Life as a rock and roll star is not for the faint of heart, and if you’ve watched enough movies about fictional and historical artists, you’re aware of the treacherous rise and fall that comes with the lifestyle. For as glorious as the peaks are, the valleys are equally tormenting. We know the beats of the average rock star’s life too well, asmusic biopics areperhaps the most derided subgenrefor their reliance on tired tropes and a burden to cram one’s entire career on the screen.However, even in music biopics with the most hackneyed tropes, a stellar leading performance can salvage the genre’s restrictions. WhileHer Smell, the 2018Alex Ross Perryfilm about a troubled punk rocker told through various segments in her life, is a finely crafted exploration of a life of fame, it would be lacking potency if not for a mesmerizing performance byElisabeth Moss,turning a clichéd archetype into a three-dimensional, well-rounded human.
A self-destructive punk rocker struggles with sobriety while trying to recapture the creative inspiration that led her band to success.
‘Her Smell’s Creative Spin on the Music Genre
If her role as Peggy Olson inMad Menshowed the world that Elisabeth Moss was one of the finest actors of her generation, thenHer Smellwas the ultimate confirmation. For seven seasons of theacclaimed AMC advertising drama, Moss played a timid but persistent secretary who asserts her creativity and autonomy in the toxic workforce. As Becky Something, the once acclaimed punk rock star fallen from grace inHer Smell, she is nothing like the humblesecretary-turned-copywriter of Sterling Cooper. The film follows Becky Something (Moss), the lead vocalist for the band, Something She, who alienates her family and drives away band members due to her self-destructive personality and substance abuse. Perry forgoes the traditional music biopic narrative for a structure evocative ofDanny Boyle’sSteve Jobs, where wefollow her downfall and reformation through five distinct vignettes.
Alex Ross Perry, the indie director ofListen Up Philip, brings a frantic and unnerving quality to thisbehind-the-scenes look at a punk rock band’s unraveling. The five segments conclude with monumental blow-ups or resolutions, but selecting where to drop into Becky Something’s life feels spontaneous. Perry translates her instability through the jittery movements of a handheld camera. Once she cleans up her act in the latter two segments, the camera is static. Even when the story shifts away from the concert stage,the reverberations of a loud rock show linger. The muffled sound of the cheering audience and band currently on stage echo throughout the scenes set backstage. For a chamber drama, primarily consisting of people talking in rooms,Her Smellpays incredible attention to the staging of the sequences,with each setting feeling like a lived-in world with distinct characteristics.
Elisabeth Moss Pours Her Heart and Soul in ‘Her Smell’
Perry, with his emphasis on intimate handheld camera work,evokes the films ofJohn Cassavetes, whose films,A Woman Under the InfluenceandOpening Night(set in a similar behind-the-curtains show business milieu asHer Smell), focus on women whose worlds are seemingly collapsing around them. Elisabeth Moss channels the gravitas and vulnerability ofGena Rowlandsin these respective films. Much like Rowlands’ roles, written and directed by her husband, Cassavetes,Becky Something calls for capital “A” acting.Under the wrong hands, the screaming, volatility, and rambunctious energy could devolve into histrionic stereotypes. Luckily, the audience is exposed to Becky as a positive spirit in montages depicting the band during their halcyon days spliced between the vignettes. Her personality has not defined her entire life. Instead, something pernicious about the industry and life of fame has forced her to become a toxic figure.
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The term “tour de force,” is used perhaps too liberally in film criticism, but this undeniably applies to Moss' performance inHer Smell. Not only is she believable as a new-wave punk rocker, butshe harnesses the energy of a musician who lives on the edge 24/7.While most biopics implicitly glorifythe debauchery and excess of rock stars, Perry’s film is a continuously grating and taxing exercise to watch. It may not be for a wide audience, but the grueling tone and suffocating claustrophobia force the viewer to confront the angst of Becky’s life. The movie probes into Becky’s psychology beyond the immediate effect of her substance abuse. When watching, you feel as thoughher stubbornness, insecurity, and selfishness are the root of her problemsand not just the direct effects of drugs, which certainly inflame her poisonous aura.
What makesHer Smellstand out is Perry’s decision to focus on the psychology of Becky Something through her relationships with others, and her self-destructive ability to drag everyone down to her neurosis.In an interview with Vulture, Moss, describes her interpretation of Becky, stating, “The guiding idea for me was thatshe doesn’t think she’s abusing anybody. When she’s angry at somebody, she thinks she’s 100 percent in the right.“Her narcissism seeps through her co-members of Something She and the Akergirls, the more successful band that Becky eventually starts opening for. In the third vignette, characters, including Akergirls member Crassie Cassie (Cara Delevingne), manager Howard Goodman (Eric Stoltz), and Becky’s mother Ania (Virginia Madsen), are all inflicted with the same angst and cynicism as Becky, who desperately await for her arrival. Those in her circle vow to reform her, but she is so rooted in paranoia and insecurity that she takes any advice as an affront to her credibility. Moss identified Becky’s"crazy mix of extreme confidence and extreme insecurity.“This dichotomy is the backbone of her hostile personality.
‘Her Smell’ Tracks the Evolution of a Troubled Punk Star Through a Series of Vignettes
The structure ofHer Smellnot only creates an intimate, documentary-like portrayal of the story, but it also tracks Becky’s evolution from unrelenting egoism, desperate insecurity, and humble reformation. Even though the performance calls for grand emotions,Moss subtly demonstrates her evolutionthroughout the movie.This prevents the film from being stale, as she distinguishes her mannerisms and behavior between the first three segments, loosely defined as the “bad times.” In the latter two segments, a sober Becky reconciling with her ex-husband, Danny (Dan Stevens), and Something She’s reunion performance, respectively, Moss calibrates her exuberance and eccentric personality into a meditative reflection.She’s still struggling with demons, but her path of self-redemption is sincere.
The greatest badge of honor ofHer Smellis its disinterest in apologizing for Becky Something being an independent and creative woman. It’s typical for films about self-destructive people to condemn their subjects too harshly,usually to maintain a dark and gritty tone. Alex Ross Perry’s direction is unflinching during the downswing,but he graciously blesses his protagonist with a sympathetic understanding.Similarly, in movies about the torturing nature of art and entertainment, filmmakers tend to establish a loathing relationship with the art form, butHer Smellcaptures the euphoria of being a musician.The passion is crystallized during the final segment when Becky returns to the stage with feelings of apprehension, but also eagerness. Like the attitude of Becky Something,Her Smellpulls no punches, and it never restricts itself to one emotion. This would’ve been nearlyimpossible without its anchor, Elisabeth Moss, who gave a performance that left reverberations in its wake.
Her Smellis available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
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