Mia Goth’s Revival of the Mad Woman
From Medea to Amy Dunn, the mad woman trope has been ingrained in society for over 2000 years, rising and falling in popularity, for better or for worse. The gradual change in opinion is immense, as modern-day society embraces and even idolizes the characters that embody said trope. We have taken an idea that was used to demonize female expression and turned it into art. Mia Goth’s portrayal of Pearl and Maxine in movies X and Pearl is arguably the best example of this trope. The emotion that Goth projects through her characters is unmatched, with unbridled rage being the most compelling of them all. Her roughly 8-minute monologue in Pearl, acting as her message to her husband Howard, is the most moving scene within the film. Every scene in the movie is completely enrapturing and detrimental, leading to the climax of Pearl’s monologue.
At the end of the film, Pearl accepts her fate on the farm and prepares to settle with her husband as he returns from war. As seen in X, this decision was one she would come to regret. She lived an unhappy, unfulfilled life. After watching Pearl, her obsession with Maxine begins to make sense; she sees herself in Maxine and is enraged by her progress toward achieving her dreams. Maxine represents everything she wanted to be yet never was. Goth’s iconic lines from the final scenes of X confront this resentment: “Im nothin’ like you…I’m a fucking star! The whole world is gonna know my name! I will not accept a life I do not deserve.”
Mia Goth’s talent as an actress is undeniable with her impressive acting history, but her recent venture as a producer on her prequel film Pearl gives her the platform to truly showcase the raw talent she possesses; my summary of events will not do her the justice she deserves. If you have yet to see both films, I encourage you to watch X and Pearl. After her role in the production of Pearl, I am eager to see what she produces with her next movie MaXXXine. It will be the third movie in the X franchise, hopefully expanding on Maxine’s own descent into madness and Goth’s second venture with producing.
@ava.hallett