Movie Review: Red Rooms (2023)

Red Rooms (2023)

There’s slight spoilers here.

Red Rooms is the kind of movie that makes you wonder, “Maybe I shouldn’t admit how much I enjoyed this movie…”
Meaning, I loved it. 
Red Rooms gave me something not enough movies do: a girl who does sometimes terrible things because she wants to. Because curiosity or fixation has driven her to the point of no longer knowing where the line is. Or maybe just not caring anymore.
End of story. Vengeance, while noble, can only carry so many movies. 
Early in the movie, Kelly-Anne explains her reason for attending the trial as curiosity to see Chevalier in person. In my interpretation, Kelly-Anne explains exactly who she is at that moment and when she’s discussing her poker games. 
She’s curious and her favorite part is watching others lose everything. 
I want to know so much about her but I also appreciate how little we are shown; a likely-tragic backstory linking Kelly-Anne to the crimes would’ve been a disappointment to her as a character. 
It felt especially timely for the setting of the movie to be the trial and the inclusion of Clementine as a character, with the true crime fascination that still has us in a chokehold. Especially, we needed to see the adoration of Clementine interposed next to the grisly, awful descriptions of the crimes to question how she could adore such a person. 
And to question ourselves about when we start drifting into “anti-hero” worship. 
Juliette Gariépy was fantastic. Kelly-Anne’s moods for much of the movie I want to describe as midtones, self-repressed and only subtle differences to indicate her affect. When we do see Kelly-Anne experience emotion (especially a seeming euphoria), Gariépy is able to portray it masterfully and the emotions resonate more in contrast to her composed affect through most of the film. 
Brilliant choices were made in this film, at every level. It’s the kind of film I wanted to immediately rewatch as soon as it was over. 
It’s the kind of film I want to make others watch so we can discuss but it may be a bit much.
But if you ask me, it was everything and more. 
10/10 very enthusiastic stars

Red Rooms is now available in the U.S. on Shudder! Thanks, Shudder!