Lady: The Invisible Spectacle
The Guardian calls it ‘Saltburn on shrooms’, as if Saltburn weren’t already on shrooms. So you can only imagine what shenanigans are going on here.
There are less bath drains in Lady but the events are definitely shroomier. It tells the story of Lady Isabella, an eccentric aristocrat who wants to be taken seriously as an artist. Enraged that she’s being ignored, she enlists the help of a young documentary maker to film her every move. But in her efforts to be seen, something backfires. Suddenly, she really does start to disappear…
Starring the incredible Sian Clifford (Fleabag), the mockumentary-style film satirises celebrity culture, the art world, and women aging in the public eye. ‘The aristocracy’s answer to the Kardashians’ (or so she claims), Lady Isabella’s journey of artistic discovery is marked with frustration, entrapment, perimenopause, and a healthy dose of existential angst. The comedy is tinged with horror and tragedy as her desire for recognition - and her very being - evolves into something else. Isabella’s ultra-privileged life may have been shallow, but through her art, she can offer so much more. Especially now that she can turn her bizarre tragedy into spectacle.
There’s been an influx of magical realism in films of late. The upcoming Wicker is a good example of an absolutely bonkers concept that somehow, thankfully, got made. As a viewer, it’s a refreshing rush to know that you’re going to have to suspend your disbelief in a big way, but the heart of the story will be as believable as ever. Escapism always spikes in popularity in times of social unrest, but there’s something about the melancholy and the mystical that’s really captivating audiences nowadays. Maybe the mad plot, and the dizzying plane it puts us on, makes us even more attached to the grounded humanity of a story. Strange angles do tend to make you see people differently. Or not see them at all.
Written by Jodie Passey
