Saint Clare

There have always been anti-heroes in horror and thrilling cinema such as Hannibal Lecter, Patrick Bateman and now the newest addition to this dark lineage is Clare Bleecker, the teenage sociopath, who is being portrayed by Bella Thorne in Mitzi Peirone’s Saint Clare.

The film is also based on Don Roff’s novel Clare at Sixteen, which has an overall ‘strange’ or ‘evil’ main character that is somewhat easy to execute; however, the film exaggerates this by incorporating petite gothic fantasy and southern noir complementing religious undertones which sets it apart from others. This adds to the overall look of the movie which is splendid indeed, but the story feels disconnected with some great examples for those who like to dig deeper into the plotlines intricacies.

From the very beginning, Saint Clare involves the audience with the chilling quote from Clare herself Borrowed from Joan of Arc; “Everything I have said and done has been in the hands of God. I was born to do this. I am not afraid.” This is an audacious line that exemplifies what the journey of Clare in the script is supposed to be, violence, self-search and a cold subversion of God. Clare is perhaps the weakest aspect of the film, in terms of performance she is the weakest. Thorne who is known for making the jump from a classic Disney child star to an indie star is able to perform within the context of the film with the quietness of a stalking predator. There is a seamless transference from a role of an innocent Catholic school girl to that of a cold hearted killer sowing her war on the criminal underbelly of her small town.

Clare’s character is, to put it mildly, intriguing. She is not simply a killer for hire; in her mind, she is fulfilling the will of God by eliminating people whom in her sight deserve them. The moral ambiguity surrounding this is where the film Saint Clare gets its most clearest and fascinating ground, prompting its viewers to ponder about the morality of Clare’s behavior. Is she a vigilante or simply a psychologically disturbed young woman? One can look at this notion of dualism in Thorne’s portrayal as Thorne depicts a character who is quite powerful, yet subdued in sexuality due to the fact that the protagonist character is tortured due to being a violent person.

Mitzi Peirone, who gained some fame for her first feature film Braid, comes back to the director’s chair with a clear avant-garde touch. The movie is quite well in terms of photographs, with Nicolas Beauchamp depicting the hot, humid and shadows of the southern America small towns in a comfortable fashion. The audience might appreciate how Peirone applies visual Gothic as the camera also depicts scenes filled with Catholic models accompanied with a feeling of Clare’s disquiet, caused by her mental state. The beauty of the film conveys its richness and makes use of its low cost to make the world appear both personal and large. In fact, at times the visuals of the film of the film seem a little too sophisticated for a film that does not offer that much in terms of complexity.

Although Saint Clare resonates with viewers because of its visuals and a notable lead performance, the same cannot be said of its narrative. The film tries to incorporate many themes – religion, feminism, societal indifference to the abuse of young women – and in that process, becomes too ambitious. What starts off as a character focused story of a highly peculiar teenage sociopath, advances into a loosely based depiction of societal problems, repealing the sense of direction the initial scenes promise to deliver.

One such blunder in the film was the need to extend the story and include the missing girls in the town as part of a larger discussion. Though this sub-plot helps in building suspense during the film, it does so at the expense of the principal drama of the film. There is simply not enough time, 90 minutes in length, in this film to effectively weave these various plot lines, hence none are given proper treatment.

Similarly, the problem that arises with the assertion is brought forth by Clare’s ghostly conversations with a postman named Bob, who is portrayed by Frank Whaley and may or may not be in her head. More liberal use of presenting these scenes would be welcomed in Clare’s perspective as these do provide humor for her but they ultimately feel as Irish because they just came to annoy and somewhat distract from the pace of the film with off the curve humor, tainting the tone of the movie.

As if the first case is insufficient, dialogue in Saint Clare is also too elementary not to make the cut – that needed thunder for the more high brow themes that the movie carried – of which there were many throughout the plot. What could have been dynamic interactions between characters, actors prancing about, are the only action throughout the entire movie because the characters don’t delve into moral dilemmas posed by the story. When these two are deserted, it World feels wasted. Extent.…

In spite of the preceding praise, the borrowed clips are seeking their place in a world away from the primary flood and the film’s central crede is left wanting for hunger, the exploitative resolution was like a road that deals with everything and anything not in a deserted world, but adjoins the novel whatever the hell he wants to get in first.

Saint Clare’s predecessors are evident in many scenes but such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Constantine, The Babysitter, and even An American Werewolf in London and it is good influences these are the types of films aimed at kids.

All in all, Saint Clare is a film that is quite close to being spectacular, but pulls its punches and never fully delivers its promise. It is due to the efforts of Bella Thorne in a leading role and the direction of Mitzi Peirone as well that it remains an interesting picture, but its many idea concepts lack the necessary balance and look scattered.

So, somewhat similar to its main character, it straddles a lot of genres: horror, mystery thriller, social awareness, so to say, but in most case, fails to get completely snuggled in any of them.

For the fans of Thorne and people who love twisted tales about characters rather than plot, Saint Clare has enough to offer for one to justify watching it, but there is a feeling that had the writing been a bit more controlled and the focus on the action scenes, this could have been a truly outstanding picture.

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