The blow-by-blow on 'Sucker Punch'

“Close your eyes. Open your mind. You will be unprepared." That’s what the trailers advise, but while you should definitely open your mind, you also have to open your eyes when you watch Sucker Punch, the first original work of director Zack Snyder. His previous films Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen, and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole were based on existing material, and Snyder has also signed on to direct the much-anticipated Christopher Nolan production of Superman. Because of these novelties, critics and movie geeks alike became very interested in how this new project will turn out. Sucker Punch seemed as good a test as any for most people to see if Snyder is ready for Superman, so they held him (perhaps a little unjustly) to a higher standard than they normally would. “Don’t write a check with your mouth that you can’t cash with your ass." Did Snyder live up to that standard? As with his previous works, that depends on whether or not you like his brand of filmmaking – and on whether or not you can buy into the premise of the film, which did not quite turn out the way most viewers expected, given how it was marketed. Sucker Punch is a showcase of Snyder’s particular visual style and outstanding technical skills, and certainly lived up to expectations. But he seems to have obsessed over the visuals and his storytelling gimmick to the detriment of developing his film’s characters, as well as to making sure that the main story engages his viewers on a personal level. This, I believe is what kept the film from becoming a real knockout. However, there’s still a lot to appreciate in the film. Sucker Punch has a great soundtrack composed of covers that were re-arranged by music producers Marius de Vries and Tyler Bates, who succeeded in making every song in the diverse selection sound like they do belong in the film. Music is vital to the narrative, and it was effectively used to enhance the major themes of grief, survival, and sacrifice. The CGI work is also top-notch; it complements the well-choreographed action scenes, as well as the stylized look of the production. “To those who fight for it, life has a flavor the sheltered will never know." What I found most interesting about Sucker Punch, though, is its unconventional storytelling. Snyder and co-writer Steve Shibuya may have been dangerously walking the line between an artistic depiction of a story and something too “high concept" and deliberately confusing. That said, however, the film is not as nonsensical as some people make it out to be. Sucker Punch opens with a curtain rising to reveal Babydoll (Emily Browning) almost mad with grief because of her mother’s and sister’s death, that she is inevitably committed to a mental asylum. Is it the sneaky Snyder’s clue that she is not the storyteller, perhaps? As we see this unfold, we also hear our storyteller’s voice talking about angels who can take any form (“…one day, old man; next day, little girl") when they come into our lives to inspire us and challenge us. In the asylum, Babydoll joins Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), and Amber (Jamie Chung), who are all undergoing unconventional therapy in the hands of resident psychiatrist Dr. Vera Gorski (Carla Gugino). Her stepfather bribes the head orderly, Blue (Oscar Isaac), into arranging for a lobotomy to be performed on Babydoll so that she can never lay claim to her considerable inheritance. As the operation is about to be performed, Sweet Pea recalls the events that led to that moment. The flashback is not set in the asylum but in a burlesque club where the girls perform and entertain clients every night. Blue becomes the cunning man who runs the Club and Dr. Gorski the Madam who teaches the girls to perform for clients, in the same way she uses music to help them express themselves during their therapy sessions in the asylum. Whether or not Babydoll really dances during her therapy, the only thing we can say for sure is that everyone comes to watch her and they are affected by what they see. With the threat of lobotomy looming, Babydoll comes up with a list of items that she and the girls will need to escape. She plans to steal them while everyone is busy watching her therapy sessions. Sweet Pea visualizes the heists as action-fantasy sequences in which the girls take the role of soldiers on a mission led by a Wise Man (Scott Glenn), who dispenses vague words of wisdom. In the end, we learn about the pivotal roles of the Wise Man and Sweet Pea in the story. This is the only time the viewer can make sense of the rest of the film. “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything." Many debates have transpired among viewers and critics about Snyder’s alleged skewed sense of girl power and how he glorifies escapism. But I think the film is ultimately about survival, about self-empowerment rather than women empowerment, about the lengths someone will go to in order to escape more than escapism itself. The Club is not how Sweet Pea wanted things to have been like when she was there, but rather what she felt her experience in the asylum was like at the time she was telling her story. It’s a more glamorous analogue, albeit no less cruel or exploitative. She visualizes the girls dressed like the Bettie Page pinups that were popular at the time (the 1960’s), most likely because that’s how she felt they were regarded by the people around them and not because she fantasized about being dressed that way while she was at the asylum. The portrayal of the heists as epic missions seems like her attempt to lovingly remember the girls as heroes fighting for their freedom. We are not seeing Sweet Pea’s fantasies; instead we are seeing her depictions of reality with the benefit of hindsight, as informed by her later life experiences. Other people (Snyder and Shibuya included) may see it differently. Heck, even the official synopsis does not quite agree with me. But that’s how I understood the story. Snyder says the film deliberately invites interpretation, so it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. What you will eventually take away from it, though, is not the filmmaker’s view of feminism or his commentary on pop culture – or, indeed, the meaning of life – but a reflection of what you believe in. And that, to me, is the real sucker punch. - AY, GMA News