😂
5.) When he took his mask off and realised Lily wasn't responding to his messages (I really wanna know what he was sending). For a SPLIT second we see remorse and wow, Joel. You're such a good facial actor. Like, SO GOOD.
~ THE SCENE ~
6.) Holy. Shit.
So, okay. I knew that something bad was going to happen after reading reviews but BOY was I not prepared for how incredibly intense and viceral it all was.
When she banged on his door and he let her in and was cradling her and telling her to breathe and that it was all gonna be okay - HE MADE YOU FEEL LIKE HE WAS GONNA BE A GOOD GUY (you know, even though he murdered Marty). And then he carried her upstairs and HOLY SHIT I wasn't expecting the princess room to hit me so hard.
I was saying to @zacscottysnl, I wonder whether that was as hard-hitting if you don't truly understand the Daddy/LG culture especially from Tumblr. "Daddy's Little Princess" is an actual Thing so it made me FEEL SO MANY THINGS when he put her on his daughters bed.
And fuck. Joel's acting here was so insane and intense (that word is basically a great description for every thing about this movie, lmao) and you could really tell how easily somebody in Lily's position could slip into trusting him especially in such a state of vulnerability.
Then... The fucking cloth. Basically here I would go into detail but that would all be 🗑️. I'm not condoning manipulative relationships and attempted rape but um, my eyes see Joel, people!
And the KNIFE. When he ran it up her thigh and put it in her mouth. I thought that was as far as it was gonna go AND THEN THE FREAKING NEXT PART. "Yes.. (...) .. Yes ... (...) ... Yes."
I have a split second permanently burned into my mind of when the camera came in a little closer as they kissed and holy. Shit. Never forgetting that for several reasons.
Before you get worried though, yes, I'm glad he died and Lily tried her best to escape. Again the comedic relief came soon after when she found his weapons and said "What the fuck?" before kitting herself out.
I honestly need time to recover. I keep seeing pictures of Joel and GIFs and being like.... Wow. You did that Joel. A Changed Man.
7. Overall, it's definitely his best film and some of his best acting and if he doesn't get cast on something else dramatic soon, I will start a riot.
I may also start a riot that Joel made out with someone my age (at the time of filming) but that's for another day.
