Halsey’s movie is a searing feminist indictment of antiquated thinking
HBO
“I'm headed straight for the castle
They wanna make me their queen
And there's an old man sitting on the throne
That's saying that I probably shouldn't be so mean”
-- Halsey, “Castle”
From the chorus of the first track of her first full-length album (2015’s “Badlands”), Halsey identified the separation between power sought and control refused. It’s impossible not to think of that song during the opening of “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power” -- a 50-minute film inspired by the singer’s recent album of the same name -- as old, stuffy royals bemoan the new status of Queen Lila (Halsey) now that the beloved King (Vuk Celebic) has mysteriously died. In flashbacks, we see that he was awful, bellowing “I have given you everything!” and perceiving his spouse’s retort of “You have given me nothing but a lifetime of misery!” as an invitation for physical abuse.
That the Queen is pregnant is but a temporary inconvenience for the old guard, and the film, now available on HBO Max, derives much of its force from the horrifying and all-too-timely depiction of women treated as second-class babymakers to be both drooled over and disregarded. But it’s not just undeniable sexism and the Madonna-whore dichotomy played out in Old England (or the violent, candlelit power plays of “Game of Thrones”) but new ideas crashing into old institutions. It’s ancient thinking paired with a strong female voice and skittering beats by producers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. It’s a tilted power dynamic that was wrong when it originated and is even worse now, presented in the persecution of a giant pop star covered in tattoos.
(Full disclosure: I wrote Halsey’s first cover story and raved about her from the beginning.)
“You’d let anybody with a body control you,” Halsey sings in “Lilith” as Queen Lila walks naked into a pool, followed by other women to surround and support her. Soon she is singing, “I am disgustin'/I've been corrupted,” and after the bath comes not empowerment but discomfort as the Queen covers up. Throughout the film and the album, Halsey’s fourth and best, is a search for peace in a chaotic, patriarchal world, continuing the long-existing tension in her music from two clashes happening at once: the internal battle of self, and the external forces that suppress no matter what she sees in the mirror. In the film, Halsey also plays Lilith, an alter ego staring back at the queen, her eyes darkened underneath like a raccoon, or maybe a thief. Is this how the Queen sees herself or how others see her?
What’s clear in “IICHL, IWP” is that the need to combat external forces overpowers any internal difficulties, at least publicly. Because there is no time, and there is too much at stake. “All of this is temporary,” Halsey sings in “Bells in Santa Fe,” a haunting refrain that in the film could refer to the queen’s vulnerable opportunities, or to the world until she changes it. Who decides?
Written by Halsey and directed by Colin Tilley, “IICHL, IWP” sometimes feels like it either needs more music or more dialogue. Casting recognizable Sasha Lane (“American Honey,” “Hearts Beat Loud”) as a vision-impaired, unofficial doula who lives in the woods and is credited as the Seer is mildly distracting but less of an issue than how cliche she and many of the one-dimensional characters feel. Obviously, this all exists somewhere between an extended music video and an actual movie, but there’s no question that the music has more depth than the story created to visualize it. (If you haven’t watched the anime accompaniment to Sturgill Simpson’s “Sound & Fury,” head to Netflix now.)
There are several memorable and chilling sequences, though: The great “Girl is a Gun” soundtracks the Queen and her ladies partying through the streets, their freedom later used against them and reduced to “gallivanting with your harlot friends.” What emerges is a striking commentary on sexuality and oppression for anyone who passes the low bar of enlightenment required not to reject the fantastic “I Am Not a Woman, I’m a God” on title alone.
Halsey’s work was always cinematic. On record and now on screen, though, that voice has matured into something complex and worthy of discussion. But listen first.
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