Review of A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) by Jack F — 24 Oct 2016

As a general rule, the most important component of any movie, the factor that determines whether it's worth seeing, is its story. When a story is uninteresting or unintelligible, that probably means it's not going to be worth your time.

However, there are exceptions to this, and I've found that horror is the genre in which you'll usually find these. As an example off the top of my head, take Dario Argento's "Suspiria," arguably his most popular film. Narratively, the film isn't really all that cohesive. But when it comes to atmosphere, it is a straight-up masterpiece, particularly visually. The set-pieces work so well due to the film's technical aspects: expert framing, rich color saturation, a creepy soundtrack, etc.

Which brings me to "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night," the 2014 feature directorial debut of Ana Lily Amirpour, self-described as an "Iranian Vampire Spaghetti Western." There isn't really much of a plot, per se; it comes across more as a slice-of-life in a tiny Iranian village in which we're introduced to a few of the inhabitants...one of whom just so happens to be a vampire.

Truth be told, as you can tell by the director's description, I'm not even really sure whether this is a horror movie. It most certainly has horror elements, along with those of the spaghetti western. But there're also traits of a romance film, a family drama, and even a 50's teen rebel movie. As it's more of a snapshot of daily life in this bizarre little town, it therefore has different story elements for its different characters.

As a result, on occasion, the film gives off a vibe more akin to a series of vignettes rather than a unified whole. This can make it feel a bit aimless. But the film still works because (a) we haven't really seen anything like this before, and (b) Amirpour's talents as a filmmaker overcome any narrative shortcomings, and this assists greatly in holding our attention. This really is quite the audacious debut, and not the kind of Hollywood-produced standard.

We're introduced to Arash (Arash Mandi), a young man currently stuck in the rut of his tedious life. This is mostly because he is caring for his father (Marshall Manesh), a widower who suffers from a heroin addiction. The other thorn in his side is Saeed (Dominic Rains), a vile pimp who also serves as his father's dealer. Arash's life changes when, while walking home from a party one night while stoned out of his mind, he meets a mysterious young woman (Sheila Vand) on the street...a woman with a secret...

The rest of the film follows the tentative romance between Arash and the enigmatic woman, while occasionally checking in on other denizens of the village like Atti (Mozhan Marno), one of Saeed's prostitutes. The girl's true nature is not exactly a surprise-just take a look at Amirpour's description of the movie-and upon meeting Arash, there's definitely a hint of "Let the Right One In," which also dealt with a peculiar blossoming romance. (Mention "Twilight" and I'll punch you.).

The film is shot in black-and-white, and this was most definitely a great decision as Lyle Vincent's cinematography work is excellent.. It gives the film a stark, haunting atmosphere, and it serves to augment the dream-like (or perhaps nightmare?) ambience seeping out of several shots. Lots of mileage is gained from the titular girl's appearance alone; from her pasty white visage (no doubt also accentuated by the black-and-white) to her long, black chador to Sheila Vand's piercing eyes, there's something about her that's simultaneously alluring and threatening. She's often seen riding a skateboard, making it almost seem like she's gliding specter-like along the dark and empty streets, which are usually only lit by a streetlamp.

This movie is very well-filmed in general, but there's one specific scene that's particularly masterful. It occurs rather early in the proceedings and involves the pimp Saeed bringing the mysterious girl back to his apartment. Now we know what's going to happen here, but that doesn't make Amirpour's ingenious camera work any less striking. There's something incredibly effective about the way she constantly keeps the girl in the background and out of focus while Saeed is in the foreground. (For one thing, it makes the girl appear more menacing and again, this is assisted greatly by the black-and-white.) The subtle, slow pans help to increase the feelings of unease, especially when the girl is out of the frame entirely. I think the fact that the girl spends much of the scene lurking in the doorway also helps in building suspense. The audience may actually begin to question just what her motives are, and when Saeed proceeds to turn on music and do a line of cocaine, it's almost as if he, and the audience, have forgotten she's there at all. Some great, subtle work here both in front of and behind the camera.

"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" is unconventional, to be certain, but I think that actually works in the film's favor. You should NOT go into this film expecting standard horror; this is anything but, and you will end up gravely disappointed. But the weird, offbeat little story and the technical mastery make it a fascinating movie-watching experience. On the basis of this first film, Amirpour sure looks like a budding auteur.