FILM "Babygirl" isn't quite as satisfying as it could be, says Caroline Woodward (CAS ’27). B2
FILM "The Last Showgirl" prioritizes style over substance, according to Grace Ko (CAS ’27). B4
MUSIC Nick Williams (CAS ’25) analyzes Ethel Cain's latest daring musical experiment. B7
JANUARY 17, 2025
In 'A Complete Unknown', audiences gain insight into the folk legend at his most frustrating. B3
Mauro
Mazzariello Hoya Staff Writer
Caroline Woodward
Senior Guide Editor
“Babygirl” is supposedly the sexiest film of the season. Marketed as a hot, steamy and tense romantic thriller to break apart the cold winter months, the film, starring Nicole Kidman, promises a story filled with drama and excitement. In actuality, “Babygirl” fails to deliver on plot, structure, drive and, perhaps most damningly, sexiness.
The pitch for “Babygirl” is one of an intense initial allure. The story follows Romy Mathis (Kidman), a high-powered businesswoman living a quintessentially-modern “girlboss” life: a lavish New York high-rise, a weekend home in the suburbs, a handsome, successful theatre director husband (Antonio Banderas) and two excitable, yet distinctive daughters (Esther Rose McGregor, Vaughan Reilly). Yet, something –– or someone –– is clearly missing.
The film opens with a sex scene between
Romy and her husband, Jacob, in which Romy leaves the encounter clearly unsatisfied and visibly put off. She has everything, yet she cannot seem to find fulfillment in this aesthetically picture-perfect life. Romy is confused and disoriented as a woman and person, which the film reflects in its unsettling close-up shots mixed with rapid, tracking movement as it begins to follow her daily routine at home and in the office.
Enter Samuel (Harris Dickinson), a fresh intern at Romy’s company who immediately disarms her veneer of composure by asking off-putting questions (and generally existing as a hot, younger man in her vicinity, as her longing gazes suggest). The two begin a relationship after initiation from Samuel, as he seems to cut to the core of Romy’s desires –– being, in basic terms, to be told what to do.
The movie follows the two’s dynamic –– and its consequences –– attempting to explore Romy’s psyche as she allows someone else to literally and figuratively take the reins of her life.
However, the film’s attempt to tackle the themes of power, sexuality and self-fulfillment, unfortunately, falls flat. Directionally, “Babygirl” is confused, seemingly unsure of the purpose it seeks to fulfill. Is this a romantic drama? A psychological thriller? Even a comedy of errors? Certain elements of each genre are highlighted throughout the film ––not in a way that blends the characteristics, but instead leads to a jumbled mess of overall tone. This confusion conveys the tension the audience is meant to experience, witnessing the mess of Romy and Samuel’s relationship, but in a roundabout, deeply-unsettling way. Furthermore, the characters of “Babygirl,” the supposed heart of this character-driven narrative, are both underdeveloped and underutilized. While Kidman does her typically excellent acting job and carries the movie overall, nothing about her performance is particularly memorable, especially when contrasted with her total body of work. However, the main issue I take with the
IMDB
Erotic-thriller “Babygirl” fails to deliver on plot, substance and sexiness, according to Caroline Woodward (CAS ’27)
writing and performance is that of the main love interest, the alleged representation of both temptation and torment, Samuel. Dickinson’s character is mysterious to the point of boredom, a trait that is unacceptable in a character that acts as an emo
tional and sexual core of the narrative. Is Samuel meant to be less of a real person and more of a manifestation of Romy’s darkest desires? Perhaps. However, the sheer extent of his undefined nature causes his character to lack intrigue or consistency. He is a self-assured, confident, domineering figure who holds power over an objectively more successful woman while also being a manchild who throws fits at the slightest sign of complication in the objectively-confusing interpersonal dynamics he initiated. This may lend to the character’s complexity in a different film, but “Babygirl” fails to utilize or explore this duality in a manner that adds a final, necessary, compelling element. Furthermore, while the chemistry between the two leads works to an extent, Dickinson’s work to capture an unassured man in over his head leads to a certain lack of charm that I simply cannot reckon with. Despite the confusing structure, characterization and tone, “Babygirl” does contain several positives as a narrative. First, the use of sex is respectfully intentional. This is not a “Fifty Shades of Grey” situation, even if some of the sheer sexuality can lean gratuitous at times. The film attempts to explore subversive themes in a shockingly true-to-life manner; the lack of fulfillment in Romy’s life makes sense and is treated not as a frivolous longing but a real issue that leads to an unfortunate conclusion. Furthermore, the soundtrack is truly wonderful: A sensational mix of electric beats and gasping breaths captures what I can only assume to be the thesis of the plot ––as that is not made clear at any other point. Overall, “Babygirl” attempts many themes –– tension, desire, stress, complexity –– but falls short on almost every aspect. With a nearly two-hour runtime, I simply cannot suggest this movie to anyone who wishes for a pleasant, or even sexy, movie-going experience. Please just rewatch “Challengers” instead.
