With Luz earlier this year, we saw an example of the capabilities of 16mm in modern filmmaking, giving a movie a grimy, gritty, old school look that can’t totally be replicated by digital means. Bliss is a new film from filmmaker, Joe Begos, which is also shot on 16mm, and couldn’t be more stylistically different from something like Luz. It’s a totally wild, psychedelic fever dream that feels like Abel Ferrara’s The Addiction by way of Gaspar Noé, and if that sounds like it’s up your alley, then boy, do I have a treat for you.
The film follows Dezzy (Dora Madison), a struggling artist who is in desperate need of money and inspiration for a piece that she is trying to finish. So, one night, she goes out, takes a potent new drug, which gives her the biggest high she’s ever gotten, leading her through a long night of partying, drinking, and sex, and also a big burst of creative energy that she uses to move further to completion on her masterpiece.
Oh, and she eventually develops a mysterious craving for blood, which naturally freaks her out, putting her even more on edge than she already was.
Aesthetically, the film almost effortlessly creates the kind of skeezy and dirty vibe of a low budget 80s movie, complete with harsh lighting filled to the brim with primary colors, an excess of sex, drugs, and profanity, and of course, the gore, which takes a while to show, but when it happens, it hits you like a truck. It dabbles into some interesting and evocative imagery, creating a feeling of anxiety and depravity that oozes off the screen. You can practically smell it, and it is by no means a pleasant viewing experience, but it definitely knows it, and cranks that aspect up to 11.
Madison’s performance is an exhilarating one, bordering on the obnoxious, and occasionally crossing it, yet remaining thoroughly committed 100% to the insanity that occurs. The supporting players drift in and out of the narrative, and they’re perfectly fine, but it is ultimately Madison’s show, and she goes full tilt on the whole grabbing-you-by-the-throat-and-not-letting-go approach that Joe Begos is also on.
The film gets a bit silly at times, and it’s hard to tell how much the filmmakers are in on the joke. The film plays all its edgy, bloody gruesomeness with a straight face, and without so much as a sense of humor. I wouldn’t call it a flaw, since it all comes together well enough, but it does make the experience all the more exhausting for anyone who won’t be able to get on its very specific wavelength.
Bliss isn’t going to work for everyone, but for people with affinity for hallucinogenic heavy metal imagery, and nasty, neon soaked, throwback filmmaking will probably find a lot to like here. I admired quite a bit of it, especially by the intense, balls-to-the-wall commitment from Joe Begos and Dora Madison. It touches on some ideas about drug abuse, the relationship between an artist and their art, and how an artist consumed by their work can affect their relationships to the people around them, but I don’t think the film does a whole lot to explore those topics on a deeper level, nor does it seem interested in doing so. It is very much a film that is about the experience of watching it, and while the vision behind the film might be way too much for some viewers, I can see it becoming a future cult classic for some.