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| Author | DCM |
| Categories | cinema |
Returning swiftly with already his third feature film, Peter Strickland’s The Duke of Burgundy is a sure-fire contender as part of this year’s official competition at the 58th BFI London Film Festival with its blend of exotic imagery and enigmatic storytelling that overloads the senses.
Much like his first two films - Katalin Varga and Berberian Sound Studio – explaining the details of the plot, as well as giving an impression of the sudden shifts in tone that varies from sensual drama to absurd comedy, is a difficult task. Set in an imagined secluded community populated only by females, two lovers – Cynthia and Evelyn – balance their time between their fascination in entomology (the study of insects, particularly butterflies and moths in this case) and sado-masochistic role play that worryingly dominates the life of one partner and increasingly unnerves the other.
The chemistry between lead actresses Sidse Babett Knudsen and Chiara D'Anna pulsates between an intense erotic relationship and more subtly played moments as both partners’ personal anxieties are put under the microscope. Both performers are also greatly adept at finding a balance between projecting an honest relationship and bravely handling Strickland’s eccentric material without ever becoming farcical.
Lavishly dressed in period costumes and antique set design, Strickland’s world harks back to an Emmanuelle-esque look of 1970s cinema. Aside from the retro look, however, The Duke of Burgundy offers far more wit and adventure than anything you’ll find in, say, Confessions of a Window Cleaner.
Art house audiences need not look far to be titillated and with Sam Taylor-Johnson’s adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey on the horizon it’s hard to imagine that a more mainstream film could strike the same bewildering or surreal notes as Strickland’s latest creation.
The late maverick filmmaker Ken Russell - a master of avant garde cinema - would surely have appreciated The Duke of Burgundy for its willingness to eschew the mould of kitchen-sink realism that has to some extent become an unfortunate stereotype for British filmmaking. Following on from both of his earlier films, Strickland has established himself with The Duke of Burgundy as one of Britain’s foremost exciting filmmakers thanks to his eye for striking imagery and guts that some audiences share his strange tastes.
The Duke of Burgundy opens in competition 9th October at the 58th BFI London Film Festival, 8th October – 19th October.