Shell
Shell
It is clear that Andrew Smith and the directors of curtailed self-expression behind the Shell film intended it to be a film that gives its audience pleasure as it likely went through some censoring while in production. It likely resonates with a lot of audiences in the sense that it is a film that is constantly present, just like a film that probably plays during the middle of the day or the late nights on the cable TV channels.
There have been so many films in this particular category who are very much cord-buzzed — these are scrappy, little productions that do have a sense of humor that is campy and is very accessible. Cables change the viewing principle. In this case, the worst comes in terms of obscurity. Pressing play here feels like a bit of an adventure, like one would embark on a film that in itself isn’t quite mastery, but the nature of the film is behind enough to be considered interesting and engrossing. Best-case scenario, the unpretentious little masterpieces get the chance to shine in the sub-market world of home video when almost all of the other stars lose their shine.
Director Max Minghella seems to be in line with such thinking with Shell, a campy horror dominating the unfairness of beauty standards in the modern society. Six years after his first film debut, Teen Spirit, Minghella is at the Toronto International Film Festival again with a new film about a self-pretty child trying to become a big star. Shell follows the story of Samantha Lake (Elisabeth Moss) who is a TV star seeking for opportunities to be in movies. However, in Hollywood, she is far down the pecking order and her management feels there is a need for her to reinvent herself.
Zoe Shannon (Kate Hudson) and her beauty empire come to the stage now, her company Shell has developed a new kind of treatment which she claims improves one’s health and prevents aging interference. Samantha is reluctant at first an dthen is swiftly persuaded by the dashing Dr. Hubert (Arian Moayed). During her stay at the clinic, she encounters a mother/daughter babysitting pair that includes a girl she used to babysit and the girl, Chloe Benson (Kaia Garber), who she used to babysit and they both reconnect. Still, Samantha feels confused about how a person’s age could prove to be an obstacle in obtaining such absurd treatment. New to acting, Chloe Benson is already vying for the same roles as Samantha. Why would she need to get modifications this early in her career?
Chloe’s whereabouts are unknown because minutes after they do the treatment, she goes missing but Samantha has no time to focus on this because she is caught up in her career. The treatment does shifts quite a lot for Samantha, who now feels a certain increase in confidence levels on screen and off, purchases a new house and recruits her close friend Lydia (Este Haim) as her assistant to help her reach her success. Even, she grows fond of Zoe, who does not shy away from telling Samantha to use her female prowess in order to achieve her goals.
Samantha is at her best, getting her dream film role and feeling sexy for probably the first time in life. But when the treatment begins to show unwanted effects on Samantha, the portrait of Zoe and her empire begins to dissolve. Very soon, Samantha is forced to understand that what happened to Chloe, is also the case with her.
Somehow, Shell, in its entirety, is far too brief, given that it is 100 minutes long. The screenplay of Jack Stanley has a tendency to jump from one scene to another without allowing the viewer to clearly establish the direction the narrative is taking. Moss does her best as Samantha, but the character is so thinly written that comparison is hardly needed. Samantha’s development is primarily based upon her self- reassurance and emotional gauging, after which she perceives all her issues to be resolved.
The plot becomes more coherent due to the gradual incorporation of the horror aspects. One of the most intriguing elements is that of body horror, which adds a pleasant touch of savagery to the picture. Zoe does seem to be a lot of fun for Hudson, but the film does not seem to go far in making her completely over the top camp bad. Everything she does appears to be a little modest and overly tidy, whether she is meant to be getting down and filthy. The strongest parts of Shell are the most grotesque, but the rest of the film is too pretty to make this work. The camp aesthetics of classic horror movies is what makes them so iconic. It is commendable for a film to make the effort to be unabashedly unsightly.
All in all, the views and ideas that Shell puts forward regarding the beauty practices are rather superficial. And when the cinematic work is otherwise empty, the qualities of tone and performance have to bear all the weight. On the other hand, the film has its share of defined characters who, previously in the team of players, include the comical, engaging and portraying a character N. Kamófies, Amy Landecker, Randall Park. Any of them, however, regardless of their identity and gender, Symilliance’s art will not add up to the current narrations of beauty or the history of cinema, and the visions of film making, for the movie quite fully intends to be deemed a cult classic and one that is iconic, is rather just okay.
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- Genre: Comedy, horror, Thriller
- Country: United States
- Director: Max Minghella
- Cast: Elizabeth Berkley, Leanne Suter, Kate Hudson
