The most mature thing we can do in life is dare to love.
I never saw the original, and I will admit that I huffed at the news of a remake (because Hollywood is committed to staying in remake hell), but The Crow delivered on its promise to entertain, touch hearts and make an overused trope fresh.
Eric Draven (Bill Skarsgård) is a tortured soul; the trauma and abandonment that he experienced as a child turned into a mild-mannered man who is not motivated by aggression. In fact, any act of violence makes him very uncomfortable. Imprisoned in a rehab centre, he remains quiet during therapy sessions, evading questions that help him understand his purpose for living upon his release. During group simulations of the criminality he might face when he gets out, he does not respond with anger or violence, flinching at the ferocious threats from his fellow inmates. Draven is more than depressed, apathetic and has nothing keeping him alive.
Shelly (FKA Twigs) is a victim of circumstance. In an act of avoiding a nasty murder, she gets herself locked up in the same rehab centre as Draven. There have been comments that the brilliant Twigs was used as a manic pixie dream girl, but I do not agree. She plays a girl stuck in an impossible situation, full of fear and anxiety and yet lives her life. Despite the shame she carries and fear that she may not be easy to love, she laughs, dances, and lives in the moment. And she loves hard. Her enigmatic energy and open heart is what wakes up Draven. She makes him feel seen and safe, creating an atmosphere where he can express himself without words. Her kisses and touch elicit a spiritual connection that he has never felt before. She does not ask him to love her nor does she suggest that she wants him to. He just does. Within her, he finds his purpose because her love and personhood help him see who he is, and believe in what he can be.
The film spends a lot of time creating their relationship and I think it was the right choice; often times, movies like this are judged from a harsh perspective for being too sentimental and campy, but despite its amazing action scenes and satisfying deaths, this movie isn’t about the theatrics. It’s about the power of love and what happens to us in the absence of it. Everything else is just really cool.
The first film is an origin story done well and it doesn’t undermine Twigs as the main heroine. We have seen the dead girlfriend as plot in every male lead action film but, in this film, they are both murdered and Draven is giving a choice to go back and save her because of the purity of his love. If he succeeds, they will both live. His choice to take down the satanic forces at place shows how much Draven has grown as a character, but he is not without flaws- she is his first love, his first girlfriend and, like every human, he doubts her when discovering the secret that brings her her horrifying shame. His doubts are consequential and cause him the chance for them both to live- his doubt damns both their souls to death. But he offers his life for hers, he would rather them be apart forever then for her to die. It is the ultimate sacrifice and it breaks your heart as a viewer.
The movie is an incredible love story about the truest form of love. Love is healing, love is more powerful than anger and resentment. We are introduced to a seriously broken boy at the start and are left with a man with purpose and a full heart. I genuinely love this movie and I hope we get many more installments.
The Crow is in theatres now.
