Review: ‘Strange Darling’ marks career bests for Kyle Gallner & Willa Fitzgerald

Some fools fall in love – and others go on a murder spree. With the film’s opening scroll, filmmaker JT Mollner positions his second feature as the tail-end of a blood-soaked rampage of a prolific serial killer who’s largely eluded the police force… until now. Mollner cuts Strange Darling into six chapters and an epilogue, by which he guides the audience through a romantic tale of sex, desire, and animalistic impulse. Kyle Gallner and Willa Fitzgerald electrify the screen. Each delivers career-defining performances that audiences won’t soon forget; especially Fitzgerald, who exercises such bold acting technique that she’s almost unrecognizable.

When a one-night stand turns deadly, two lovers – The Demon (Gallner) and The Lady (Fitzgerald) – learn what it means to live and die by Cupid’s arrow. But we don’t begin our tragic tale in their first meeting. Mollner plops the viewer into the middle of the heart-pounding action, finding The Lady running for her life in the countryside, before yanking the story away and displacing the audience into another point in time. Fashioning the story non-linearly disguises the truth as a playful trick, a hallucinatory sleight of hand. As the Tetris pieces fall into place, each slotting perfectly into the other, the writer/director exposes the complexity of human nature through the lies we tell ourselves and how, when the chips are down, we’ll do literally anything to stay alive – even if that means killing another human being.

With its unconventional structure, the actors must dig in their heels and find deeper, richer intents and motives in each scene. What drives The Demon? Why does The Lady charm the way she does? In their limitless arsenal, Gallner and Fitzgerald possess a knack for sketching full-bodied characters that feel innately human, each breath comes from instinct. And they never waste a single syllable. But their delicate, thoughtful phrasing only scrapes the surface. Both actors root their characters in brawny physical performances, coloring outside the lines when appropriate or pulling in the reins as the scenes require.

Gallner loves to twist the knife. He delights in defying expectations, often oscillating between a menacing eye and a soft touch. He strikes fear one moment – “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty,” he frequently barks through clenched teeth – and begs the audience to feel for him the next. He can always rip your heart out when he wants to, but he keeps his cards always close to the vest, never divulging too much before it’s time. With Fitzgerald as his scene partner, he reaches new heights in his work. Paired with this year’s equally arresting The Passenger, Gallner has unlocked a depth to his talent that’s always been there bubbling below the surface.

Similarly, Fitzgerald steps into the spotlight with a superstar turn most actors would kill to have. She’s magnetic, a true marvel that brings incredible nuance and range to The Lady. Her talent has always been present, from 18 and a Half to The Fall of the House of Usher, but it has taken Mollner’s script to draw out the pure power of her craft. She’s nothing if not consistent in her work, but it is Strange Darling that demonstrates she is a relentless powerhouse.

JT Mollner’s second outing is not only a prime acting showcase but a tasty visual feast. Along with cinematographer Giovanni Ribisi, Mollner uses colors to signify different stages of his characters and cleanly separates the chapters. From the dream-like blues of Chapter 1 to the crisp, stark reality of the final chapter, there’s an arc to the way Mollner and Ribisi craft the story, visually, that accentuates Gallner’s and Fitzgerald’s wig-snatching performances. One is nothing without the other, and vice versa.

Strange Darling, which also contains surprise appearances by Barbara Hershey and Ed Begley Jr. as two old hippies, unmistakably arrives as one of the year’s best horror/thrillers. From stylistic cues to even the smallest acting choices, the film operates on all cylinders to cement Mollner as a force to be reckoned with. Kyle Gallner and Willa Fitzgerald naturally fit their roles like leather gloves. It’s hard to fathom anyone else on the planet delivering what they’ve managed to accomplish here. They’re a dynamite duo that emits skin-searing sparks whenever they’re onscreen together.

Strange Darling, out August 23 in theaters, will mangle your heart and keep it from beating. It’s the sort of truly special release audiences will be talking about for years to come.

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