OVERVIEW
In The Gallerist, Natalie Portman plays Polina Polinski, a struggling Miami gallery owner aiming for a breakout Art Basel show after her divorce from her wealthy ex-husband, Tom (Sterling K. Brown). She invites influencer Dalton Hardberry (Zach Galifianakis) to preview the work, but a freakish accident leaves him dead and stuck to the centerpiece sculpture minutes before the gallery opens. With her assistant Kiki (Jenna Ortega), Polina makes a desperate call: pretend his body was part of the art all along.
BACKGROUND
The film is Cathy Yan’s third feature-length film, marking her return to the Sundance Film Festival after her 2018 debut, Dead Pigs, and following her zany Harley Quinn film, Birds of Prey. After a few of her projects failed to materialize, she became attached to James Pedersen’s concept, saying that a corpse-as-art premise going viral does not feel too far-fetched in today’s landscape. She also wanted to use the setup to explore what truly counts as art, and who gets to decide.
THE REVIEW
Despite how it looks, an industry satire like this can be challenging to pull off. How do you make a broad comedy, built on caricatures, roasting a glossy, status-obsessed world where everything is a performance, when that world is already present and providing all the jokes for free? Similar to Zoolander and Velvet Buzzsaw, The Gallerist seems content in shooting for a faithful recreation. Like those films, this results in a one-joke film, but its energetic pacing, complemented by stylish camerawork, an engaging score, and a brief runtime, helps keep it enjoyable.
The performances are suitably loud, with all actors from the very packed ensemble performing for the last row. Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Zach Galifianakis, and Charli XCX fare better at making their characters authentic, infusing them with subtle human touches. Charli XCX, in particular, once again demonstrates her talent for playing with her image and, in a short appearance, leaves a lasting impression. She truly understands this world better than anyone. Meanwhile, the other actors seem to compete to see who can overact the most.
That is not to say the other performances are not fun. If there is a setting that calls for unchecked overacting, an art gallery full of influencers is surely the place. Portman has always been an actress who fares better with heavier material than lighter fare, and her performances in the Marvel movies and in silly comedies such as Your Highness have been embarrassing. She does better here, in a mode closer to her work in Vox Lux, but for once her uptight portrayal is actually funny.
Ortega’s role has shades of her performances in the Scream movies, while Catherine Zeta-Jones’s presence and gravitas are enough to make her the center of attention whenever she is on screen. The two whose loudness worked best for me were Sterling K. Brown and Daniel Brühl, and a bidding war between them easily became the film’s most memorable moment.
There are plenty of long one-shots that track the gallery, passing through people’s reactions while shifting between characters, keeping the momentum dynamic and well-paced. With the costumes, it is hard to tell whether the film is poking fun or aiming for accuracy. Finally, Andrew Orkin and Joseph Shirley’s score is extremely catchy, with rollicking piano and modern beats, which greatly enhance the film’s style.
The suspense never escalates into real, anxiety-inducing stress, and the film rarely finds a fresh angle on what it is parodying, both of which would have taken it to the next level. It also wraps up a little too cleanly, even if the final montage is genuinely satisfying.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Gallerist is a dark parody that, by spoofing a universe already ridiculous on its own, can feel contemptible for simply recreating it for a few laughs. Its short runtime and high energy, in both craft and performances, keep it fun while it lasts, but like an art influencer, it is often all style and zero substance. Still, it is hard to take your eyes off it.
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- Where to watch
- Coming soon
- Where to watch
- Coming soon
- Original title
- The Gallerist
- Director
- Cathy Yan
- Cast
- Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Sterling K. Brown, Zach Galifianakis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Daniel Brühl, Charli xcx
- Screenwriter
- Cathy Yan, James Pedersen
- Cinematography
- Federico Cesca
- Country
- Language
- English