Mauro Mazzariello
Hoya Staff Writer
When you hear about a new Bob Dylan biopic, your initial reaction might be something like, “Oh, Timothée Chalamet is in it — I liked him in Dune,” or perhaps even more fittingly, “Wait, Bob Dylan’s still alive?” You wouldn’t be alone in thinking that. In fact, Dylan’s most memorable moment in recent history was arguably his controversial blonde hipster look at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival — a style Chalamet perfectly recreated during the film’s press tour. You might not even be able to name a single Dylan song or know who he is outside of your parents’ — or grandparents’ — grumblings about how good he was.
“A Complete Unknown” provides a brief snapshot of Dylan’s (Chalamet) meteoric rise to folk god status and his resulting disdain for the title. The film opens in 1961, with Dylan doing his best Jack Kerouac impression, hitching a ride into New York City in hopes of meeting his idol and famous folk musician
Woody Guthrie. Guthrie is suffering from Huntington’s disease, forcing him to rely on the support of his close friend and equally talented folk musician Pete Seeger (Ed Norton). After winning their admiration, Dylan falls under Seeger’s wing, allowing him to break into the New York folk scene alongside contemporary Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro).
Dylan begins a relationship with Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) as his career starts to take off, with his songs becoming the voice for a generation of protest. Dylan spends the rest of the movie struggling to deal with his sudden lack of privacy as his fans have elevated him to hero status. He begins to clash with Seeger amid his ever-perplexing and torrid relationship with Baez. The movie culminates in 1965 with Dylan’s incredibly contentious performance at the Newport Folk Festival.
Chalamet doesn’t just portray Dylan, he embodies him in all of the worst (or best) ways. In nearly every scene, especially toward the end of the movie, Dylan is abrasive at best and a contemptible, self-righteous jerk at worst. Chalamet embraces this side
of Dylan to the point that you will walk out of the theater finding yourself angry at how convincing his portrayal was. Chalamet’s Dylan is moody and hostile, smoking cigarettes and mumbling passive-aggressive comments at whoever dares to question his greatness (aka trying to get him to do the normal and sane thing).
His brief relationship with Sylvie is captivating at first, as Dylan still retains some Midwest innocence, but her character is soon reduced to jilted lover status. Her reappearance at the end of the movie feels out of place, although it does provide the audience with a hilariously unserious attempt by Dylan to get Sylvie to stay. Chalamet channels every male manipulator stereotype in the book to try and keep Baez as well as Sylvie throughout the movie (someone needed to buy him a pair of nail clippers).
Norton gives a surprisingly sincere performance of Seeger, honoring his memory as a pacifist and pioneer of peace. It is heartbreaking to watch Seeger, who took Dylan in and started him on his path to
IMDB
Goodbye brat summer, hello Bob Dylan winter: Mauro Mazzariello (CAS ’26) has some questions, critiques and comments regarding the story of Bob Dylan in his review of “A Complete Unknown.”
stardom, slowly drift away from Dylan as the latter becomes increasingly hostile toward the outside world and those who only want the best for him. Despite every wedge Dylan attempts to drive between himself and the folk community he has become disillusioned with, Seeger never shows anything but grace and compassion. Norton renders this heartbreak so convincingly that it’s hard not to walk out mad at how he was treated. Barbaro portrays Baez, who becomes intimate with Dylan before realizing the depths of his conceit and promptly kicking him to the curb. Barbaro captures the love and compassion for folk music that Baez was famous for. Her no-nonsense approach to Dylan’s antics endears her to the audience as the movie progresses. The most notable performance, however, comes from the “Man in Black” himself, Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook). Cash, in the throes of addiction, manages a correspondence with Dylan that is akin to Yoda and Luke Skywalker. His appearances may be brief but each word he utters makes you want to raise hell and, to quote the man himself, “Track mud on the carpet.”
