Featured, Home, Movie Reviews

Movie Review: “Siren” Is An Interesting But Flawed Tale

[yasr_overall_rating]
 

Leigh has lived a reclusive existence in a secluded old home on the outskirts of town for her entire adult life. You see, Leigh has excreted extremely potent pheromones.

“Siren” is a fantasy drama with dark undertones about Leigh, a woman cursed with what many other women would think is a blessing: she gives off a smell that makes every man she meets fall deeply and forever in love with her. On top of that, each of them sees her as a different person, since they see their particular vision of the perfect woman.

That means the protagonist is played by a variety of actresses, but the audience is never confused, as Leigh’s other appearances only show up briefly. Most of the time, she is played by Vinessa Shaw, who does a good job in displaying the character’s loneliness and child-like innocence but doesn’t have the range required for the more emotional scenes that take place towards the end of the film.

The same can be said about Robert Kazinsky, who plays Guy, a drifter who shows up at Leigh’s doorstep by chance. After their initial contact, she realizes he is different. He doesn’t seem obsessed with her and doesn’t immediately try to possess her no matter what. That is because Guy cannot smell, as he lost his olfactory sense due to a mortar attack during the war.

The most interesting thing about “Siren” is that, even though it’s not exactly a smart movie, it could be seen as a commentary on the rape culture and on how women must behave in today’s society. In a different world, Leigh’s powers might bring her happiness, acceptance and love, but in ours, she must live in an isolated house surrounded by surveillance cameras because the men who fall in love can’t control themselves and end up resorting to violence. Leigh’s response is that it’s not their fault, since she is simply too attractive and they cannot resist, which is exactly what many women harassed for wearing a short skirt might think, or might be told to think.

From a technical point of view, however, the movie is terribly over-dramatic, from the production design (Leigh wears a ludicrous cape that could belong to a medieval monk) to the cinematography that makes every scene look like it’s taking place either right before sunrise or sunset. Worse than that, the film is also very poorly structured, making it a tedious experience. It’s fair to say that, whatever fascination the protagonist gives off to her admirers, her tale falls short in delivering.

Available on DVD and Digital August 18th

 
Postcard-(4'x6')-webversion

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments