Courtney Howard // Film Critic
THE GALLERIST
Not Rated, 1 hour and 29 minutes
Directed by: Cathy Yan
Starring: Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sterling K. Brown, Daniel Brühl, Zach Galifianakis, Charli xcx, Youssef Kerkour
Art and absurdity collide in Cathy Yan’s superb triumph, THE GALLERIST. The highly-stylized high concept revolves around a Floridian art gallery owner’s scramble to save her flailing business after an instillation goes haywire. Ridiculously ruthless, audaciously astute and outrageously funny, the farce lovingly lampoons the lunacy of the art scene in a delicious sendup replete with well-drawn characters, a phenomenal ensemble and colorful production design. The schemes are outlandish. The auteur’s vision is clear-eyed and assured. And her salient, sun-bleached heist comedy is a bold, innovative spin on genre-blending filmmaking.
Polina Polinsky (Natalie Portman) is struggling. Everything has to be perfect for her latest, and possibly last, gallery opening. She’s fallen on hard times with her divorce settlement money, social class standing and reputation dwindling. Still, her skill at spotting good art and passion for breaking unproven artists into the mainstream are as strong as ever. Not even one hair on her platinum blonde head can be out of place during opening day of Stella Burgess’ (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) show if she wants to ensure success. With her devoted, eagle-eyed assistant Kiki Gorman (Jenna Ortega) at her side, nothing can go wrong. And yet it does. Enter obnoxious, arrogant and obscenely popular influencer Dalton Hardberry (Zach Galifianakis).
Polina assumes Dalton’s attendance is strictly professional, yet it quickly turns personal when he makes it clear he’s holding a grudge against her. However, while leaving in a huff, he slips on a puddle, tumbling onto Stella’s massive sculpture of castrating shears, impaling him through the chest, killing him instantly. As the other influencer clientele are let in, Polina scrambles, rearranging his dead body to be incorporated into Stella’s artistic statement, which enrages the burgeoning artist and makes Kiki queasy. Polina formulates a sublime scheme for them to get out of trouble by selling the modified piece to an unwitting wealthy buyer. It’s now a matter of roping in Kiki’s aunt/ renowned art dealer and recent jailbird Marianne (Catherine Zeta-Jones) to hook her spoiled nouveau-riche client Cristos (Daniel Brühl) and Polina’s ex-hubby/ Tuna Fish King of Florida Tom Mayer (Sterling K. Brown).
The worse the situations become for these ladies, the better the film gets for the audience. Yan and co-writer James Pedersen’s character construction, their internal and external stakes, arcs and comedic complications are well-executed and perfectly paced. Its satirical ribbing of the art world, and the types of personas that populate it, is uproarious. The ticking time clock of a body in decomposition adds a sense of urgency to the proceedings. Polina’s flip-book references she goes through in her mind make for hilarious montages. Andrew Orkin and Joseph Shirley’s score complements the narrative’s zanier overtones in addition to the pressurized, percolating atmosphere of the escalating circumstances. It’s exhilarating to see this group of underdogs use their wit, brains and talent to work their way out of long-simmering sticky scenarios (like the gallery’s lingering financial issues), fool their easily-misled marks by exploiting their clout-chasing and FOMO behaviors, and surmount spontaneous obstacles dealing with the logistics of displaying, selling and storing a dead body.
Yan and Pedersen exercise a lean economy of time. There’s no padding and no character goes to waste. Even the tertiary ones – like Dalton’s plucky, prickly girfriend Alex Moreau (Charli xcx, who’s far better here than in THE MOMENT) and the Polina’s beefy security guard Piranha Doug (Youssef Kerkour) – are allowed to step into the spotlight. Earned moments abound, from Polina’s quest for redemption to Stella’s complex inner conflict dealing with her career ambitions and identity as an artist. Portman’s performance is rapturous, digging deep into Polina’s insecurities, delivery wildly off-kilter, bonkers and connective work. Ortega demonstrates a fine command at playing out of control in a hilarious manner. Zeta-Jones understood the assignment, radiating diva and camp on a high-pitched tonal level. Randolph is the heart of the picture, reflecting thought-provoking commentary on the creative value of art (whether that be on the creator or their creation).
Aesthics also earn top marks. The woozy camera movements, fluidly following performers around rooms and through hallways, gliding with the greatest of ease while denoting the characters’ shifting psyches. Federico Cesca’s saturated cinematography allows for the drama to dazzle, popping against a vibrant canvas. Bénédicte Mouret’s costume design is pristine, adding dynamic depth to the characters through fabric, texture and silhouettes. Perhaps a sly nod to Portman’s turn in BLACK SWAN, the gallery’s frequently visited bathroom provides no sanctuary to these ladies to retreat, visited primarily when they’re psychologically spiraling and used as a space to re-center themselves, commiserating and concocting their plans. Production designer Francesca Di Mottola brilliantly juxtaposes these sentiments, coloring the space in a very feminine pink and soft maroon to convey security.
Genuinely funny, raucous and rebellious, Yan’s film is a smart, snappy and entertaining escapade.
Grade: A
THE GALLERIST plays the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 25, 30, 31 and February 1.