After all of this praise, you might wonder why the review is as low as it is. Music biopics have been in vogue since 2018’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” honoring the once-ina-lifetime Freddie Mercury. While some of these biopics have been enjoyable, “A Complete Unknown” felt like an unnecessary story to tell. The movie itself is well-written and most of the characters are very convincing, but, in the end, it begs the question, “Did we need this?” Dylan is represented in a feeble light, hurting everyone who cares about him under the guise of just “being himself” and fighting his unwanted notoriety. While it might not have been the most important story, it’s still an enjoyable ride through the ’60s music scene.
Grace Ko
Hoya Staff Writer
Much like its gorgeously-crafted vision of Las Vegas, “The Last Showgirl” exudes the glamor of a bygone era that, while beautiful, ultimately rings hollow. There’s quite an intriguing story at the heart of the film that never fully succeeds in taking shape, leaving the audience with only glimpses of a truly compelling story.
Directed by Gia Coppola, “The Last Showgirl” centers on Shelly (Pamela Anderson), a Las Vegas showgirl who has to come to terms with the sudden cancellation of the show she has been a part of for 38 years. Shelly works to solidify her now-uncertain future as a dancer while reckoning with her past self and dreams, an arduous process complicated by the reappearance of her daughter, Hannah (Billie Lourd), who seeks closure with Shelly. Clearly unique to “The Last Showgirl” are the
pastel visuals that wash over the whole film.
As in Coppola’s previous directorial works, a distinctive, dreamy haze envelops the film, a visual feat made possible by the inherently-muted-yet-striking beauty of film’s color palette. This choice of stylization creates a captivating atmosphere, particularly in the backstage dressing room scenes, where the extravagant costumes and glittering jewelry of the showgirls stand out brilliantly against the softer pastel backdrop. Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who had previously collaborated with Coppola, captures a sort of quiet glamor that characterizes the film’s immersive and beautiful vision of Las Vegas.
However, the dreamy atmosphere and visuals were not enough to compensate for the characters and the relationships between them, which often felt more like rough sketches than fully-realized ideas. The relationship between Shelly and Han-
nah is quite important to the narrative, yet nothing much seems to come of it, particularly due to the lack of development that Hannah suffers from as a character. The audience is only afforded the basic facts of Hannah’s life and motivations, despite her thematic importance equalling that of Shelly. The film never provides a definitive arc that explains Hannah’s resentment toward Shelly. Instead, we are presented with a heated argument where Hannah delivers an angry speech revealing new details about their past — details that are introduced abruptly and never revisited or explored further. By the end, Hannah is simply Shelly’s estranged daughter, despite how important their relationship is. With this lack of character development, it feels as if the visuals took priority over building a strong narrative, particularly with the use of complex montages — to a fault. I never thought I would have anything bad to say about montages as an intense admirer of how effective they are in showing the
IMDB
Style over substance: “The Last Showgirl” echoes the brand of its Las Vegas setting, creating a compelling atmosphere while falling short on story, says Grace Ko (CAS ’27).
beauty of the environment in which the narrative takes place. “The Last Showgirl” really took this to heart and showed off the breathtaking visuals of Las Vegas in its own style, complete with Anderson’s Shelly looking contemplative and lost. However, at one point, such montages occurred after almost every other scene, causing the montage to slowly lose its effectiveness. While these montages do depict the sense of loneliness Shelly suffers from, they simply offer the fact of her loneliness without expanding on either its root or Shelly as a character.
