Review of Gummo (1997) by Ray D — 25 Jan 2009
If you've seen Harmony Korine's GUMMO, you may feel that two stars is a bit of a cop-out, that it's either too high or two low depending on if you hate or admire Mr. Korine's work. This is definitely a polarizing film, one that doesn't really have a clear storyline or character arcs.
Instead, the environment itself, the town of Xenia, that was hit by a tornado and never really recovered, is the main character in a way--the landscape that other characters wander through aimlessly. There are some unpleasant imagaes, especially if you're a cat person, but the only thing that really made me uncomfortable was the spaghetti in the bathtub (go figure?).
Some people might dismiss the film as ugliness for ugliness's sake, but the Korine's images have a hypnotic quality as they build, and his vision of a decaying American suburb as wonderland feels prescient given the problems of the past few years.
It's not a movie I enjoy, but it's doing something valid and true.
This review of Gummo (1997) was written by Ray D on 25 Jan 2009.
Gummo has generally received mixed reviews.
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