Review: Braid

Director: Mitzi Peirone

Screenplay: Mitzi Peirone

Year: 2019

Weird as they come, “Braid” has a seat assured among the weirdest movies around. As aesthetically impressive as it is confusing, “Braid” breaks the schemes of horror cinema and presents as a fresh and bold proposal.

In “Braid” two friends that were drug dealing end up with a huge debt with their supplier when they lose the merchandise in a police raid. To pay this debt they decide to visit a rich but psychotic friend with hopes that they can rob a fortune from her. Once in the estate of their friend, they must be part of a childhood game, only that with a perverse twist.

“Braid” more than a horror movie, is an exploration of cinematography techniques and creativity. Playing with colors is constant, from scenes of saturated colors to black and white and hallucinogen effects. Similarly, they play with the camera shot styles, panoramic, close-up, upside down, and any other way they can think of. All of this is used favorably and manages to captivate and intrigue the viewer. It is worth pointing out a particular scene, where colors pink and purple are used to emphasize the hallucinogen effects of a drug, as one of the most creative and interesting scenes of the film.

To me, the idea of the three friends retaking a game of their childhood, where they take the roles of mother, daughter, and doctor but with painful consequences is highly interesting. I was intrigued by the game rules and with the seriousness and rigidity that they were enforced. This gives way to the most bloody and violent scenes of the movie, as well as help to create tension, as the protagonists Petula and Tila, interpreted by Imogen Waterhouse (“Nocturnal Animals”) and Sarah Hay (“Black Swan), respectively, broke the rules with frequency and the viewer is at the expectation of what will happen if they are caught by Daphne, interpreted by Madeline Brewer (“The Handmaid’s Tale”). The performances of the cast are great and propel that this idea to be more genuine and to validate the gradual mental decay of the three friends.

In “Braid” each individual scene is very good. All scenes are visually stimulating and the situations interesting. When it comes to threading them together and create a story is where “Braid” does not manage to convince. The plot is terribly confusing and does not put much interest in being coherent. In myriad parts of the movie, I found myself questioning what I was seeing or where was it headed, and not always in a good way. The reason for this confusion is tried to be explained in the ending and manages that thins make a little more sense, but it does not cover up the deficiencies of the screenplay. More than having interest in telling a story, the screenplay only serves to justify each scene and their artistic value.

“Braid” ends up being a whole experience in the visuals, with great use of colors and shots. All the creativity displayed in the visuals is dwindled by a week screenplay. Even so, a promising future is ahead for director and screenwriter Mitzi Peirone, who has demonstrated her talent in her first full-length movie, leaving an artistically rich and entertaining, as well as confusing proposal.