The Hollywood Outsider – Film and Television Podcast | Reviews An award-winning film and television podcast for the fan in all of us
Carrie White (Chloe Grace Moretz) is a tortuously shy teen. She sulks quietly in the background during school activities, keeps to herself waddling down the hallway, and maintains the position of loner as she traverses through her empty life. Raised by her religious fanatic mother, Margaret (Julianne Moore), she has been trained to be fearful of all things and people except for the saving grace of the Lord. To her fellow students, she’s odd, weird…a freak.
When she inexplicably has her first period during a PE shower, never being told the intricacies of the female body from her mother, it leaves her horrified of her impending death. What is worse, are the real-life nightmares of students capturing her trauma on video, surrounding her while throwing tampons and screaming the dreaded ‘Plug. It. Up!’
This begins a change in Carrie, as her pain causes her to realize she may have telekinetic powers that allow her to regain control of her life, and her surroundings. One of her tormenters, Sue (Gabrielle Wilde), repents for her torture by talking her boyfriend, Tommy (a charming Ansel Elgort), into taking Carrie to Prom and giving her that one special night. Meanwhile, the leader of the attack, Chris (the well-cast Portia Doubleday), plans her revenge for Carrie’s event costing her Prom night, with her one-note boyfriend Billy (the bland Alex Russell). The result is a Prom gala you would most likely prefer to skip if you attending this school.
Chloe Moretz, an actress who is truly coming into her own, more than holds the screen here. While at first it is a little daunting to see the attractive, confident, and defiant Hit-Girl play tortured victim, Moretz is more than up to the task. Her character is essentially maturing on-screen, realizing her strength and power as a woman as she prepares for the inevitable Prom night allegory to adulthood. Moretz hits every emotion throughout the course of the film, including some clever, vengeful fits…and she offers nary a false beat.
Julianne Moore has a difficult role, as Margaret is the easiest character in the film to come across as generic or stereotypical, and thankfully they found an actress able enough to show her true heart. Yes, Margaret is a little further right than even the Westboro Church fanatics, but her concerns are valid. She wants to keep her daughter free from the corruption that caused her lot in life, unfortunately for Carrie, locking your daughter in the closet for prayer time might not be the best way to hammer that message home.
Her fellow teens all play their parts as scripted, but none other than Elgort truly stand out. Judy Greer as Ms. Desjardin, adds much to the film as Carrie’s PE teacher who sees what everything is doing to Carrie, and her intervention plays a strong part on how the story unfolds.
Director Kimberly Peirce delivers a worthy remake to a horror classic, while offering enough changes to make it seem fairly fresh. She does an admirable job creating the atmosphere of an alienated girl trying to find herself, defy her mother, only to have it go all wrong. The horror of the film’s ending is delivered through the events as they unfold, never resorting to cheap gore. The one complaint I have about the film, is it is a little too derivative of the original film, even incorporating some mimicked iconic shots from that film.
Everyone under the sun who has seen it, is going to compare this film to Brian DePalma’s 1976 classic adaptation of Stephen King’s first book, starring Sissy Spacek. While that is fair to fans that have seen it, most will have not. So, if you are a fan of the original, you will not find much new here; this is a fairly faithful remake of the original film, with some of the original changes to the book put back in. That said, the ending here (which I won’t spoil) is the one from the original film – not the book which most fans hoped for – which is the only disappointing point for longtime fans.
If you have never seen the original or read the book, Carrie stands out as an example of how to film a coming-of-age horror story and treat the characters with respect. Following Carrie on her journey is a fairly moving and entertaining one, from the timid beginnings right up until the blood-soaked end.
If $10 is the full price of admission, Carrie is worth $7.
Carrie
Starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore
Directed by Kimberly Pierce
Aaron Peterson
The Hollywood Outsider
www.TheHollywoodOutsider.com