The Blazing World (film)
The Blazing World | |
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Directed by | Carlson Young |
Written by | Carlson Young Pierce Brown |
Based on | The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish |
Produced by | Brinton Bryan |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Shane F. Kelly |
Edited by | James K. Crouch |
Music by | Isom Innis |
Production companies |
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Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Blazing World is a 2021 American fantasy horror-thriller film written and directed by Carlson Young (in her feature film directorial debut) and co-written by Pierce Brown. The film stars Udo Kier, Young, Dermot Mulroney, Vinessa Shaw, John Karna, Soko and Edith González in her final film role before her death in 2019.[2] The film is loosely inspired by Margaret Cavendish's 1666 work of the same name.[3] In 2018, Young wrote, directed and starred in the short film of the same name, prior to expanding the basis and ideas for the full-length film.[4]
Cast[]
- Udo Kier as Lained
- Carlson Young as Margaret Winter
- Dermot Mulroney as Tom Winter
- Vinessa Shaw as Alice Winter
- John Karna as Blake
- Soko as Margot
Release[]
The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021 in the Next section.[5]
Reception[]
The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes had it with a 69% rating as of April 20, 2021. The site's consensus reads, "The Blazing World's scattershot script isn't always able to support writer-director-star Carlson Young's ambitions, but its arresting visuals hold the attention".[6]
Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting wrote "Young's debut is ambitious and refuses to adhere to commercial conformity. It may not hit its emotional marks or substantially reinvent trauma depictions, but it's hard to ever be bored by a film that plays like a whimsical horror-fairy tale on acid".[7]
Monica Castillo and Kristy Puchko of RogerEbert.com had a different take on the film. According to Puchko, the film "is impressive" and "awe[s] with outrageousness",[8] while Castillo's take is that "The Blazing World falls short narratively and visually".[9]
The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck commented that "There's plenty of imagination on display in The Blazing World, but it's buried amidst the narrative and stylistic self-indulgence that assumes we'll be interested in going on this very strange and ultimately enervating journey".[10]
Guy Lodge of Variety expressed a mixed reaction, stating that the film "throws an ornate heap of production design at an anemically scripted psychological metaphor, and counts on a combination of fairy dust and sheer determined nerve to make the whole contraption fly".[3]
According to Sarah Jane of The Austin Chronicle, the film is "overstuffed and overextended". However, she praised The Blazing World's soundtrack (especially the songs by Isom Innis and Sean Cimino), which (along with Soko's appearance) "buoyed" the film.[11]
References[]
- ^ "Sundance - FPG". Sundance. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda (August 5, 2020). "Vinessa Shaw Joins Dermot Mulroney In 'The Blazing World'; Brendan Hines, Kevin Daniels Cast In Pandemic Thriller 'Do Not Disturb' – Film Briefs". Deadline. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ a b Lodge, Guy (February 2, 2021). "'The Blazing World' Review: Carlson Young's Exhaustively Art-Directed but Enervating Adult Fantasy". Variety.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (January 24, 2018). "'Scream' TV Series' Carlson Young Makes Her Own Opportunities With 'The Blazing World' — Sundance Studio". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ Debruge, Peter (December 15, 2020). "Sundance Film Festival Lineup Features 38 First-Time Directors, Including Rebecca Hall and Robin Wright". Variety.
- ^ "The Blazing World (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ Navarro, Meagan (February 1, 2021). "[Sundance Review] 'The Blazing World' is Avant-Garde Horror Fantasy on Acid". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ Puchko, Kristy (February 2, 2021). "Sundance 2021: Ma Belle, My Beauty, The Blazing World, and Son of Monarchs". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ Castillo, Monica (October 18, 2021). "The Blazing World". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ Scheck, Frank (October 14, 2021). "'The Blazing World': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ Jane, Sarah (October 15, 2021). "The Blazing World". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
External links[]
- 2021 films
- English-language films
- 2021 horror thriller films
- 2021 independent films
- American romantic fantasy films
- American comedy horror films
- American historical romance films
- 2020s adventure comedy films
- 2020s fantasy-comedy films
- American horror thriller films
- American films
- American independent films
- Films based on novels
- Films based on horror novels
- 2021 comedy horror films
- 2021 directorial debut films
- Features based on short films