How do Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore stack up against the original Carrie’s mother and daughter duo? The top film critics weigh in!
One of horror’s most iconic villains is reborn tonight, as Carrie opens in theaters nationwide. It’s a tale as old as time, girl gets bullied, girl discovers she has powers, girl uses said powers to murk her bullies, and based on the reviews, this 2013 remake of the original 1976 classic holds up pretty well. Both Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore turn in admirable performances, putting their own spins on the telekenetic teen and her monstrous mother.
Director Kimberly Peirce’s intermittently effective third feature eschews De Palma’s diabolical wit and voluptuous style in favor of a somber, straight faced retelling, steeped in a now familiar horror movie idiom of sharp objects, shuddering sound effects and dark rivulets of blood. Chief among the film’s selling points are an intensely committed Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore, enacting a subtler, more psychologically insidious take on the mother-daughter relationship immortalized by Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie.
Moretz does good work in the role, especially when she squares off with Moore, as Carrie tries to stand up to Margaret, while gaining more self confidence, and more telekentic power. As Margaret, the dependably excellent Moore is suitably frightening and fierce and one well done addition here is seeing more of Margaret’s tendency to self mutilate.
In a role that calls for over the top, Moore is terrific, bringing just the right hint of restraint. Moretz is as always a captivating presence, hunched over and folded in on herself in an effort to be invisible at school, or trembling at the damnation hurled by her mother until she summons the strength to fight back.
No comments:
Post a Comment