in spite of myself, i found this to be deeply satisfying. meticulously scripted, every beat hits, every performance is completely in command of itself... and yet, i was rankled by how tidy the whole thing is, how every moment echoes another with an engineered perfection that seems to conflict with the chaos of these situations.

still, it's gonna slay people up and down.

"I were but little happy if I could say how much."

"y'all are my motherfucking soulmates."

like a Ke$ha video directed by Terrence Malick (*Do* The Wonder?), a dubstep belly shot of the american nightmare. Forever.

although, re the too-obvious Ke$ha reference above, Pussy Riot would also fit the bill (the Brony-baiting masks certainly raise that flag). first viewing was dominated by concerns with capitalism and carnal myopia, but i suspect that future visits will focus more on power dynamics and holy shit ashley benson.

also, there's a show-stopping sequence at the film's mid-point that involves a piano and an unexpected pop song and... cinema forreeverrrrr