Despite the rough nature of the film, it’s Anderson’s incredibly heartbreaking performance as Shelly that smoothes out some of the story’s rough edges. Anderson brings a certain charm to Shelly that she is easily able to pull back to display the more cruel and broken parts of her character that unfurl as she confronts her uncertain future. There’s a sense of bottled tension that Anderson is able to constantly keep a hold of underneath Shelly’s smiles and loose demeanor that adds to the growing instability she starts to feel every day. It’s this tension that explodes in a harrowing breakdown Shelly experiences at a dance audition where the director tells her she is not enough, nothing more than an echo of her former glory. Anderson shines as Shelly, and her performance truly is the centerpiece of “The Last Showgirl.”
Although filled with glamorous visuals and an interesting focus on the impact of sudden change, “The Last Showgirl” does not fully explore the potential of its story. There’s a strange emptiness to its dreamscape Las Vegas setting that is never addressed and, while the visuals dazzle and the performances enrapture, you can’t help but feel that there is more to this story than what is being told.
Anandita Agarwal Guide Columnist
The word laapataa has a special place within the Hindi lexicon. Google would tell you that it translates to “missing” or “lost.” However, any seasoned Hindi speaker would say laapataa is better understood as the specific type of loss that comes from being overlooked, from being “forgotten.” It invokes a sense of carelessness. In this context, Kiran Rao’s feel-good, punchy Bollywood dramedy “Laapataa Ladies” develops into a story not of losing but of forgetting.
Set in the age before the telecommunications boom in India, “Laapataa Ladies” follows the comical and cliche swap of identities between two veiled brides, Phool Kumari (Nitanshi Goel) and Jaya (Pratibha Ranta), who coincidentally share a night train carriage during prime arranged marriage season in rural India. It is a story that tangles itself into the railways and farms of villages across Indian states, unraveling into a tale not just of two characters but of every Indian woman.
Whilst the sheltered and docile Phool is taken in by a rag-tag crew of railway workers and stragglers, brash and bold Jaya ends up with Phool’s sweetheart, Deepak Kumar (Sparsh Shrivastava), who is inconsolably distraught after realizing his mistake. Through a film that somehow employs
every Bollywood trope only to subvert it later, the two women are “returned” to their rightful places yet irrevocably changed from their journeys.
Much can be said about “Laapataa Ladies,” from its upbeat, emotive score to the snappy vivacity of its cinematography. However, what shines in the film is screenwriter Sneha Desai’s dialogue, underscored by a brilliantly talented cast. Both visually and symbolically, the ghunghat (veil) of the two women is used as a recurring symbol to comment on the loss of identity and autonomy arranged marriage places on the Indian woman, as it blinds both the women themselves and others. This is highlighted in one of the most memorable quotes from the film, spoken by Deepak’s mother (Geeta Sharma): “Ek baar ghunghat le liye toh aage nahi neeche dekh ke chalna seekho.” “Once you don the veil, learn to walk looking down, not forward.”
However, the most striking dialogue is not spoken by the main characters. Underscored by its subversive minor characters, the film’s refusal to shy away from the facts of Indian misogyny — such as the ghunghat — makes it stand out amid a sea of pink-washing in Bollywood films. Manju Maai (Chhaya Kadam), a battle-worn and bitter old woman who blackmailed her abusive husband and son into freedom and who takes in Phool, delivers the most significant monologue in the film. She opines on the “fraud” done to Indian women, the box of rules and stereotypes
Take a walk or bus down to the monuments to reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and learn more about his life and work. See the MLK Memorial by the tidal basin, and read from the Inscription Wall with 14 quotes from his speeches, sermons and writings. The Memorial is open and free to the public every day at all times, and National Park Service rangers are available from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
that fool them into submission and obedience.
Maai terms this “fraud” as the ghar ki bahu-beti (the daughter-in-law of the house), delivering an arresting autopsy of India’s arranged marriage culture to call for structural change.
Exemplifying this archetype of the meek daughter-in-law and housewife is Deepak’s mother. Yet, she is liberated from her dramatized, damsel-in-distress portrayals in the Indian daytime soaps when she arrives at the same conclusions, particularly in her interaction with Deepak’s grandmother and her mother-in-law. Through this deconstruction of the social dynamics in an Indian household, Rao presents characters that come from a spectrum of womanhood, highlighting feminism that departs from traditional portrayals, showcasing the inherent strength present in the life of every Indian woman.
