The Love Witch

2016 witch movie

Rating: 12/20

Plot: A witch looks for love.

Here's a movie that I wanted to like a lot more than I did. There is a lot to like, especially visually, with Anna Biller's feminist film. You have to appreciate a woman who can design movie sequences as sleazy as Jesus Franco, and the 60s/70s glaze this has gives it an almost irresistible vibe. And star Samantha Robinson, who plays the titular character, is fetching with those eyes and those impossible cheekbones. Many individual shots could be works of art on their own. My eyes were entertained for the duration of the film.

The rest of me struggled with this one, however. Narratively, it felt a bit haphazard. There are three men, probably because any good modern day fairy tale should have three of something, and they have their differences, but I'm not quite sure what this was trying to say about men overall. It's a film that seemed very sure of itself with its feminist message, but nothing really ever came together to create a cohesive message. There's the idea of witchcraft being giving men what they want, but I was just kind of confused about what I was supposed to get from the whole thing.

I was also sickened by the narration. With a handful of exceptions, I just don't like narration in movies, and when the narrator is telling us things like, "Most men have never even seen a used tampon," it makes it even worse.

So while I'd love to see more Anna Biller films based on the set design and visual flair in The Love Witch (dig that pinkish tearoom, for example), I just thought this was ultimately fairly empty.

This was recommended by my brother who apparently wants nothing to do with me anymore.