[trailer]
 |
| When losing his leg was the protagonist's biggest concern.. |
It is very difficult to articulate how disturbed I felt walking out of Tusk, except to say I will never look at a walrus the same way again. Director, Kevin Smith, takes obsession to a new level, one that I was most definitely not comfortable with, and accentuates the absurd storyline with an occasionally visually stunning colour palette. Tusk, in my opinion, was a monstrous survival of the fittest tale that vaguely speaks to the long-term scarring of childhood abuse and ungrateful nature of humankind. A film that takes the joke that little bit too far, it was an cinematic experience I will not easily forget.
Tusk (2014), is a difficult film to summarise without sounding like a complete loony. Simply speaking, it follows the journey of a podcast comic, Wallace Bryton, who travels to Canada following a big story. When it is revealed that his subject has committed suicide he decides to use his otherwise wasted trip talking to a man, known as Howard Howe, who promises a very interesting story. Wallace enjoys an intriguing chat with the elderly invalid before waking up the next morning to a horrible turn of events. from there the film deteriorates rapidly as the old mans insanity is revealed along with his walrus fetish. He proceeds on a mission to mutate his new victim into a human walrus as Wallace's friends race around the country with a nutty investigator trying to find him before it's too late.
Though there were times when my head involuntarily turned from a scene of unnecessary gore, they did give me the opportunity to observe the reaction of the audience. As a self-proclaimed comedy-horror, the film was designed to emit an unusual blend of laughter and terror from viewers and while I did witness the occasional upturned mouth it was out of an inability to react in any other way to the shocking scenario they were witnessing. I did not find this film comedic, save for the brief Johnny Depp appearances as a drunken investigator thrown in for production value and cheap laughs, however noted the nervous laughter as an interesting response that left me wondering whether this was in fact Smith's aim.
Moving onto the aesthetic of the film and I can appreciate a selection of more stomach-able scenes that featured a very appealing colour grade. Smith appeared to manipulate his use of colour in an attempt to provoke an emotional response from the audience. A prime example of this is in the scene where the protagonist, Wallace Bryton, is talking to his newfound interviewee Howard Howe in his living room. The colour palette is low key and warm, making the space inviting and lulling the audience into a false sense of comfort. I myself was drawn into this trap before being rudely thrust into the revolting progression that is the Tusk storyline, finding that I was completely unprepared for the gore onslaught and ridiculous suggestion that a man could in fact be turned into a functioning walrus.
Discussing further the use of colour grading, we can see how an alternative grade has been used in scenes where Smith wishes to communicate a more romantic mood. High key tones have been applied to flashbacks with Wallace and his girlfriend, boldly contrasting his awful predicament with blissful moments of romance. Another clever technique designed to further alienate the audience from the ludicrousness of the story.
Evidence of Attendance:
No comments:
Post a Comment