Director: Werner Herzog
Writer: Werner Herzog
Stars: Kate Mara, Rooney Mara, Orlando Bloom, Domhnall Gleeson
Synopsis: Twin sisters Jean and Joan Holbrooke, in search of an imaginary land where true love is possible, start digging a tunnel through a mountain range.
It would be rather unfair to the brilliant and singular Werner Herzog to describe his new film, Bucking Fastard, as “ordinary,” but by his typical nonconformist standards, this is likely about as close as his cinema has ever been to the “garden variety” type. Of course, what that means for Herzog is different from just about anyone and everyone else, for most gardens can be found sprouting tomatoes and flowers in one’s backyard, while he plants his in a cave to nowhere (or, perhaps, everywhere?) atop an Irish hill with a pair of siamese twins as its caretakers. Jean and Joan Holbrooke (Kate and Rooney Mara, respectively, and cleverly introduced with a title card that begins with only their surname and slowly reveals their first names) speak, act, and think in unison, only breaking off from this pattern when finishing each other’s sentences. They love the same man, Gareth Mulroney (Orlando Bloom), live the same life, and even fumble their words in court with the same vigor, hence the film’s playful title. Why are they in court, you ask? Oh, just a restraining order that has been filed by the slimy, married boy next door in order to keep them far from his wife and his life, one that happens to unfold on its own terms like the rest of us, not those of a sibling attached at our hip.
What was I saying about this being a “normal” movie? Again, it has to do with standards. It actually has more to do with how other films would likely treat Herzog’s conceit – loosely based on the story of the British sisters Freda and Greta Chaplin – as the butt of a joke, a dead horse worth beating further, or the entire narrative in and of itself. That’s not Herzog’s approach, and anyone who can appreciate his fascination with the conceptually strange will be unsurprised to know that his handling of Jean and Joan’s predisposition to synchronicity is of a more delicate, compassionate variety. It is the story of a chapter in their lives, not one about the opinions of onlookers. Naturally, side characters have their opinions, ranging from the intrusive to the crude, but to focus on those reactions would be downright un-Herzog-ian. Plus, it would make for a boring tale.
It may not have the same “what in the world?” factor as Fitzcarraldo nor a similar adventurous spirit to Aguirre, the Wrath of God, but Bucking Fastard is a more than worthwhile entrant in an evolving filmography that has always been alive with a rare sense of wonder. An auteur who has always been “starving for new images,” this picture offers less of what we have not seen than it does elements we have yet to see from Herzog, a slight twist on his pleasant preoccupation with the inextricably unique. It’s not that hard to get used to the “bit,” if you will, of Jean and Joan saying the same things at the same time, wearing the same outfits, and doing everything together as though they are a conjoined duo. In many ways, they are, simply without literal fusion. And to his credit, Herzog is much more interested in what life is like for them, circumstances included, than he is with what it could be like were they apart. That’s why their social worker, Timothy (Domhnall Gleeson), is such a small part; his presence is more necessary when the twins need to figure out how to use a can opener without four hands attempting to operate the tool, not as a means to separation.
So don’t let the wonky nature of this harmless beast fool you: Yes, Bucking Fastard is a riot, and yes, it is fascinating to watch the Mara sisters turn in two individually remarkable performances that are only extricable by the fact that we know which one is Kate and which one is Rooney. But it is also a lovely, moving testament to the power of human connection, whether it comes in the form of a person you shared a womb with or not. Even more so, it’s a film about the evasive desire for belonging, even blending in, in a world that is constantly trying to single you out for what makes you different in its eyes. “There must be a place for us somewhere,” one sister says (shockingly, without the other’s participation). And though these exchanges and others do feel a tad sing-songy, Herzog’s overall tonal choices go over well, allowing absurdity and genuinity to coexist, not compete.
Too nice? Maybe, but only just. This review may be focusing a great deal on how the main gambit here is far less out there than advertised – at least once it settles into a groove, which is swiftly – but there’s plenty of bizarre fun to be had. The aforementioned neverending cave gets its fair share of time as a principal setting, and watching the Maras hack away at its walls with picks and hammers is nothing short of a delightfully long trip; a potentially rabid fox the lasses name Cupid becomes an object of fascination for a time; a vacuum offers haughty chuckles. But too often nowadays are films marketed within an inch of their shelf lives on the backs of their “twists” and not on their simple merits. Let’s face it: The last thing a film with the title Bucking Fastard needs is further emphasis on what makes it wacky. It’s that, but it’s also plenty blissful. “We’ve been hiding long enough,” says one of the Holbrookes once it’s about time to break free from the shackles of the public’s gaze. Audiences would be doing a disservice to hide the film behind its kooks rather than embracing it for what it plainly tells us it is.
Bucking Fastard had its New York Premiere at the 64th New York Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
