Review of Sucker Punch (2011) by Ashley E — 12 Jul 2013

There's a message behind the guns and cleavage. If you didn't get it, watch it again, this time the extended version. It has more plot elements that I think aid in understanding the different dynamics in the plot.

This is a depressing movie, and I remember the first time I saw it in theatres, I remember not liking it very much, because it was good as far as affects and action, but lacked substance. After I watched the extended version years later, I remember saying at the end "how did I miss that the first time?" This movie has more depth than most people give it credit for.

It shows how a girl who due to severe emotional and it seems physical abuse, created realities in her mind where she could cope with all that had happened (her mother's death/murder, her stepfathers abuse, her accidently shooting her sister, her going to a mental institution, her being lobotomized/turned into a sex slave).

Although it wasn't real, it seemed to help her accept and be able to retain herself, her free will in the end. Babydoll, accepted lobotomy (can we say death?), in order to prevent herself from "losing" her virginity knowingly.

We see in the end of the film that she actually did "escape" that fate, because she "wasn't there" anymore, she was in a different place, where ever that may be. This is echoed throughout the film, with the song "Where is my mind" (originally by the Pixies).

It is sad, but I think that it shows some truths about the individual, and the mind. Some may judge me for this, but I almost see Babydoll as a Joan of Arc character. She refused to go willingly, she "fought" in her own way.

However I also view Babydoll as what her name given in the movie implies, as a child, who doesn't know any better, and who after a desperate attempt to be free, accepts lobotomy/death, as her way of freeing herself.