The Lure-2015
Director Agnieszka Smoczynska
Starring Michalina Olszanska, Marta Mazurek
Scott’s Review #741
Reviewed April 12, 2018
Grade: B
2015’s The Lure is as odd a film as one can imagine- dreamlike and sometimes even absurd. The story mixes a strange blend of the horror genre with musical numbers, but I would wobble to the side of gothic horror for classification purposes.
Oddly enough, some of the choreography numbers are reminiscent of 2016’s La La Land, but that is where the comparisons between those films end as the former musical numbers dark and the latter cheery.
A tough film to review, The Lure is rather disjointed, but kudos for creativity and unpredictability.
Bravely directed by a female (more kudos!), Agnieszka Smoczynska, a Polish filmmaker, the story is a cross between an autobiography of her troubled youth, and a retelling of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, The Little Mermaid.
Besides the obvious Polish language content the film does not appear overly Polish- it might have been nice to be exposed to some of the cultures.
The film immediately gets off to a mysterious start as two teenage girls, later revealed to be mermaids/vampires named Silver and Golden, emerge from the water and follow a rock band back to a tacky nightclub where the band regularly performs for patrons there for the strippers.
It is sometime in the 1980s.
The girls perform music and strip, becoming an act called “The Lure”. While Golden continues to thirst for blood, Silver falls in love with a bassist causing her to yearn to be a real girl, and subsequently has surgery to remove her tail and grow real-girl legs.
As part of the fairy tale, if her intended marries someone else Silver will turn into sea foam and die.
The story is perplexing and difficult to follow, yet something is mesmerizing and escapist about it.
I wonder if Smoczynska intended the film to make total sense or left it open to a bit of interpretation. The film is a mix of fairy tales and real-life experiences.
Some portions appear to be rather dream-like, for example, the nightclub singer has thoughts or visions involving Silver and Golden, but what is unclear is whether she is experiencing reality or imagination.
Props must be given to The Lure for originality alone. The film stirs up multiple genres and creates something truly unique.
In particular, the characters of Silver and Golden are transfixing, at times they are sweet and kind, then fangs come out at a moment’s notice revealing evil and a carnivorous bloodthirst revealing a grotesque, haunting countenance.
How Smoczynska created these characters is awe-inspiring and the up-and-coming director must have a wealth of imagination deep within.
On the other hand, the plot never really comes together enough to grab hold of the viewer in a riveting way.
While Silver and Golden are clever characters and we feel some empathy for them, I also never felt completely gripped by them either. I felt no connection to any of the supporting characters either.
Any attempt at figuring out the plot will only leave the viewer frustrated. I would advise taking The Lure as an experience, not a puzzle to unravel.
The Lure (2015) has elements of immeasurable fascination and an enormous creative edge. Attempts to create a unique fable meshed with a disturbing central theme are successful.
The overall story is way too confusing for the average user and ultimately ends up dragging towards the final portion with the final climax a wee bit unsatisfying.
A brave and inventive attempt at achieving something fresh and imaginative in cinema.