The film subverts the savior trope in “feminist” Bollywood films by placing the reins of the story in the hands of women. Empowered by the united realization of the patriarchal reality they live in, the laapataa ladies center every storyline, hence creating a narrative that does not treat them as forgotten objects but as people capable of controlling the fate of their own lives.
Unfortunately, the reception of Rao’s courageous, staunchly feminist film proves that it is not just Indian society that forgets its women — America is also guilty.
By Caitlin McBride
Visit the Lincoln Memorial to watch Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps where he presented more than 61 years ago. The speech is 16 minutes long. More information about the 1963 March on Washington is widely available, including on the NAACP. org website.
While the film was given its laurels in India, international award shows have controversially overlooked the film. Particularly, the recent discourse surrounding the exclusion of “Laapataa Ladies” from the Oscar shortlist was prominent across South Asian digital platforms, especially because the film was India’s official entry for “Best International Picture.”
This has spotlighted the discrepancy of Western media, which is the hegemonic standard of approval for most performing arts; in 2008, “Slumdog Millionaire,” won eight Oscars, despite stereotypically racist portrayals of India and being directed by Danny Boyle, who is not Indian. More recently, the film awards season was embroiled in contention when “Emilia Perez,” the story of a Mexican and transgender drug-lord cartel directed by a Frenchman who has never been to Mexico and is not transgender, won four Golden Globes and is currently on the same Oscar shortlist that “Laapataa Ladies” failed to make.
These examples showcase that despite the constant emphasis on authentic representation, Western media continues to laud cinema that perpetuates harmful stereotypes of race and gender under the guise of inclusion. This can only be rectified by the recognition of media that honors stories created by minorities, for minorities. Stories like “Laapataa Ladies,” can be lost and found but should never be forgotten.
THIS WEEK’S THEME: MLK Day
The National Gallery of Art’s “The Impressionist Movement” and “Life in the Impressionists’ Paris” exhibits are closing this week. The former is open until Jan. 19 in the West Building from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the latter is open until Jan. 19 in the East Building from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The companion exhibits demonstrate iconic paintings, contextual pieces and information about impressionism and painting in the late 19th century. The Phillips Collection’s “Breaking it Down: Conversations From the Vault” presents new perspectives on cornerstone artists and modern trailblazers in an open exhibit until Jan. 19 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is closed Jan. 20, in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Inauguration Day, but you can visit from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. all other days this week. The museum itself is outstanding to learn more of Dr. King’s legacy, and it provides additional resources to learn about Dr. King’s work.
Evan Bournazian
Hoya Staff Writer
From launching 2022’s “SOS” album to high critical and commercial acclaim to having a recent standout single with rapper Kendrick Lamar on “Luther,” SZA’s over-twoyear run of hits only continues to reach new heights on the reissued deluxe edition of “SOS,” “SOS Deluxe: LANA.” While the reissue of SZA’s second studio album adds to an initially 23-song tracklist, the 15 additional songs stand as a fresh take on her R&B and pop-infused formula of past works and lead “Lana” to appear as a new album.
Following an over four-year hiatus between her debut album “Ctrl” and sophomore album “SOS,” “Lana” only further cements SZA’s status as a paramount figure in R&B, soul and hip-hop. Even before the release of the deluxe album, the more than two years between “SOS” and “Lana” saw SZA rack up three Grammy wins, sell out a world tour and even reunite with Lamar for an upcoming stadium tour.
Despite multiple delays to the release,
which at one point even led SZA to claim that she would be “starting ‘Lana’ from scratch” after songs unofficially leaked, “Lana” finally released this past December in a moment that celebrated the high-spanning impact of “SOS” and built on themes of self-respect and authenticity in the face of romantic and even toxic relationships.
“Lana” starts with “No More Hiding,” a song that sets up an introspective introduction for SZA where she harmonizes over a laid-back instrumental and works to find a sense of inner peace. As SZA seeks to no longer stay in an inauthentic and hidden position and instead looks to find an inner purity in the opening verse, she takes the subsequent choruses and second verse to take her “mask off” and to even “cut [herself] open to see what [she’s] made of,” unveiling a figurative curtain that conceals her identity.
