toomanytentacles - Tumblr blog

toomanytentacles · 5 years

Text

I’ve been thinking a lot about this film THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY lately, about how perfect and beautiful it is, and figure this piece of writing I did is worth a revisit. You ever do that, go back a year later and see if your opinion on something has changed any? Well, in this case, it hasn’t.

Text that follows was published at www.cinepunx.com

REKT: The Duke of Burgundy

by Elbee | May 29, 2018

Adrianna has been trying to get me to watch The Duke of Burgundy for what seems like decades; this is an absolute fact. When we first discussed the film all those years ago, I told her I had started watching it once and was intrigued, however (as I often do) I fell asleep moments after the opening title sequence. But I always wanted to come back to the film because what I (briefly) saw of it was striking, and lo and behold, she put it on her recommendation list this month, giving me the final push I needed to move the film from “need to watch” to “watched.” Boy howdy, am I glad she did.

There are so many artful elements to this film to sink into, but first I need to talk about the music. The Duke of Burgundy’s beautifully haunting soundtrack (available via Caroline Records) is performed by indie act Cat’s Eyes, a band I have been enamored with since their first album dropped in 2011. Once I recognized Rachel Zeffira’s voice singing over a familiar kind of hazily sullen melody as the opening credits started, I felt a definite sense of being at home with this movie. Couple that with a late ‘60s-slash-early ‘70s vaguely European aesthetic, and I was on board faster than you could say “Rosemary’s Baby” (That kind of look and feel is mysteriously special to me, and I’m not entirely certain why. You know how sometimes things aren’t exactly nostalgic, but they speak to your soul like they are anyway? The Duke of Burgundy is that.).

But let’s get to the meat of this story. We’re introduced to main characters Evelyn and Cynthia through what appears to be a scene taken from classical literature: Evelyn arrives at Cynthia’s petite countryside mansion via her bicycle on what seems to be her first day as Cynthia’s hired help. Cynthia is cold to the young woman (dressed like a wealthy businesswoman with designer heels and pencil skirt, her hair in a neat updo), and commands her sternly to begin her chores — which must be done correctly. The meek Evelyn begins work, and it is when we see that one of her duties is to hand wash and dry Cynthia’s delicate panties that we begin to think perhaps there is more to this relationship than a simple employer/employee dynamic. Indeed, shortly after, it is revealed the two women are a couple roleplaying, and the submissive Evelyn is more than eager to be punished by Cynthia when she neglects to do her chores properly. But, as we learn, their dynamic is even more complicated than that (I don’t want to give too much away, but there’s a reveal that blurs the lines of their dom/sub roles in a very subversive way.). So now, instead of a classic Miss Havisham-type scenario, we have a tender look into the relationship of two women who are trying to give enough of themselves over to each other in order to satisfy each individual’s needs while still maintaining their own personas.

This film is valiant in its attempt to show how we all struggle with the same types of relationship imbalances; the moral here is that relationships which go beyond the scope of so-called traditional values are really no different than those which are held in that tradition. I don’t exactly want to spoil anything because this film goes above and beyond what any other I’ve seen does as far as examining the dom/sub relationship in a realistic way, but this film thoughtfully introduces important ideas that need to be shared. I think that fetishes and kink often have one of two reputations to “normal” people: either kink is looked upon as disgusting, or it’s fetishized in itself as being “new” or “exciting” or “playful.” Normal society doesn’t really take kink seriously, but this film does its part to provide the example that kink can be absolutely serious and real, and it can constitute as much emotional turmoil as any regular type of sexual relationship. One element to that sameness is what I’m going to refer to as “the shackles of a relationship,” when one person feels tied down or has been sacrificing a part of his/her identity in order to maintain what is perceived as a happy couplehood. In the case of Evelyn and Cynthia, the struggle for control is what leads to their apparent downfall, and the film presents this imbalance in a way that is entirely relatable. Eventually their game becomes redundant to at least one participant, which shows that even in kink relationships, people grow tired of one other. Evelyn starts to blame Cynthia a bit, saying things like, “It would be nice if you would do it without being asked,” in reference to Cynthia degrading her, in quite the same way Jennifer Aniston tells Vince Vaughn “I want you to want to do the dishes” in the 2006 romantic comedy The Break-Up. The film goes on to show us more relationship tropes including infidelity, jealousy, and pettiness, all of which play out in an interesting way; we are once again compelled to ask ourselves how anyone could not be willing to understand how love plays into our similarities as human beings instead of focusing negatively on our differences in sexual identities.

