| Produced By | J. Miles Dale, Kevin Misher |
| Directed By | Kimberly Peirce |
| Music By | Marco Beltrami |
| Starring | |
| Julianne Moore | Chloe Grace Moretz |
| Gabriella Wilde | Portia Doubleday |
| Ansel Elgort | Judy Greer |
PLOT SUMMARY
Carrie is the story of a young girl who lives with her religiously fanatic, deranged mother. She is bullied by her peers in high school and her anguish breaks loose at her senior prom when another girl humiliates her publically and throws pig’s blood on her as she is about to be crowned the prom queen. Carrie unleashes her rage and uses her powers of telekinesis and kills a group of students to avenge herself.
MY TAKE
Carrie is the third adaptation of Stephen King’s novel by the same name and is essentially a remake of another film by the same name made by Brian De Palma and released in 1976. While the original De Palma’s Carrie was a huge box office success and earned a cult classic status the latest version appears a little jaded and makes you want a little more.
The movie doesn’t really add either a new dimension or a fresher view from the director Kimberly’s perspective and feels more like an old product in new packaging. However, people who haven’t seen the original movie will find the story of Carrie White both gripping and entertaining, but again that is essentially a tribute to the original narration and script and not necessarily to this movie as such.
Personally I feel that the plot of Carrie is more tragic than a super natural thriller. The stories of school bullying resulting in sad endings are not unheard of and this is one reason that Carrie White’s story resonates and feels relevant even today. A girl living under the shadows of a crazy single parent is outcast and treated as a freak and then tormented till she breaks down and seeks revenge. Even if she uses her super powers to retaliate, the premise is inherently sad and makes you feel for her.
What stands in favor of this movie is commendably strong performances by Julianne Moore who plays Margaret – Carrie’s demented mother and Chloe Grace Moretz who plays Carrie. While Julianne plays more or less along a single dimension and excels as a psychotic, self punishing, religious fundamentalist, Chloe comes off as a young, struggling victim of sorts and makes you sympathize, if not totally fall in love with her.
Chloe within her small frame, stands tall in her portrayal of the range of emotions that her character goes through. From being withdrawn and uncomfortable in her own skin, to gaining her confidence and then standing tall in defiance against her mother, she manages to shine in every frame. Her vulnerability is complimented by her innocence and despite flipping over as a vicious super villain in the climax, her character still invokes sympathy.
To sum up, Carrie would appeal to people who haven’t seen the previous renditions or haven’t read the book. The movie is about 3.5 out of 5. My recommendation is go ahead and watch it for Chloe alone.
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