Harmony Korine's layered, colourful and inspiring portrayal of the annual American celebration of hedonism entitled 'Spring Break' is by far my favorite movie of the year so far. Since his latest movie is the first I've seen and on the way to become my favorite of 2013, I can't help but notice how similar these circumstances are to my introduction to Wes Anderson through Moonrise Kingdom last year. If you remember, it was one of those instant favorites that soon led to an obsession, making me watch every single one of Anderson's movies (even though they're not that many).
Much like Moonrise Kingdom, Spring Breakers is a very stylish movie with visuals that are almost painfully beautiful, the bright colours burning their way through your retina into your heart. A small and interesting difference between the two movies may be that while there's one incontestably heavenly creature in Moonrise Kingdom and the rest are rather quirky beauties, in Spring Breakers each of the four main characters is an incontestably heavenly creature (look-wise anyways) and Alien is a rather quirky... beauty.
Give me one of these bikinis and I won't go shopping for clothes for a year.
One of the reasons why people talked about Spring Breakers a lot even before it came it, was its cast. "Disney princesses" is what most people nicknamed Wizards-of-Waverly-Place-star Selene Gomez and Vanessa Anne Hudgens of High School Musical fame. Their appearance in provocative, perhaps even scandalous, filmmaker Korine's latest project was met by sarcasm and reluctance by many. The general opinion, at least from what I gathered, was that they were simply trying to get rid of their Disney 'image'. Being a part of the Disney Channel generation, I personally was stoked when I heard of this movie and its cast, because I did think that these two girls had talent. And anyone who has in fact seen some of their movies or a more than 15 minutes of their show(s) would probably agree. It's not like I thought they were some Saoirse Ronan or Jennifer Lawrence caliber, but I liked what they did with what was available. Anyways, I thought that both Gomez and Hudgens were amazing in this movie. Admittedly, Gomez as the virginal 'Faith' didn't stray very far from her innocent image but she fit her role wonderfully - and as for Hudgens playing seductive 'Candy': she blew me away.
I love how relaxed the style of the girls is too... And ice cream hasn't been as sexy since A Clockwork Orange.
The quartet is completed by Rachel Korine as adventurous Cotty and Pretty Little Liar Ashley Benson as Candy's BFF Brit. The friendship of these four girls is shown to have many different layers. For one, if there's an outsider between the four, it's Faith. She's the first to leave and doesn't get involved with the illegal things going on. Then there's Cotty, who at first seems like the most adventurous of all four, but then leaves some time after Faith. The reason she too seems like an outsider at times is the strong friendship between Candy and Brit. They're very alike - unafraid, promiscuous and seductive - and spend most of the time in the movie together. And even though James Franco as Alien is clearly the one to earn accolades for this movie, Bensons and Hudgens' performances are the ones to be mentioned right after his. They're the ones who steal the money, party hardest and have that crazy bed scene with Alien and the guns. You really can't give Hudgens any more of that 'Disney Princess' shit after that scene. Oh, and since we're supposed to be talking fashion here - Brit and Candy even look alike. Yes, Candy's hair is dyed - but it is blonde. They both wear a pink-ish bikini most of the time and at the end wear the exact same neon-yellow bikini along with pink ski masks (which can be bought here).
While we're at it; I don't usually like monokinis - but how gorgeous was that purple tiger one the now-trio wore when they became involved with Alien? For whatever reason, it's sold out but I still have hope and check it once a week. The sweatpants saying DTF on the back are cute as well, I believe you can find them online somewhere.
But let's not forget to talk about Al aka Alien - the most intriguing character in not only this movie, but of all the movies I've seen lately. Sadly, it was impossible for me to go into this movie not knowing anything about his crazy, perfect performance - but in the end, nothing could've prepared me for what I saw. Spring Breakers is a movie about girls - their dreams, hopes and friendship. And what makes Franco's performance stand out all the more, is that it doesn't overshadow that central aspect, that central subject of this movie. It's just amazing by itself, a perfect part of a movie that is perfect to me.
