Queen of Earth Review | Road Rash Reviews

4 stars for this magnificently subtle yet dark thriller.

Queen of Earth is written and directed by Alex Ross Perry (Listen Up Philip, The Colour Wheel) and takes a very bold approach to both filming style and acting.

“I love you more than anything, you stupid brat.”

The premise of the story is relatively simple. Catherine (Elisabeth Moss – Mad Men, The One I Love) has had a very bad year. Her father, a renowned New York artist whose affairs she managed, has recently committed suicide and just to top things off, she is dumped by her longtime boyfriend, James (Kentucker Audley – The Sacrament).

She needs a break, so she heads off to spend some time at the Lake House owned by the family of her best friend Virginia (Katherine Waterston – Steve Jobs, Manhattan Romance). Spending time together should be good for them and she hopes to be able to relax and enjoy herself.

From the moment she arrives, it becomes apparent that things are somewhat awkward between the two of them. Virginia never really liked James and Catherine is less than keen on Rich (Patrick Fugit – Gone Girl, We Bought a Zoo), who lives next door and spends far too much time at the house for her liking.

The events of the previous year keep intruding on the present and the animosity between them continues to grow. Although they try desperately to hang onto their friendship, it seems their differences may now outweigh their similarities and Catherine is gradually going downhill while Virginia can only watch.

Queen of Earth is fascinating to watch. The filming style is quite old fashioned looking and suits the setting perfectly. It is heavily dialogue based, most of which is conducted very close up, an enormous challenge for the actors and one they rose to brilliantly, with some stunning performances.

Elisabeth Moss is particularly good, you can actually feel her pain through the screen. It is really well directed too, with some nice little touches, such as the salad which gradually wilts over time, along with Catherine.

A very interesting look at the human psyche, the power of friendship and the consequences when it is lost. Well worth adding to your collection.

“What’s it like having all the answers, all the time, to everything? It must be such a luxury.”