PIERCING: More Style Than Substance, But Still Wickedly Enjoyable

The sophomore feature film from writer-director Nicolas Pesce (The Eyes of My Mother), Piercing is a psychosexual thriller that shares some of the same DNA as American Psycho but is entirely its own creature. Adapted from the controversial novel by Ryû Murakami, the film chronicles the back-and-forth between a man who plans to kill a prostitute and the unsuspecting woman herself. Yet Piercing isn’t the kind of exploitation flick that uses women as objects of titillation or victims of violence without giving them any agency.

Thanks to a bold performance from the always-reliable Mia Wasikowska and some stunning production design, Piercing manages to upend expectations and look absolutely phenomenal doing it.

A Not-So-Perfect Murder

The film opens with Reed (Christopher Abbott) kissing his wife (Laia Costa) and baby goodbye before embarking on what at first appears to be a business trip. However, Piercing doesn’t waste any time in making Reed’s true intentions clear. Seized with violent impulses that threaten to be taken out on the baby, Reed has decided that the only way to satiate his appetite for brutality is to take it out on a random prostitute. (For the record, his wife is fine with it.)

Reed’s fastidious nature is revealed as we watch him obsessively plan and rehearse his crime; he books a hotel room and repeatedly walks through the steps of the murder, from inviting the prostitute into his room to asking if he can tie her up to stabbing her with an ice pick and disposing of the body. Yet there is one crucial detail that Reed never bothers to consider: the nature of the woman he plans on killing.

The woman is Jackie (Mia Wasikowska) and it turns out, she’s just as twisted as Reed is, if not more so. A sex worker who specializes in the most extreme forms of S&M, her unpredictable behavior immediately turns Reed’s perfectly planned evening upside down. From there, the film evolves into a deranged cat-and-mouse game, one where it is practically impossible to determine who is the predator and who is the prey at any given time.

All About Mia

Pesce presents Piercing as an ode to the sleazy, sex-and-blood-drenched thrillers of the 1970s: from the crackling logo of the vintage-style “Feature Presentation” card that opens the film, to the stylized skyline of the nameless city in which it takes place, to the sonic pleasures of the retro soundtrack, borrowed from Giallo classics. (It’s worth noting that Piercing is far more inspired by the work of Dario Argento than the Suspiria remake released last fall, and will likely please fans of his filmography far more than Luca Guadagnino’s film did.) The lush cinematography by Zack Galler and the impeccable, art deco-influenced production design by Alan Lampert only add to the film’s intoxicating style.

Yet beneath that style, Piercing feels somewhat shallow. Murakami’s novel reveals that Reed and Jackie are both deeply haunted by traumas from their pasts; the only way they can exorcise these demons is through violence. That backstory is mostly glossed over in the film, with the exception of one incredibly bizarre hallucinatory sequence that results when Jackie poisons Reed, Phantom Thread-style, with some soup. This lack of understanding makes Reed and Jackie’s disturbing behavior harder to empathize with.

However, the film is still incredibly entertaining thanks to the chemistry between the two leads and the no-holds-barred insanity of Mia Wasikowska’s performance. Abbott is perfectly fine as the anxious and jittery Reed, an uptight man who wants nothing more than to let loose in the most extreme way possible. But as Reed and the audience both quickly learn, Piercing is Jackie’s show, and we’re all about to be hit over the head with it – literally.

Jackie feels like a spiritual sister to Ava, the reckless, rebellious vampire Wasikowska played in Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive. One minute, she’s telling Reed in a sweet little voice that he’s so cute she wants to punch him in the face; the next, she’s beating him in a businesslike fashion with a kitchen appliance. In her quieter moments, she shows off the Chinese silk slippers she collects as well as the scars that criss-cross her body – a product of her work, or something else? Jackie remains an enigma to the end, and Wasikowska revels in it, with every tip of the head or lift of the lips reflecting the darkly comic joy she takes in upending everyone’s expectations – of women, of sex workers, and of damsels who are supposedly in distress.

Piercing: Conclusion

Piercing is an absolutely weird, kinky, stylish film that might not be to everyone’s taste; it is guaranteed to thrill some filmgoers and offend some others. It’s also surprisingly funny, albeit in that awkward way you find yourself laughing when you’ve been made deeply uncomfortable by something. Personally, I’d rather feel uncomfortable watching a film than feel nothing at all.

What do you think? Does Piercing sound too twisted for your tastes? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Piercing is released in the U.S. on February 1, 2019 and in the UK on February 22, 2019. You can find more international release dates here.