Horror Actressing: Sofia Boutella in "Climax"
Monday, November 25, 2019 at 3:00PM by Jason Adams
Andrzej Żuławski's 1981 freak-out flick Possession, starring Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill, has spent the past couple of decades being rediscovered as a major work of art -- Adjani won Best Actress at Cannes and the Cesars that year but the film was nearly chopped in half for its U.S. release (from 126 minutes down to 81) making an already cryptic and eccentric story totally incomprehensible. In short it bombed, and critics here in the US sneered. Still one has the feeling that the film's become a foundational text nowadays, and this year's Gaspar Noé movie Climax, with its gloriously unhinged central performance from Sofia Boutella, feels like Adjani's LSD-soaked descendant.
A professional dancer before becoming an actress it's only natural that Boutella would nail the physical requirements necessary to play Selva, the lead figure in Climax's troupe of overripe boogie-woogers who get more than they bargained for from the homemade sangria served at their snow-bound after-party...
Noe opens the film with the gang in celebratory formation and Boutella immediately emerges from the at first well-contained chaos as the big bright shining star, a spotlight seemingly fixed to her tangerine dream of a dress. She pops, oh how she pops.
But like any explosion its the fallout that brings the real buggering, and Climax disintegrates into absolute bedlam fairly fast -- when Variety reviewed Possession in 1981 they said it "starts on a hysterical note, stays there and surpasses it as the film progresses," and one can only wonder how they'd take the brain-melting theatrics on display here, ones which may have left even Żuławski a quivering heap crying for his momma. Climax is nothing but climaxes, an endless assault, a tea kettle singing on the surface of an active volcano.
Boutella though, she somehow carries us through it. Like a superhero floating in outer space and absorbing a nuclear blast into her every atom she wields the mania into a presentable form -- you can feel every snap and crackle of electricity coursing through her as she glides up and down these hell-strewn hallways, witnessing horrors best left unwitnessed -- she gives anarchy its shape, and channels Noé's excesses into a symphony of movement, terror, form.
Reader Comments (9)
Great post! So glad to see this film getting some attention. I've never been a fan of Gaspar Noe....never liked any of his films....but for some reason this one caught my attention, and I've become rather obsessed with it. Watched it several times on Amazon Prime. It is a really incredible work from the incredible choreography to the mostly non-professional actors to the complete emotional breakdown of all involved. And Boutella holds this unhinged nightmare together so strongly. Excellent choice for this series. And, if you haven't seen it or have an aversion to Noe, like me, give this one a chance.
Thank you Jason,
This is still my favorite film I saw this year.
(Disclaimer: never seen any other Noé films and
I'm a part time DJ so the soundtrack is a big influence for me.)
Paul
Great movie - so much more depth than people give it credit for - and GREAT performance. Thanks for this write-up!
#filth
Just rewatched this one and UNDER THE SKIN last Friday - you know, perfect movies for dark rainy nights. Boutella is amazing here, indeed
I want to see this. Gaspar Noe puts my ass in the seat!
Good call on Sofia Boutella's bold, vulnerable and touching performance in a film I am not I want to watch every year, but man when delusions set in, it was a beautiful almost balletic montage. Unforgettable is the opening scene that sets the stage for what's to come.
This one is def on my radar - I didn't read too much of this post because I don't want to know too much more about it. But I read with great interest afterwards! Thanks as ever, Jason.
I really expected a Sofia Boutella media explosion after watching Climax. Still waiting.