Violet Lucca
@violetlucca.bsky.social
4.1K followers 1.1K following 480 posts
Film critic. Author of DAVID CRONENBERG: CLINICAL TRIALS (Jan ‘25). My writing about film has appeared in the NYT, Art in America, Sight & Sound, Film Comment, Reverse Shot, and elsewhere. NYFCC member https://linktr.ee/violetvlucca
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
violetlucca.bsky.social
My book DAVID CRONENBERG: CLINICAL TRIALS, a biography and critical retrospective of his work, is available for preorder on Bookshop and Amazon! Oh yeah—Viggo wrote the intro (and it’s so fucking good).
bookshop.org/p/books/davi...
www.amazon.com/David-Cronen...
The cover of David Cronenberg: Clinical Trials by Violet Lucca, with a foreword by Viggo Mortensen. The cover is a deep purple with a keyhole cutout; inside is a man covered in ears (from Crimes of the Future).
Reposted by Violet Lucca
rickburin.bsky.social
It’s actually really exciting what a human brain can do compared to a large language model with rigid rules
Reposted by Violet Lucca
helldude.bsky.social
these people are stealing from you and laughing at you
violetlucca.bsky.social
Yeah I wish there was a dad bod filter—OK Cupid used to have one. Bring it back you cowards!!!
violetlucca.bsky.social
I’ve seen it and this is the correct take
violetlucca.bsky.social
Be kind to yourself 🫂
Reposted by Violet Lucca
violetlucca.bsky.social
Wow, I’m excited to hear what you think about how PTA uses your surroundings.
violetlucca.bsky.social
Oh I thought you meant it was literally a punchline. Nm!
violetlucca.bsky.social
And yeah, the idea that Bob, in the age of the internet, couldn’t look this up reinforces how he’s a piece of shit. But he’s a piece of shit who loves his daughter.
violetlucca.bsky.social
I recognize the thorniness of that topic, but this is something his wife experienced as the daughter of white dad who grew up without her black mom. (I’m reminded of how the use of “Les Fleur” in Inherent Vice was similarly personal.) That intimacy doesn’t seem like it’s ridicule or a joke.
violetlucca.bsky.social
Anderson often injects real emotion into an absurd situation, which happens a lot in his movies (and Pynchon novels). Parents can’t give their kids everything, despite how much they love them, and in this moment that’s the first thing that comes to mind for him. That doesn’t redeem or condemn him.
violetlucca.bsky.social
Yes but the movie goes between a lot of different emotions very quickly. Bob’s mind is racing because he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to get to his daughter, and he thinks about what he’s failed to do for her. Sergio says, “don’t go dark on me, Bob” and makes a joke to stop him from panicking.
violetlucca.bsky.social
Yes, I read this as a nod to Maya’s father. But not as a joke, more as “Despite all my love for my daughter, I really fucked up.”
violetlucca.bsky.social
It didn’t seem like a joke at all. It seemed extremely mournful.
violetlucca.bsky.social
Like…Trump just made “politically motivated” misdemeanors like trespassing acts of domestic terrorism. Sorry that this is the way you find out but it feels like *this* is the movie.
violetlucca.bsky.social
Yeah it’s quite painful to go out into the world after this, despite how hopeful and energetic it is.
violetlucca.bsky.social
I mean the dek gave it away
violetlucca.bsky.social
Also the amazing film I write about at the beginning, Yousef Chahine’s Djamila the Algerian, is on YouTube in its entirety with subs. If you have a better copy, please lmk! www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcfE...
Jamila, the Algerian
YouTube video by A K
www.youtube.com