Performances in this film are strong, especially in the case of Sidse Babett Knudsen as the graceful-yet-fragile Cynthia. One of the things this film does beautifully is exhibit how complex women can be in their characters; Cynthia is an expert in lepidopterology (the study of butterflies), and her experience in the scientific academic field sets her up to be a possible authoritarian. And even though this is probably what appeals to Evelyn about her the most, Cynthia does show a softer and more nuanced side to the typical authoritative stereotype at home. Throughout the film, Cynthia seems as if she’s only going along with Evelyn as she indulges in her kinky fantasies (this is where the theme of sacrifice first comes in to play), and the reservation she secretly holds about their roleplay is expertly shown with restraint by a few forlorn looks in the mirror. Evelyn (Chiara D’Anna), like Cynthia, shows both strength and weakness: even though she is the submissive, she knows exactly what she wants from their relationship, and she’s determined to get it. However, when Cynthia shows timidness with delivering on her agreed role, in a moment of instability, Evelyn seeks out her desires elsewhere. The vulnerability the two show as they work out the impact of their mutual issues is phenomenally relatable; again, it all goes to show these themes are universal.

I’m not sure I can fully express how extraordinarily shot and thoughtfully crafted The Duke of Burgundy is. And what is fantastic about it is that it is a highly erotic film — these women are both incredibly sexy, and given the subject matter, almost every scene evokes a sort of amorous curiosity. But, it’s also a film treated with so much care that the eroticism doesn’t get in the way of the story; to put it plainly, you can watch this film and be intrigued — I would go so far as to say “stimulated” — but you can also watch it without the distraction of your metaphorical dick. Eroticism? Yes. Smut? No. Is this the highest compliment I can give a film of this sort? Yes, probably. So, thank you again, Adrianna, for pushing me to watch this film. And in turn, I’m probably going to start pushing it on everyone else.

2 notes · View notes

toomanytentacles · 5 years

Text

JON BON BRADY, an essay

This is the text of the recorded essay presented by Elbee Bargeron on Episode 43 of the Splathouse Podcast. Click below to hear the episode https://soundcloud.com/user-616846084/splathouse43-double-feature-suburban-commando-1991-the-brady-bunch-movie-1995

Has anyone given much thought to actor Jack Noseworthy lately? Back in the 90s, he was kinda a big deal breaking out in a starring role on MTV’s teen sci-fi series DEAD AT 21 — but what many critics can agree on is there was another role that solidified him as a bonafide movie star: his turn as angry grunge rocker Eric Dittmeyer in 1995’s THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE. It was a role that, to some, may seem static or insignificant, but in reality, directly led him to probably the most noteworthy Noseworthy appearance of the decade. So, as much of a cinematic masterpiece as THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE so obviously is, we don't dare stop there. Because within the same year, Jack actually reprised the role with a sinister twist in the most unlikely of places, the music video for Bon Jovi’s single, “Always.”

Caution: all of what I’m about to tell you is true.

Now we all know the story of Bon Jovi — after the success of two studio albums and extensive touring, the boys found themselves fatigued by being so beloved by everyone all over the world, and took a bit of a hiatus in the late 1980s — only to come back triumphantly a few years later with newsworthy short haircuts and a much more “mature” sound — and acting as inspiration for MTV’s “Unplugged” series along the way. They released one more studio album followed by a greatest hits record which featured a lot of their hits and a new single they would soon call a hit, the song “Always.”

