Mommie Dearest

1981 Directed by Frank Perry

Horror Marathon 2023 Day 1 - Film 1

Faye Dunaway's unhinged portrayal of Joan Crawford is full of absurdism. For some this becomes campy- hilarious in its soap opera quality and hysteria. The first watch feels horrific- more like a Lynchian nightmare of the glorious underbelly of the Hollywood studios. It's as much a hagsploitation derivative of Joan Crawford's own filmography as a prism of childhood trauma that focuses much scorn through Christiana Crawford's eyes.

This relies on the emotional journey of Christina the film terrorizes her at various stages through her life. Joan is elegant and outwardly perfect in her dress and style. The costumes inform this elegance- each scene exudes Joan's sexuality through her obsessiveness to beauty. Even the house itself becomes like a grand gothic mansion- devoid of life but beautiful with bright quality and unique furniture.

But when Christina wants to emulate her mother Joan treats her as if she's a spoiled brat without proper upbringing. Christina's whole identity is that she's Joan Crawford's adoptive child-a gift that Christina must live up to. But over the veneer of any love is Joan's own projected anger and compulsive violence. Every aspect that doesn't come up to perfection is a slight against Crawford herself- and so she destroys anything that doesn't live up to that ideal.

Unfortunately the film doesn't lean in totally to Faye's performance as when Christina moves out of the house all of the tension and momentum of the film stalls. The dullness sets in- what made for discomfort becomes more of a string of memory recall. Because the audience hasn't attached to the dramatic quality of the first part of the film there isn't much to rely on for these moments. It sputters in the process- but the hyper aspect of those first scenes stay with you.