Alien is nothing else but what his name implies - fucking crazy and outlandish. It sort of helps that there's nothing left of Franco's heartthrob charm what with all the hair, sunglasses and fake teeth going on there. He simply isn't attractive in the slightest. But it's not only the looks - it's the acting that makes it all work and that makes me hope for an Oscar nomination next year. This movie may not be Oscar material - but man, if his performance isn't I don't know what I'll do.
The colours... gahh... so perfect
What I like about Alien, and this movie in general, is that it doesn't judge its characters or their actions at all. Korine doesn't yell at us to like or dislike this or that person, he simply shows them as they are with their good sides, their bad sides, and all the many shades in between. You almost explore the characters, stumbling upon one unexpected side after another. One of my favorite moments in the movie is when the three girls (Faith, my favorite character, has left already) stand outside at sunrise or sunset and gather around Alien's piano. The mere fact that he has a piano, a white one at that, was quite surprising yet natural at the same time. But there's more to come; when the girls ask him to sing something inspiring, Alien chooses Britney Spears' Everytime. And so the four stand there, at the white piano, with the red sun in the background and sing that heartbreaking song, which then changes to Britney Spears singing while several shots of the quartet robbing people in slow-mo are seen on screen.This moment alone makes Spring Breakers my favorite movie of 2013. (I should say so far, but I really don't think any other movie is going to change my opinion).
The reason I've been wearing lip gloss all the time this summer.
I've mentioned my love for Selena Gomez' character Faith already, but let me just extend a little on that. First of all, her bikini. I would do many, many things to get my hands on that bikini, perhaps even rob a diner. Even the other one, the light turquoise with matching shorts is dashing, but this one just has a special place in my fashion heart. Faith herself, as I've already mentioned, is a very innocent and virginal character - a very pure character in fact. She's religious, which her name may imply, and in her first scenes we see her at church, praying and singing. Her friends from that church tell her not to go on Spring Break with Candy, Brit and Cotty, since they seem dangerous and bad for Faith. She also doesn't get involved with the actual stealing of the money and isn't seen doing anything "bad" at Spring Break itself, although she definitely has a lot of fun like she tells her grandma on the phone. The monologues from these phone calls are repeated many times throughout the movie, the best example being at the end of the movie - but you'll have to see it yourself, I'm not going to spoil that. I found Faith to be the most relatable character for me - the way she talks to her experienced friends, not exactly shyly but well, innocently. Gomez shines in the scene you can see in the middle of the three images, where she wants to go home and not get involved with any of Alien's business. And when she does leave, it feels like a dagger in your chest - to leave that place, that experience, that you know will never come back that way.
The whole experience of Spring Break in the movie feels like something very precious - temporal, a deadline already set - something you want to put inside a box so you can let a bit of it out if you feel sad later on in your life. It's one of those things you can only do at some certain point in your life, and you know that you can just never experience it again. The mixture of artlessness and sexiness that is sensed through the images and the dialog is so natural, so relatable - as are the conversations between the girls. You sometimes just hear them laughing and whispering in the background, or singing Hit Me Baby One More Time in a deserted parking lot, the Florida heat billowing through the screen. Everything feels like something you could experience, maybe you have experienced parts of it - and many parts you definitely want to experience.
Drama, Dramedy, Satire, Future Cult Film - many attempts have been made to put Spring Breakers into a box. But truth be told, it can't be. It exists in its own bubblegum-coloured, Britney Spears accompanied, dyed, bikini-wearing, sandy little galaxy that is daunting, escapist and inspiring all at the same time, and that's what makes me love, love, love it so very much.
And since we didn't really talk much fashion - regardless of how pretty the images were - here's a little treat to all aspiring Spring Break bitches: I just stumbled upon the Opening Ceremony Spring Breakers Collection, created in collaboration with costume designer Heidi Bivens. As if my life wasn't awesome enough yet.
FINAL FRAME: STRAWBERRY EXPLOSION