Jon Bon Jovi knew he had a hit song on his hands with “Always,” and as such, knew he needed a hit music video to go along with it. He wanted something...edgy. Hot. And Sexy. Jon conceived a video so steamy that his band mates cautioned against it. After all, MTV had previously banned their video “Living in Sin” for being too explicit. But, Jon argued, after he basically invented the highly successful “Unplugged” for MTV, they pretty much were obligated to show anything he wanted, and production went forward.

So Jon was a big fan of The Brady Bunch, and you can read all about that in his memoir ROCKY ROAD: THE JON BON JOVI STORY AS TOLD BY ME, JON BON JOVI that I’ve so kindly provided for you in the footnotes (footnotes have been lost). So when THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE debuted, Jon was taken aback. He, like everyone else who saw the film, became immediately enamored with it, and recognized the brilliance of its one true star, the incomparable Jack Noseworthy. Jon saw a bit of himself in the character of Eric Dittmeyer, and thought him a perfect fit for the message he was trying to convey with “Always” — that love is passionate and violent, and the crazy things we do for it could potentially haunt us. Essentially, this was the logical progression of the character — Jon knew this, and now he wanted the rest of us to know it.

The premise of the “Always” music video is cut and dry. Our bad boy hero Noseworthy aka Dittmeyer is sulking alone in his room remembering a lost love. He holds a photograph of her in his hands, and we can see from his forlorn gaze that he is heartbroken. But -- there’s more to it than that. The nuance displayed in the first 25 seconds of this video is crucial; not only is Dittmeyer sad, he seems stricken by grief -- a grief that is possibly (probably) brought on by guilt. We’re transported from his bedroom to his memories, starting with the day the photo was taken.

At this point, we would be remiss to mention the rest of the now legendary cast featured in this now legendary music video. Carla Gugino, fresh from her role in a film as equally great and universally adored as THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE, the Pauly Shore vehicle SON IN LAW, plays Dittmeyer’s girlfriend; and newcomer Keri Russell -- who up until this time had only been cast as adolescent girls in projects like HONEY I BLEW UP THE KIDS and BOY MEETS WORLD, and who was looking for a way to break out into more sophisticated entertainment -- is Carla’s roommate. Rounding out the cast is indie darling Jason Wiles, who -- hipsters, take note -- also starred in projects by both Robert Rodriguez and Noah Baumbach during this time, making him the perfect choice for Dittmeyer’s baby-faced rival. Clearly, Jon Bon Jovi’s casting choices were -- as many critics agreed -- inspired.

But, back to the video. Here we are in Dittmeyer’s memories, reminded of what a rebel he is as we see he and Carla making out in his classic Oldsmobile 88 convertible while speeding away into oncoming traffic. Both of them fit the cliche of “young and free,” a love that makes everything else in the world irrelevant. But a love so hot can burn out fast, so we know we must be in for a tumultuous ride with this couple. Dittmeyer enjoys photographing his girlfriend, but what he really loves is taking video of her. Carla is an attractive and empowered young woman, so she has no problems dancing and acting sexy for her boyfriend, and no doubt does she find this kind of play enticing. They fall into bed together with the video camera still recording -- a fact cleverly made apparent to us with a full zoom to the camera lens sitting idle on the arm of a chair.

The story progresses quickly as we are now treated to a memory of the couple attending a rave party together, both of them dressed in scandalous outfits and moussed hair; they get down and dirty with each other on the dancefloor, and when they return home -- still fueled by the drugs they have undoubtedly consumed -- they unknowingly awaken Keri who had fallen asleep on the couch. The couple retreat to Carla’s bedroom as Keri stretches and flips on the television. And here’s where Bon Jovi decided to make it interesting: Dittmeyer’s video camera, still running, is connected to the living room TV. So when Keri sleepily turns on the television, she is shocked fully awake as she sees her roommate initiate sloppy sex with her boyfriend.

