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i didn't go into Alita: Battle Angel expecting to like it. it seemed like a perfect A-List viewing, a film i could stumble into after a tiring day of work and let run through my brain like water through a colander. i could never ever ever have guessed what was about to happen
i had known for years that i was trans. but it wasn't the kind of knowledge that accompanies action. i let it fester in my brain, lying to myself over and over that one day soon i'd deal with it. the much more likely truth was that one day sooner i'd be dead
i thought i was comfortable, you know? i had a steady, shitty job. i had very sweet friends. i had my writing. more than that, i had conviction that this detente could last
i had conviction that i'd never have to scrub the mold off and look the problem right in the face and put a Self together
i walked into the theater, scraggly face and baggy clothes, absolutely clueless what i was about to see
anyway,
you guys wanna watch my favorite movie?
so i said this at the time partially out of boisterous exaggeration but now i truly truly believe it: i think Rosa Salazar gives the best film performance ever in this. like ever ever. i have never seen anything like her work here, and i will absolutely get into why tonight
that's what it's like yeah
do you remember the first time you saw yourself in the mirror? bc when i first saw this scene, i hadn't yet. it felt like i was the reflected image of this other person i didn't recognize, a trick of the light in a sheet of glass
she's trying her best
one of the central tensions of the film is between Alita's journey towards actualization and Ido's desire for her to fulfill the role he assigns her. but at first these perspectives are flipped: Alita looks to her parent for identity, and Ido prods her to look inwards
for the sake of time i'm not going to post too many clips, so i can't share with you the whispered rasp in Salazar's voice in the opening scenes, like she hasn't spoken in centuries, or similarly her clumsy, tentative movements and strange expressions
it's actually the bloody toil and sacrifice of the proletariat but yknow, also engineering. we'll get there
also small note but the order of this shot/reverse is a great touch
when Ido gives her the name Alita, it's a sweet moment, but it's also immediately conditional: she accepts only temporarily, until she figures out her true self. (spoiler: her true self is not a memory to be unlocked but a determined, purposeful amalgamation of influences!!!)
me vs the followers who have already muted me tonight
more important than what the body remembers is what a mind free of conditioning chooses to do with it. it's not about hard-coded "truth" but choices and wills. but that's just imho. i m humble o
this is where i get a little conditional myself, btw. Hugo's actor is just not great throughout, and i know for some people he sunk the whole film. i do think, though, that his lack of charisma actually makes Alita's instantaneous fixation on him much more meaningful
this was the line, sitting in the theater for that first viewing, that really made me sit up straight
the headfake that Ido might be a murderer doesn't last for long, but it's a key moment in Alita's maturation, the first moment you realize that your parents keep secrets from you
this is what getting clocked is like lol. the way people freeze, and then try to disguise the fact they've frozen, but whatever interaction you had just been having is over, they're too distracted studying you, trying to figure out how you're fooling them
Chiren is one of the few major characters who's original to the film, and she's a really key piece. giving Ido a foil to bounce off of, instantly revealing his insecurities and the things truly driving him, is just really smart
something subtle to look out for is how Alita's outfits change as the film goes on, from the baggy, neutral clothes Ido first gives her to his late daughter's innocently fem looks to more brazen and unique ones like my fave: the trenchcoat assassin
after i first saw the film, i went home and a few days later bought girl clothes online for the first time. then i saw the film again while i waited for them to arrive. the third time i saw it in theaters, i wore some underneath male sweaters and jeans.
it felt exciting, and dangerous, and for the first time i really *got* what transition would mean for me, beyond just knowing i was experiencing dypshoria. to quote another classic trans sci-fi film, it's the difference between knowing the path and walking the path
more Salazar performance notes: her posture in this scene is so so great. poking her head forward to make sure she hears Hugo's every word, but it also seems like she's bowled over that the thing Ido stopped her from watching on tv is something she can participate in herself
it's clever filmmaking to introduce us to the rules of motorball on a very small scale, and it's also important to Alita's arc for the exact same reason. it's when she first realizes that the things Ido forbids her from aren't unreachable, they're out there waiting for her
it happens. it will happen to you
"lebron would never survive in this era"
again we gotta talk about POSTURE, Salazar is physically loose and wily in a way actors just never ever are. her performance feels untrained in the best possible way, free of the limitations of received wisdom and played-out practices
the other (smaller) reason that Hugo's subplot works for me is how well it sells the idea of him imposing his aspirations and understanding of the world on Alita, who he knows comes from Zalem, even though she has no reason to share his belief in its majesty
rate my bloodborne oc
Rodriguez's action direction is really really spectacular. even as the scale ramps up, he always strikes a great balance between inventive dynamism and clean, gentle camera movement
also yeah this movie is like ABSURDLY violent lol, it's wild what they let slide on a PG-13 as long as you throw some gears in there and the blood is blue