The following “What Do I Do” sees SZA turn into an unrequited love setting where she laments an ex-partner, who is now in a relationship, on a track carried by synths and reverb-heavy vocals. While SZA harmonizes on how the connection between her
and her ex-partner has dissolved, she takes the song deeper as she admits her commitment to her unnamed ex regardless of the current circumstances.
The third track, “30 For 30,” serves as a highlight on the record, where Lamar appears for a back-and-forth rap ballad with SZA. The two join to present a commendable call for love but with the caveat of greater self-respect. Through such shared melodies as when the duo sings, “I get this type of feeling you ain’t accustomed to / I swear I’d be at peace if it weren’t for you,” SZA and Lamar form a catchy moment on “Lana” that leads the deluxe to showcase SZA’s journey toward a truer sense of love.
The following “Diamond Boy (DTM)” further opens “Lana” to transform into a distinct project from “SOS” as SZA continues to grasp opportunities for interpersonal peace over an acoustic guitar instrumental. The successes of “Lana” and SZA’s reflections on her relationships reach new heights on “BMF,” where the acoustic and pop-infused production leads SZA to turn the deluxe toward a more pop-infused route reminiscent of cuts
@SZA/ INSTAGRAM
Evan Bournazian (CAS ’25) explores the songs and sounds of SZA’s long-anticipated newest project, “SOS Deluxe: LANA.”
from “SOS.” “Scorsese Baby Daddy” continues the pop undertones with bouncy guitar chords and drums that SZA incorporates in a tumultuous relationship context that even sees SZA extending her vocal range.
“Chill Baby” turns SZA into an R&B route with production aided by rapper Lil Yachty, where she again ushers in opportunities for reflection and peace for herself through concluding a relationship and setting it aside, even though there proves to be more complex emotions for SZA when she begs her partner to “don’t go.” “Crybaby” also develops on the themes of underlying insecurity and toxicity. On this track, SZA paints herself in a more negative light, representing a humbling period on the record.
The eleventh and thirteenth tracks, “Kitchen” and “Drive,” both take a mellow R&B approach that leads SZA into key instances of introspection. “Drive” especially appears as a key highlight, with the song even being accompanied by a visual starring actor Ben Stiller singing along to SZA’s lyrics that takes place in a similar natural setting as that present on the record’s cover.
“Saturn,” as the outro and lead single for the deluxe record, caps off “Lana” on a high note featuring a spacey instrumental, which SZA incorporates with melodies that declare “Life’s better on Saturn / Got to break this pattern / Of floating away,” as she concludes the record by calling for an escape from her current state of life.
“Lana” not only capitalizes on the success of “SOS,” but it also emerges as a dense record and an album separate from the original work. Overall, “Lana” proves to be a respectable addition to an already lauded album in “SOS” and is a testament to SZA’s high-quality consistency.
Nick Williams Hoya Staff Writer
“Ethel Cain” is the stage name of Florida native Hayden Anhedönia, who drew critical acclaim and the internet’s attention following her 2022 debut LP “Preacher’s Daughter.” Her artistry is largely lore-driven: “Preacher’s Daughter” follows the character Ethel Cain as she runs away from home and meets a man who promises to show her the West, only to be murdered and cannibalized by him. Her narratives weave in themes of intergenerational trauma, gendered violence and the intersection between queer identity and Christianity, all over haunting southern gothic instrumentation. Anhedönia specified that her new album, “Perverts,” is not part of this Ethel Cain lore.
“Perverts” feels like an analog horror soundtrack — like a demon chasing you through a haunted house, like drifting aimlessly through the ocean at twilight. It takes the haunting darkness of “Ptolemaea,” the climax of her debut LP, and dials it up to 100. Anhedönia
drew inspiration from an abandoned power plant in rural Pennsylvania, whose brutalist architecture informs the album’s sound.
In November 2023, Anhedönia uploaded a video on YouTube that acts as a key to solving the puzzle of “Perverts.” She describes her philosophy relating music to God and her theory of the “ring” and “divine theatre.” “Rings” are songs that resonate across numerous frequencies. When you concentrate on the ring and feel surrounded by the music, you undergo the “pull,” which brings you from Earth into the “Divine Theatre.” There, you experience euphoria and serenity; it’s the closest to God you can get. Anhedönia explains that there’s a veil between you and God in this place, which you can touch but cannot pass through. If music gives you full body chills — or makes you feel like you’re floating, surreal and unbelievably present and alive — then you know what Anhedönia means.
