I made the conscious decision awhile back to discontinue reading movie reviews before I see a film. I’ve found that most reviews, primarily ones found in dailies take the easy way out and divulge the entire plot leaving you with a marred opinion before you even step into the theater (movie trailers do this all too often as well). I’ll admit I do still fancy The New Yorker reviews - Anthony Lane writes with such sharp wit that I just can’t let go, but still I try to save critiques for after the film. With my newfound policy, I’ve left the theater with more authentic experiences. Not knowing anything besides the cursory story line, genre, director and/or cast really allows me to make my own comparisons and form my own opinions rather than be influenced by another. This fact was certainly emphasized last night after I watched Fat Girl (also known as A Ma Soeur!) on Criterion.com. I knew absolutely nothing about this film other than the Parisian director Catherine Breillat who’s films are known to be quite controversial. If I had read any one review the experience would have lost impact and I never would have experienced the unexpected, jaw-dropping what-the-hell-just-happened moment that was revealed in every review I read following my screening. Don’t worry, I won’t reveal the moment, but I will tell you this the film dissects sibling rivalry and female adolescent sexuality and packs it into one disturbing story.
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I made the conscious decision awhile back to discontinue reading movie reviews before I see a film. I’ve found that most reviews, primarily ones found in dailies take the easy way out and divulge the entire plot leaving you with a marred opinion before you even step into the theater (movie trailers do this all too often as well). I’ll admit I do still fancy The New Yorker reviews - Anthony Lane writes with such sharp wit that I just can’t let go, but still I try to save critiques for after the film.

With my newfound policy, I’ve left the theater with more authentic experiences. Not knowing anything besides the cursory story line, genre, director and/or cast really allows me to make my own comparisons and form my own opinions rather than be influenced by another. This fact was certainly emphasized last night after I watched Fat Girl (also known as A Ma Soeur!) on Criterion.com.

I knew absolutely nothing about this film other than the Parisian director Catherine Breillat who’s films are known to be quite controversial. If I had read any one review the experience would have lost impact and I never would have experienced the unexpected, jaw-dropping what-the-hell-just-happened moment that was revealed in every review I read following my screening.

Don’t worry, I won’t reveal the moment, but I will tell you this the film dissects sibling rivalry and female adolescent sexuality and packs it into one disturbing story.