Shell is a film intended for sheer enjoyment. A movie that is meant to be watched when you are most killed in the middle of the day and want something to watch or late at night. Many movies have gained fame in this manner especially during the era before video on demand: cute little bad movies featuring a decent ensemble cast who were allowed to play and risk their careers in cinema just a little. At worst, it ends up being a kind of novelty not so great but interesting in a way that you wouldn’t expect. And at best, it develops into a cult movie, something that people remember for one scene or a two and makes its fans appreciate it even more.
This is evidently what the director Max Minghella is going for in Shell, which is a horror dark comedy film which criticizes the world’s notion of beauty standards. After six years since the release of his directorial debut film ‘Teen spirit’, Minghella was back at the Toronto International Film festival with another film which portrays a character who yearns to be famous. Shell focuses on Samantha Lake played by Elizabeth Moss, who is a television star wishing to become a film star. Samantha has tried making a breakthrough, but her chances of success are slim, given that Hollywood is rather tough and uninviting in her views.
Our attention shifts to Zoe Shannon, played by Kate Hudson, who runs a beauty empire her company Shell developed a special sort of treatment that is believed to enhance general well being and slow down the body aging process. It is possible for her to be rather reticent to begin with, but the difference is she is quite won over by the delightful Dr Hubert, portrayed by Arian Moayed. A treatment on a clinic, she comes across a teenage girl, a toddler whom she once babysat, named Chloe Benson (Kaia Gerber), and they bond again as they were separated. But Samantha cannot help but ask herself, what sense does it make for someone quite as young severely needing this kind of treatment? It has only been a very short while since she started acting, but already there is fierce competition between her and Samantha for roles. It is rather bewildering, having joined the industry at such beginning, why would you change anything .
It is soon after their immediate post operative period that Chloe’s whereabouts start to elude the college Hottie, however, at the earliest stages she was overwhelmed with a pleasant surprise of her dramatically increased fame. Samantha does have a lot go in her favour after the surgery, so much so that she is entirely new person both on and off camera. She even decides to relocate to a brand new house and employ her best friend Lydia as her personal assistant to help her manage the success that she has recently achieved. She would go on to have a close relationship with Zoe who would not only encourage her executive image but would rather preach her to act like a man and get things done.
Even with a duration of 100 minutes, Shell still feels a tad short. The script by Jack Stanley moves so quickly from one scene to the next that there is often not the time or space to consider where the narrative is heading. She doesn’t mess up in her role of Samantha, but there were always issues with this woman, she is so one dimensional. Almost all the changes Samantha has to undergo are aimed at her self assertion and the feeling to occupy the center stage as her worries disappear one after another.Samantha gets her breakthrough and for the first time feels beautiful, especially in the film industry, but things go back when the treatment begins to affect her. This is when the image of Zoe and her beauty business begins to fade. Today, Samantha is surprised to discover that what happened to Chloe is also happening to her.
The story becomes more clear as the horror elements start to manifest. The body horror concepts are arguably one of the more fun uptakes of the film, and definitely adds some much needed violence to the film. Hudson is clearly enjoying herself as Zoe, and, yet, the film is always reluctant to push her into being a fully fledged camp villain. Every single one of her actions seems rather gentle, almost too tidy, when she ought to be interested in getting hers. Shell really excels when it pushes the grotesque, but the style of this film is too polished for it to work. What makes classic camp horror stand out however is the over the top violence. There’s something beautiful in a film that isn’t skittish about showing the ugly.
As a final point, Shell’s view of beauty in the American cosmetic occupation is quite superficial. It is the quality of the performances and the feel of the film’s tone that becomes crucial when a motion picture has very little to offer in terms of story. The film’s main characters, however, including MacNichol, Landecker, and Park, have some fun with the story, which is quite nice and entertaining, despite the film’s flaws. Shell’s viewpoint is unlikely to change any controversy surrounding beauty in contemporary society, nor is it likely to make the film the cult classic it so desperately tries to be but it can certainly be appreciated as an eccentric piece.
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