The 12-minute title track opens the project, starting with a bone-chilling lo-fi rendition of “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” It sets the tone for the album, which struggles between nearness
to God and the perversions that separate us from him. The title track is sparse, often plunging into passages of silence and low hums.
Last November, Anhedönia released the lead single and second track, “Punish.” It opens with a squeaking porch swing and muffled piano and conforms to a verse-chorus structure. Anhedönia references Gary Plauché, who infamously murdered the man who kidnapped and molested his son. The chorus repeats, “I am punished by love,” a reference to the perverse desire of child predators. But there’s a secondary meaning. Anhedönia is a transgender woman who identifies as bisexual and often examines the intersection of queer identity and religion. As the narrator attempts to draw nearer to God, they must contend with the Church’s condemnation of their love.
The third track is “Houseofpsychoticwomn,” a 13-minute ambient number named after the autobiography by Canadian writer Kier-La Janisse. Anhedönia repeats “I love you” in a pitched-down distorted voice, infusing the phrase with sinister intention. The instrumentation is full of whooshing noises and eerie drones, as if you’re inside a wash-
@MOTHERCAIN/INSTAGRAM
Nick Williams (CAS ’25) breaks down the mystique, theology and meaning behind Ethel Cain’s latest, and perhaps strangest, album “Perverts.”
ing machine. The fourth track and second single is “Vacillator,” which describes emotional numbness (“If you love me, keep it to yourself,” she repeats). The track melts into “Onanist,” another drifting number that depicts a narrator yearning for intimacy, as she incessantly states, “It feels good.”
The most intriguing track is “Pulldrone,” the 15-minute centerpiece of the project. Anhedönia opens with a spoken word monologue detailing the ‘12 stages of Simulacrum,’ as she called it in a recent Tumblr post. She took inspiration from French philosopher Jean Baudrillard, whose writing discussed simulation (imitations of reality) and simulacrum (imitations of things without an original, or whose original no longer exists). In this monologue, Anhedönia explores the theology of the divine theatre, depicting the narrator’s ascension to it, the perversion of attempting to stay there and the fall back to reality. Once the narrator returns to reality, there’s an intrinsic difference to it, thus becoming the simulacrum. Then comes 10 minutes of droning, a noise somewhere between a lawn mower and an electric razor. This track is a complicated (and sometimes painful) listen, one that is perhaps too indulgent to Anhedönia’s love of sprawl.
The drone gives way to “Etienne,” an eight-minute piano and guitar interlude, followed by “Thatorchia,” the climatic moment that sonically represents divine theatre. The album concludes with my personal favorite, “Amber Waves.” The instrumental is dreamy and oceanic, topped with a guitar riff drenched in reverb. Anhedönia explained on Tumblr that “Amber” is a personification of “love cast aside to get high.” It juxtaposes our association of the title with “America the Beautiful,” instead exposing the narrator’s longing to reach the ecstasy of divine theatre again through drugs. The track explores dissociation from material reality, drifting along its 11-minute runtime in a sonic purgatory. Anhedönia ends the song simply stating, “I can’t feel anything.” There’s an inescapable conclusion of “Perverts”: However fascinating the narrative may be, it’s largely unlistenable. The project spans 89 minutes, of which much is ambiance, noise or piano loops. The music often becomes unsettling and uncanny, too; I’ll admit I procrastinated my second listen out of fear. In interviews before its release, Anhedönia expressed discontent with her current fame. Her music fell victim to “tiktokification” as she believed listeners weren’t taking the art seriously or prioritizing aesthetics over material. “Perverts” is a bold challenge to the fandom, asking us to love Ethel Cain not just as a singer-songwriter project, but as a philosopher, a theologian, a lover of ambient sprawl and a pervert.
