‘Gilderoy, this is going to be a fantastic film. Brutal and honest…’
Sometimes, it’s hard to pin down why a film doesn’t quite work. Berberian Sound Studio, lauded by both Mark Kermode and the influential monthly film magazine Sight and Sound, convincingly echoes the Italian giallo films that form the main influence for the film’s aesthetic and narrative. The sound design is sensational. Toby Jones delivers a typically assured performance as the hapless protagonist. And yet…
British sound engineer Gilderoy (Jones) is sent to the titular Berberian film studio in Italy to work on a gruesome giallo film entitled The Equestrian Vortex for maverick director Giancarlo Santini (Antonio Mancino). Shortly after arrival, however, Gilderoy begins to unravel.
While writer-director Peter Strickland (he shares a writing credit with Jon Croker) is adept at creating an ominous atmosphere, he struggles to maintain the creeping tension that marks the film’s best moments, and the slow build never threatens to become anything more than a vague feeling of unease. Some effective dalliances with surrealism recall David Lynch at his most esoteric, but in the end, Strickland doesn’t seem to know what he wants his film to be or what he wants to say (if anything). Berberian Sound Studio isn’t a confusing film, but it is a frustrating one. It’s the same style of slow cinema beloved of Terrence Malick and Jim Jarmusch, and as such, only people familiar with and fond of that particular branch of filmmaking will find much to enjoy here.
I didn’t dislike Berberian… but it is also true that it never threatens to live up to the sum of its parts – a maddening disappointment.
