By Becca Johnson August 25, 2024
'Saint Clare' is the second feature-length film from director Mitzi Peirone, who’s 2018 film ‘Braid’ was popular amongst critics for its distinct style and solid direction. It also sees the return of actress Bella Thorne into the horror/thriller genre, who’s previous accolades include 'The Babysitter' (2017), 'The Babysitter: Killer Queen' (2020) and 'Assassination Nation' (2018). 'Saint Clare' tells the story of Clare Bleecker (Thorne), a seemingly normal teenage Catholic school student who lives with her Grandmother. However, Clare is more than she appears to be; underneath her reserved appearance lives a sociopath with dissociative identity disorder - a serial killer.
'Saint Clare' is based on the best-selling novel ‘Clare at 16’ by Don Roff. With good performances and a strong visual style, 'Saint Clare' is often an engaging watch, but by tackling too many ideas at once, it fails to bring home a strong message.
Review
She may not be known as one of the strongest actresses in the genre, but it’s undeniable that Bella Thorne gives a thorough, committed performance as Clare. She effortlessly flips from seemingly normal and sweet to cold, calculating and evil, and Thorne makes that quick transition as seamless and believable as possible. Clare is a very intriguing character, who puts her passion for killing down to one thing - God. What makes this character even more complex is that she’s often taking down unlikeable people, people that shouldn’t be walking our streets - the script will certainly get you thinking about whether this is okay or not. Clare is a fun character to follow, and you never quite know what’s coming next. Bart Johnson is equally good as Joe/Randall Morton - those who have only seen the actor in 'High School Musical' may have a shock coming - he’s very menacing. The main highlight of 'Saint Clare' is its strong visual style, making it highly commendable for the filmmaking on display. Director Mitzi Peirone clearly has a good eye, as she elevates plenty of the less engaging sequences with aesthetically pleasing cinematography and consistently engaging editing. The editing may be a little too frantic at times, but there’s no denying the bold and memorable approach. There’s certainly a lot of effort from the whole cast and crew.
Unfortunately, the script and storyline is what lets 'Saint Clare' down. The idea of a murderous teenage girl is really fun and has a lot of intrigue to it, but this isn’t the only plot point at play. It turns a simple, engaging story of a girl with dark tendencies into a busy, convoluted story of missing girls within the town. Whilst keeping you on your toes and driving the story forward, this shift not only hurts the flow and tone of the movie but introduces a few too many ideas. 'Saint Clare' is only a 90 minute flick, so it doesn’t quite have time to tell two stories at once, and many may find that the synopsis that drew them in - Bella Thorne murdering people - gets left in the dust. The script tries to have something to say on the disregard of the missing teenage girls, with hints towards themes of feminism and Joan of Arc references aplenty, but it leaves the audience cold by having little to actually say. The cringeworthy dialogue doesn’t have the weight needed to explore said themes, and the conversations between characters are too often bland and uninteresting. The addition of Clare’s ‘conscience’ is perhaps the worst decision of all, as any scene involving Clare talking through her choices with a past victim of hers slow the story down - they feel unnecessary and poorly utilised.
'Saint Clare' is a film with plenty of promise and many an interesting idea. Bella Thorne puts her all into the complex and fun-to-follow Clare, and the entertainment value seldom waivers as you’re not often sure what will happen next. The cinematography is pretty fun, with some really gorgeous shots filtered throughout, and the editing goes for it on many occasions, giving the movie a lot of style. If it simply stuck to the idea highlighted in the premise, 'Saint Clare' could’ve hit a home run. However, with too many themes, ideas and plot points included in such a short run-time, with very little development or weight to them, it becomes a convoluted and choppy mess. It’s never quite sure if it wants to be a feminist action anti-hero story, a religious horror or an exploration of how the stories of young women are ignored. Every idea at play here is gritty and interesting, but by including all three, 'Saint Clare' throws too much at the wall without leaving time for at least one theme to stick.
Star Rating
'Saint Clare' had it's UK premiere at Frightfest London 2024 August 25
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