Luke McMahan Guide Columnist
The legendary Soviet filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky traveled to Sweden to complete “The Sacrifice,” which, unbeknownst to him, would be his final work. As with much of his career, the film examined death and faith in an apocalyptic scenario in an allegorical, dreamlike manner. This strange mystical film beautifully concludes the man’s singular oeuvre.
“The Sacrifice” begins with Alexander (Erland Josephson), a retired theater actor and academic, quietly enjoying a birthday with a few friends and family. A faithless man, he begins declaiming the spiritual emptiness and technological preoccupation of the modern world. He wishes all people, including himself, would cease their endless talk and he wonders what might change if someone finally committed to defiant, wordless action.
However, as the movie progresses, the group becomes confined to their home during the onset of a global nuclear war. Faced with impending death, Alexander at last prays to
God, promising to give up his family, house and possessions if they are spared from the conflict. In a strange sequence, his friend tells him to become intimate with one of their housemaids, reportedly a witch. He does so and awakens the following day with the war mysteriously averted. In keeping with his promise, Alexander tricks his family into leaving their house before setting it ablaze and is finally dragged away in an ambulance.
“The Sacrifice,” described by Tarkovsky as a parable, combines Christian and Nietzschean themes in examining the response of a spiritually bereft man to the apocalypse. Alexander, having spent a lifetime endlessly pontificating through his writing, becomes disgusted with his and others’ inaction in addressing the prioritization of unnecessary technological progress aimed at either comfort or violent repression. He talks briefly about the deep fear of death, which, as Alexander says, often drives people to make poor decisions. Reflecting on these ideas, Alexander embodies the opening statement by avoiding commitment to any specific ac-
By Jasmine Criqui
tion or belief system. Instead, he focuses on continually questioning society’s blind confidence in technological progress.
The characters offer two responses to this wish to resolve doubt and to act conclusively. One of Alexander’s friends mentions Nietzsche’s concept of the same eternally recurring life, and the protagonist scoffs at the man’s belief that humans can make their universal model into being. His friend responds, “If I truly believe, it will be so.”
This course represents one’s acceptance of his life exactly as it is, despite its hopelessness, even if it repeats ad infinitum. Alexander takes a different path. Pushed by his apocalyptic circumstances into embracing faith as an answer to his fear and doubt, he makes a one-way promise to God to save his family and release him from the all-consuming fear of death in exchange for sacrificing his relationships and attachments.
Just as Alexander stated before, fear of death makes one do things he shouldn’t. Alexander’s flight to superstition (sleeping with a “witch”) and blind faith leads him to
destroy his house and most likely wreck his most important relationships. Before he has a relationship with the woman, he tells a story about a past attempt to clean his mother’s garden, which resulted in its ugliness. Likewise, his attempt to clean up the chaos and ruin of his life resulted in more violence and pain as well as a less desirable situation. While this film hardly seems to embrace a fully Nietzschean outlook, the words of the protagonist’s friend about surmounting the fear of death through a willing acceptance of life as it is offers a different approach to addressing one’s spiritual turmoil. Accomplished through ritual action and a changed outlook, the will to power over one’s life arises from embracing and acting to change it. In fleeing his spiritual confusion and degrading fear of death, Alexander brings greater suffering to his family. His desire to dispel his own doubt and finally accomplish something leads him to grasp at incomplete and false notions of faith as if it were a binding promise with the Almighty and then carry it through to its disastrous conclusion.
1.What professors hope you’re using that computer for
6. Number of semesters left, for seniors
7. “How could u?”
8. Protuberance on an old oak, maybe
10. Unit of osmotic pressure
11. Like the face of an unamused professor
1. Nonstarters
2. Like clocks during a Newfoundland winter
3. Spanish “I love you”
4. “_!”: source of celeb news
5. “_____ week”: goofy designation for the first week of the semester
9. Jimmy’s successor, in the White House
1. Using study days to get ____
6. To watch an entire show in a day
7. An organ you will use during finals season
8. Direct object pronoun for the plural “you” in Spanish
9. To video call someone, abbr.
10. You may be taking these next week
1. The elementary school that is the subject of an Emmy-winning show, minus a “T”
2. An aptly named type of grain used as horse food, in German
3. An extractable nuclear antigen, abbr.
4. Something you may get during this coming break
5. Small impressions