• About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • Professor Phillip Levine Discusses “A Problem of Fit”
      Professor Phillip Levine Discusses “A Problem of Fit”
    • CS Department shifts CS 111 course structure
      CS Department shifts CS 111 course structure
    • WAMI and WRJ host discussion on criminalization of abortion
      WAMI and WRJ host discussion on criminalization of abortion
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • Andrew tate: ending the cycle of toxic masculinity
      Andrew tate: ending the cycle of toxic masculinity
    • Turn it off: healing from news fatigue in the digital age
      Turn it off: healing from news fatigue in the digital age
    • Let them eat bread: the unequal effects of food price inflation
      Let them eat bread: the unequal effects of food price inflation
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • The 95th Academy Awards Nominations: The Cool and The Controversial
      The 95th Academy Awards Nominations: The Cool and The Controversial
    • Lucy Dacus Brings a Minimal Yet Powerful Performance to Northeastern University
      Lucy Dacus Brings a Minimal Yet Powerful Performance to Northeastern University
    • “Glass Onion” Takes Shots at Easy Targets
      “Glass Onion” Takes Shots at Easy Targets
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
    • Books Before Boys
  • Sports and Wellness
    • Student-Athlete of October
      Student-Athlete of October
    • Athletics Update Oct. 19, 2022
      Athletics Update Oct. 19, 2022
    • The Case for Body Neutrality
      The Case for Body Neutrality
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • The Wellesley Snooze
    • Rejected Snooze Articles for the Week
      Rejected Snooze Articles for the Week
    • Happy Valentine’s Day from Spog
      Happy Valentine’s Day from Spog
    • The Four Best Places to Loudly FaceTime Someone on Campus
      The Four Best Places to Loudly FaceTime Someone on Campus
  • Miscellanea
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
      Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
    • 50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
      50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Hadley Banas Arts, Popular CultureFebruary 14, 2019

Literal Cutting Edge Art in “Velvet Buzzsaw”

Netflix’s new satirical thriller, “Velvet Buzzsaw,” takes on the contemporary art world with every character and cliché you could have ever imagined. A brooding Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a discerning art critic. The beloved “Stranger Things” star Natalia Dyer shows up as a shy assistant with a hidden agenda. John Malkovich shows up as none other than a marvelous exaggeration of himself. What more could you want from a cast?

These immaculately created characters find themselves in a curated world rife with airpods, vapid selfie-taking, and gold Suorins filled with hash oil. This world is eerily similar to the upper echelons of our own, where air kisses are given with abandon in certain circles and everyone looks slightly like a pretentious Edna Mode from “The Incredibles.”

Written and directed by Dan Gilroy, the filmmaker behind 2014’s “Nightcrawler,” this sleek universe at first glance promises an enticing storyline with playfully animated credits, tense music and deliciously pretentious one-liners. The incredible cinematography and set design lends itself to perspective and prioritizes the observation of any certain space from all different angles. Jake Gyllenhaal, highlighted with this background, dominates the focus as a leading man with his expressive eyes and all-too-accurate mannerisms of a storied art critic that are sometimes on the verge of turning into a caricature. As the film progresses though, it begins to jump the shark with scenes that become increasingly gruesome and bizarre. The sly subtle tone established at the beginning of the project morphs into a cartoonish sequence of events which make it very clear that we are watching a movie instead of experiencing a world. At certain points “Velvet Buzzsaw” is almost disappointingly awkward and just as superficial as the world it is trying to emulate. The spectator gets lost in a repeating cycle concerning all the characters that has no clear direction or resolution –– that of which does not amount to much of anything at all.

Even with its many faults, I still enjoyed the film as the plot was amusingly mysterious and dark enough while still succeeding in conveying a cynical portrait of the superficiality of modern American life. It especially touched on ideas of consumerism, narcissism and social media usage. It also explored in detail the ethical implications and consequences that come with using art to serve one’s own capitalist desires which I found was juxtaposed nicely with the vapidity of the characters and their actions. Though the film was far from perfect, you must not pass up watching this film, if only to witness Jake Gyllenhaal wearing horn-rimmed glasses use the word “mesmeric” copious amounts of times or delightfully critique someone’s choice of casket at their funeral.

 

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous article“Sex Education” Lends a Listening Ear to the Woes of Teens
Next articleRomantic comedies need more likable male leads

You may also like

The 95th Academy Awards Nominations: The Cool and The Controversial

image of lucy dacus playing the guitar in multicolored lights.

Lucy Dacus Brings a Minimal Yet Powerful Performance to Northeastern University

“Glass Onion” Takes Shots at Easy Targets

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

  • Logos of social media apps such as Twitter, Tiktok, Netflix, Spotify, and Discord. Andrew tate: ending the cycle of toxic masculinity
  • Stone-Davis dining staff report mistreatment
  • The 95th Academy Awards Nominations: The Cool and The Contro...
  • A collection of a wide variety of foods in the colors of the rainbow Let them eat bread: the unequal effects of food price inflat...
  • Red envelope that contains money to celebrate the Lunar New Year. America’s cultural appropriation is a modern form of i...

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2023 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top