The Stylist (2020, Jill Gevargizian)

There's a long history in film of exploring the serial killer as the alienated, isolated, somehow still sympathetic or charismatic male lead. We can go all the way back to Fritz Lang's M, to see the serial killer as sympathetic lead has transcended generations. Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in Psycho, Karlheinz Böhm as Mark Lewis in Peeping Tom, Henry: Portait of a Serial Killer with Michael Rooker playing Henry Lee Lucas as a complex combination of traits which are at some moments charismatic, often repulsive, and from the films standpoint at least, not without humanity, deserving of something like a sympathetic feeling from the audience. Of course, there's Anthony Hopkins, who enshrined Hannibal Lecter into the collective consciousness in The Silence of the Lambs, and Mads Mikkelsen brought an entirely new interpretation of the character to a new generation in the brilliant series, Hannibal. These are just a few of the most well known examples, and a full list would probably run into a length of thousands of titles. 

We rarely see films portraying women in this role, and with The Stylist, writer/director Jill Gevargizian and star Najarra Townsend have constructed an entry into this genre which suggests the untapped potential is vast. Najarra Townsend certainly gives a performance as the protagonist and stylist of the title, which should land her character Claire among that hallowed canon of great cinematic serial killers enshrined in our collective imagination. This probably won't be the case for Claire, because The Stylist isn't a studio film, getting the kind of marketing muscle behind it that a studio can summon, nor was it chosen to be heralded by one of the more celebrated streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. It's a shame though, if for not just for Claire as a character, then for all three of the women at the center of this film, Najarra Townsend as Claire, Jill Gervargizian as writer/director and Brea Grant in a supporting role, have constructed an effecting, magnetic film which is impossible to look away from. At points, there's the feeling of not being able to look away because you can't believe what you're seeing, at others the draw to see what happens next, the performances from Townsend and Grant and a mesmerizing visual style throughout.  

The official summary for The Stylist is, "A lonely hair stylist becomes obsessed with the lives of her clients and descends into murderous madness." This could be a summary for a film which plumbs the depths of the schlockiest of schlock shock cinema. Exploitation films have been built around much more flimsy premises, for sure. Writer/director Jill Gervargizian and her co-writers, Eric Havens and Eric Stolze, have something much more interesting and substantial in mind though. This is a film which feels very much grounded in our world, which takes us on a sortie into a surreal land of the madness of emotional and psychological isolation. It's not interested in the kind of goofy, loopy world of so much of shock cinema, even as it obviously understands that genre very well. This is a film perfectly walking the line between the best of arthouse and the best of grind house. It owes as much of its lineage to Fritz Langs' M, Micheal Powells' Peeping Tom and Hitchcock's Psycho as it does to Dressed to Kill  by De Palma, William Lustigs' Maniac, Georges Franjus' Eyes Without a Face and Lucky McKees' May. If this sounds like an impossible mixture of influences, I'd have agreed, before I saw The Stylist. 

What Gervargizian and Townsend pull off with the character of Claire is just short of astounding. Even as we're presented with Claire committing some horrific, repulsive acts, what I was feeling for her as she's committing these acts is something akin to pity or sympathy, as if she were hurting herself as much as she is any of the other characters. The Stylist doesn't revel in gore and gruesome effects, but it doesn't shy away from them specifically either. There's an odd balance, born out of what comes across as a desire to clearly demonstrate just what lengths Claire is willing to go to in order to solve this internal puzzle formed around her loneliness and self hatred. Townsend is amazing in the role. I can only hope at some point in the future, people will come back to this film and recognize how good her performance is. 

I've seen The Stylist mentioned in connection with In Fabric pretty often. Aside from both having sumptuous visual styles, the films have very little in common though. In Fabric is a surrealistic, nearly psychedelic satire, which takes place in a fully phantasmagoric reality. It's meant to be as funny as it is horrific and odd. The Stylist is more of a character study, where the surrealism grows out of the protagonists grasp on reality becoming more tenuous as the film progresses. The Stylist has one or two amusing moments, but it's not a film which I'd say is funny. There are a number of scenes which are the variety of cringe inducing discomfort which might cause some people to laugh in response to that discomfort, but that's more of an individual response to the particular emotion it's invoking than the actual intent of the film, I think. Some people laugh in those moments, some people try to just start talking through it non-stop, others jaws drop open and others exclaim, "What is she doing?" I am sorry I didn't get to see this in theaters, specifically because a crowded theater of horror fans would probably have produced a few memorable exclamations during particular scenes. 

It's also very clear The Stylist was working with a fairly limited budget. At the same time, it's clear that every penny is on the screen. The cinematography, working in combination with the set and costume design make for a number of visually stunning scenes, along with conveying subtle information about the scenes and characters. Halley Sharp takes on costume design, and does some amazing work. There is a way she is able to convey through Claire's costumes a combination of sophistication, immaturity, rebelliousness and a stark sense of a need for clean perfection. Courtney Jones work on key hair and makeup is also incredibly well done, and adds a good deal to Claire and the rest of the characters. 

Auteur is a word which has been used for male directors who show evidence of a clear vision, a particular cinematic style and approach to story. Unfortunately, this has also too often come with a reputation for abusing actors and members of crew. The belief often being "anything it takes to get what you want" is a badge of honor. Things are starting to change though, as the recognition this is more the result of unhealthy and destructive attitudes about power, and not about "the work" is becoming more widespread. What we're seeing in the last few years is the emergence of a number of women who can also be referred to as auteurs, centering women in their films. Natasha Kermani with Lucky, Coralie Fargeat with Revenge. Emerald Fennel with Promising Young Woman. Julia Ducornau, first with Raw and now with Palme D'or winner Titane, Jennifer Kent with The Babadook and The Nightingale, Leigh Janiak now with the Fear Street trilogy and Honeymoon. Now, Jill Gervargizian should be added to this list of up and coming, break out auteurs bringing a criminally under seen perspective to cinema. Interestingly enough, there aren't stories coming out that these directors are abusing talent and crew to get what they want, and what they're putting out is without doubt, above average quality. 

Here's where you can stream The Stylist, right now.