'In Fabric' is described as a horror comedy. The description does the film justice as the story follows various characters and their encounters with an ominous red dress, leading to both horrifying and hilarious events.
The film is set during an unspecified time and initially follows a recent divorcee, Sheila, a bank teller who is encouraged to start dating again as her husband has moved on to seeing other people. As she browses through a department store, she comes across a red dress, labelled a number of sizes too small for her that seems to fit perfectly. The transaction to purchase the risqué item is facilitated by a shop assistant, Miss Luckmoore, an ominous and knowledgeable individual. From there the story follows Sheila and her mishaps as the dress seems to have a mind of its own. Eventually, after Sheila is in a fatal accident the dress finds another victim, Babs, as her fiancée brings the item home after it is forced upon him during his stag do. The film concludes with Babs returning to the department store where the dress was sold and an incident causes the building to burn down, trapping her inside. An eerie final scene follows Miss Luckmoore as she descends to the store basement, revealing the dress to be woven by its victims, by threads formed of their blood.
'In Fabric' evokes an atmosphere of danger and uncertainty during its opening scenes, as the film does not seem to be consigned to a single era, leaving the viewer unable to pinpoint the time during which the action is set. Through this, the film instantly gains the upper hand in maintaining a constant air of mystery about it and does not ease up during its runtime. The film further exacerbates its menacing tone by contrasting the seemingly ordinary and timid personality of Sheila with a direct counterpart in Miss Luckmoore, who possesses a strong and sinister presence. As the two interact, we as the viewers side with Sheila, relating to her sensibilities, and experiencing the world that the film is exploring through her eyes, feeling a bit out of place as Miss. Luckmoore convinces Sheila to purchase the dress.
The story follows a comprehensible narrative thread, yet is interwoven with scenes that resemble a dream, revealing hidden layers to the department store and the dress from whence it came. Containing intimations towards witchcraft and the occult, 'In Fabric' appears to deliver a mysterious mix of relatable real-life awkward encounters and far-fetched fantasy happenings.
The film presents us with a number of characters to follow, yet the single consistent presence in the film can be attributed to the dress. The item of clothing is a malicious object that makes its way through the story by attaching itself to its victims through initially empowering them, appealing to their sensibilities and making wearers of the dress feel emboldened by the appearance they are presented with whilst wearing the dress. However, the motivations and actions of the dress are vitriolic in nature, as illustrated through brazen violent acts of aggression causing harm to whoever has come into contact with it. The story seems to suggest that the victims of the dress, both intentional wearers of the garment and individuals ancillary to the happenings, are attacked by the item regardless of their intentions to wear it. Initially, the story seems to veer towards suggesting that the wearers of the dress are the ones to be punished, yet as the story progresses we come to realise that the dress punishes indiscriminately, wreaking havoc to everyone and everything in its vicinity.
The film is wonderfully strange, shifting seamlessly in its tone, ranging from the straightforward and plunging into the abstract, combining both real life and relatable issues, from its depiction of trying to enter the dating pool, to the tonally and visually fantastical through sequences of the department store assistants carrying out ritualistic activities.
The film is adorned with a number of outstanding performances ranging in from the timid to the obscure as the film itself. Sheila, as portrayed by Marianne Jean-Baptiste, plays the more grounded and timid persona in the film. Her character is the viewers entry point into the strange world that is depicted in the film, allowing us to latch on to a few seemingly normal elements that are shown in the story. Sheila's activities, such as dating, dealing with her son and managing her life as a bank teller allow us to relate to her and the minutiae of life providing for a semblance of normalcy in the film that on the whole cannot be considered as such. Jean-Baptiste does well in representing her surprise and lack of understanding when dealing with the oddities that are thrown at her, reassuring the viewers that what she is seeing is out of the ordinary and that what we are exposed to is strange.
Fatma Mohamed portrays Miss Luckmoore, an intriguing and reservedly suspicious character, imbued with the ability to verbally draw in Sheila and the audience. Mohamed portrays her character with a tantalizing passion, conveying a character that is both powerful and reserved, further infusing the film with mystique and a sense of anticipation in what the character may do, yet leaving us to question what her ultimate motivations are.
The director of the film, Peter Strickland, has delivered a truly eerie horror story well interwoven with abstract yet relatable moments of humour, delivering a film that leaves the viewer both amused and perplexed. The moments of levity truly shine in contrast to the bleak and alarming moments of gore and terror, however the film works. After viewing, many questions remain about the characters and their driving forces, but the story functions well to leave the audience impressed and entertained by what has just transpired before them.
'In Fabric' is a truly confusing film in that it has so successfully married both horror and comedy, managing to intertwine the abstract and fantastical to deliver a truly memorable viewing experience. Even though the film is not straightforward in answering the numerous questions that remain after its conclusion, the story remains with the viewer and leaves a satisfying urge to contemplate what has transpired, with an urge to examine both the satirical comedic elements of the movie and the more serious issues raised in the film.
Score: 4/4
Comments