By Sean McDonnell
Immediately after
watching Berberian Sound Studio I thought, “this is something special
from any other psychological thriller I’ve seen”. Indeed, Peter
Strickland’s second film is a beautifully made triumph and a strange
tribute to giallo horror!
The film is set in the 1970s and follows
sound technician Gilderoy (Toby Jones) being sent to Italy to work on a
horror film called The Equestrian Vortex which we, as the audience,
never see. Instead, we witness the grueling tasks of Gilderoy having to
create the sounds of anguish and suffering through your average shopping
basket such as melons being hacked to bits, cabbages being stabbed,
blending tomato juice...you get the idea. From then on, things get
very out of hand with Gilderoy’s shift in his line of work as he
becomes lost in a world of sound.
The film is, without question, astonishing. I have to agree with Peter Bradshaw that this film definitely has a Lynchian feel to it with its unique dream sequences and explicit fear through not only Gilderoy, but also through Veronica (Susanna Cappellaro), a voice actress constantly under pressure and treated “like a whore” by the crew, who use various unorthodox methods to create the perfect, painful, frightening scream.
The music by the electronic group Broadcast provides a gorgeous representation of anxiety, not only through linking with the giallo film as Gilderoy does his magic; but also expresses his feelings on this dramatic change in contrast to working on softer works in his native land. Along with that, Jones delivers a spellbinding performance, presenting a timid man who has the magic to create any sound, including a very intimate scene creating UFO noises with a light bulb, all through candlelight! The cinematography by Nicholas D. Knowland is beyond interesting, offering close knit shots of fear through Gilderoy and Veronica and of course, the precious items to destroy! All of this is seen whilst edited by Chris Dickens to give an almost exploitative like feel to this very dark film. This is certainly a very unusual thriller but alluring and left me in shock and awe at its originality! Weird, immersive and original. This is something else, and something else
I would highly recommend seeing. A top class piece of madness!
Berberian Sound Studio is available in the College Library in a 1 disc edition format, it has a 15 certificate.
Sean McDonnell is on Twitter, you can follow him @seanmcdonnell_.
Sean also has his own blog, which you can find here.
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| Don't let that salad go to waste. |
The film is, without question, astonishing. I have to agree with Peter Bradshaw that this film definitely has a Lynchian feel to it with its unique dream sequences and explicit fear through not only Gilderoy, but also through Veronica (Susanna Cappellaro), a voice actress constantly under pressure and treated “like a whore” by the crew, who use various unorthodox methods to create the perfect, painful, frightening scream.
The music by the electronic group Broadcast provides a gorgeous representation of anxiety, not only through linking with the giallo film as Gilderoy does his magic; but also expresses his feelings on this dramatic change in contrast to working on softer works in his native land. Along with that, Jones delivers a spellbinding performance, presenting a timid man who has the magic to create any sound, including a very intimate scene creating UFO noises with a light bulb, all through candlelight! The cinematography by Nicholas D. Knowland is beyond interesting, offering close knit shots of fear through Gilderoy and Veronica and of course, the precious items to destroy! All of this is seen whilst edited by Chris Dickens to give an almost exploitative like feel to this very dark film. This is certainly a very unusual thriller but alluring and left me in shock and awe at its originality! Weird, immersive and original. This is something else, and something else
I would highly recommend seeing. A top class piece of madness!
Berberian Sound Studio is available in the College Library in a 1 disc edition format, it has a 15 certificate.
Sean McDonnell is on Twitter, you can follow him @seanmcdonnell_.
Sean also has his own blog, which you can find here.
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