Ep 301: “Heretic”

The Pestle: In-depth Movie Talk, No Fluff | Film Review | Spoilers

We creep into Hugh Grant’s “Heretic” and discuss:

• Cinematography, shooting in small spaces, dramatic reveals;
• Story & Writing, self-talk as exposition, philosophical stories;
• Special Guest Hamish Purdy talks about working on Heretic, and set decoration;
• and other such stuff and things and stuff.

“I think that when you consider the beauty of the world and you wonder how it came to be what it is, you are naturally overwhelmed with a feeling of awe.“ – Richard Dawkins

Notes & References:
HamishPurdy.com – check out Hamish’s work!
Hamish Purdy (IMDB)

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Additional Notes de la Wes:

I ran out of time to hit a couple more things that popped out at me and thought I’d drop them here! Spoilers ahead!

1. Women in “Heretic” take up a very interesting space, perhaps largely as subservient targets? Something that I think is reinforced with Elder Kennedy’s search, and how his focus is more on converting Mr Reed rather than finding Barnes & Paxton. The conversation around Joseph Smith and polygamy is noteworthy, as Mr Reed says that polygamy (and therefore his founding of Mormonism) was just a subversive attempt to cover up his infidelities, something that I think is echoed with Mr Reed’s own religious followers. But women in this world seem to be something to control, and dispose of as a means of controlling yet more women. Mr Reed took little interest in Elder Kennedy, other than as a tool in his own personal board game, and Elder Kennedy only sought after his sheep until he found someone more worthy of his attention. Women are objects, pieces in a game of control. This also makes me wonder if Mr Reed was ever honestly pursuing truth during his time studying the world’s religions, or if he was simply studying the methods of control to satisfy his own devilish desires. If his intentions were actually pure he surely wouldn’t need to demonstrate his intellectual findings in such a covert method, after all, his followers are willingly there.
2. Dramatic Reveal of Sister Barnes’ “Magic Underwear”. Again, spoiler alert for what follows! The scene where Barnes has set up that Paxton will stab Reed in the neck when she hears the phrase “magic underwear” is fantastic in terms of a dramatic reveal, as it happens so fast that it leaves a breathless pause and made me ask, “Wait, what just happened….NO!!!” and I think this sequence was beautifully paced and cut. They set the stage by reinforcing the phrase “magic underwear”, Barnes tells Paxton twice, which is cuing our expectations, and so when she finally says it we move to a closeup of a neck getting cut — lightning fast — and then a reaction shot of Reed, and a reaction shot of Barnes’ shocked wide-eyed face, long slow hold on these reactions, and then a POV shot of her hands as blood starts pouring onto them, with BIG DRAMATIC MUSIC, then we finally see her neck pumping blood out, and confirming our fears.
   1. I love this sequence, it’s so heartbreaking! For a brief moment we’re confused about what we actually saw, we kind of hang in suspenseful horror realizing what happened, and then see our strongest woman die, the one we thought was Reed’s biggest challenge, leaving us breathless for what comes next and how hopeless our circumstances have become. Beautiful storytelling! It’s a shocking turn; movie-worthy consequences and payoffs.

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This Week’s Recommendations:

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