We can pause for a moment and reflect a bit more about Jon Bon Jovi’s vision for Eric Dittmeyer. According to his memoir ROCKY ROAD THE STORY OF JON BON JOVI AS TOLD BY ME JON BON JOVI, Jon knew Dittmeyer was a sleaze, and wanted to echo that in this video. We noted before that Jon had seen a bit of himself in the character, which means that Jon definitely had some demons he needed to deal with. Dittmeyer, as it turns out, had been, and seemingly always would be a two-timer. We can support this with the following evidence: Dittmeyer didn’t “accidentally” leave his video camera running. There had always been sexual tension between he and Keri -- we know Dittmeyer’s type has to be women with long curly hair, proven by his interest in Marissa Ribisi’s character in THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE, so no doubt could he resist the allure of Keri “soon-to-be Felicity” Russell. He knew that if Keri saw how great he was in bed with Carla that she wouldn’t be able to turn down a future tryst with him. And ya know, it worked.

Carla is outraged when she returns from the grocery store and sees a live display of the two of them canoodling, again, on the living room TV. She throws the bag of groceries at them in the bedroom and runs out, leaving the apartment and running down the street. Enter Jason, an artist friend of theirs -- and just maybe one of Carla’s old flames -- who sees her on the street and invites her up to his loft. He has her pose for a painting, they both remove their shirts, and we cut to the next morning when Carla wakes up alone in his bed. She’s feeling guilty and calls Dittmeyer to pick her up, but when he arrives all hell breaks loose when he realizes she’s slept with Jason: he throws a tantrum of gigantic proportion, throwing furniture and destroying the painting, but the worst is still yet to come. Carla tells him, effectively, to talk to her hand, and tries to leave the building. But Dittmeyer has already tritely made up his mind that if he can’t have her no one will, and uses what we can only assume is paint thinner to set off a fiery explosion that kills Carla but he’s able to walk away from entirely unscathed.

We now leave Dittmeyer’s memories and return to the beginning of the video where he is staring at Carla’s photograph. He’s missing her greatly, and his guilt manifests as he hallucinates her standing in his doorway. He reaches to her but she fades away, a literal ghost that lives only in his mind.

Jon Bon Jovi married his high school sweetheart Dorothea in 1989, and although they share a love that won’t ever die, we can’t help but wonder who Jon modeled this destructive love story after. Why would Jon feel such a connection to a sleaze like Eric Dittmeyer? Frankly, it’s a love tryst with himself. Jon laid out an entire chapter in his memoir ROCKY ROAD THE JON BON JOVI STORY AS TOLD BY ME JON BON JOVI on how he had been secretly obsessed with Shakespearean tragedy in his youth, but had to cover that with a tuff persona to remain cool to his New Jersey heavy metal friends. He loved those tragic characters because they had flaws, and he respected them for that. So, along came THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE -- a Shakespearean tragedy in its own right -- and the character of Dittmeyer spoke to him on a whole other level. He was a rocker, just like him. He drove a convertible and had a bad attitude, just like him. He was into girls with long curly hair, definitely just like him. And Jon felt none of his Jersey friends ever understood him or his passion for art and culture, just as Dittmeyer’s friends never fully understood him.

When Jon asked Jack Noseworthy to meet with him about the role, he was nervous and excited. He didn’t want to let on how much he needed Jack to be this character again, to act out his own youthful grief and regret using Jack as a surrogate. Jon wanted validation after so many years hiding his love for high art beneath tight pants, superfluous scarves, and feathered locks -- and besides, he had already hinted at a more sensitive side of himself when originating the intimate acoustic concert series “Unplugged” for MTV all on his own and by the way, gave it away for free -- so when Noseworthy agreed to reprise this character, Jon was ecstatic. They conceptualized the character together -- it was actually Jack who came up with the idea for Dittmeyer to destroy Jason’s painting of Carla, a symbol of Jon’s regret of hiding all of his delicate emotions from his more macho friends. It was, in a word, cathartic.

So, thanks to forgotten actor Jack Noseworthy, THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE, and the video for “Always,” Jon Bon Jovi was finally given the intellectual credit he always wanted and deserved. Rest in peace, Jon. We’ll always love you, forever and a day.

#bradybunch #bradybunchmovie #jonbonjovi #bonjovi #jacknoseworthy

2 notes · View notes