Murder Party (dir. Jeremy Saulnier, 2007)
The only things I knew about Murder Party before watching it were that it was Jeremy Saulnier’s debut feature, that his frequent collaborator and Joe Lo Truglio lookalike Macon Blair was in it, and that it was about some sap being invited to the titular homicide soiree.
Oh, was I pleasantly surprised when it turned out the hosts weren’t your garden variety psychopaths, but something much worse: New York art scene people.
It’s not immediately apparent, but dig a little and you will discover that there are few places more criminal that the fine art world. It’s financial crime and fraud top to bottom. Say you need to hide illicit assets or earnings. You can run a cash heavy business to launder these illegal gains in the manner of Walter White’s car wash business. You saw that on a TV show, though, so you know the cops are aware of it. Buying real estate is good as well. You purchase a luxury apartment in London or New York, never visit, and sell when the opportunity comes. But that leaves a paper trail like no other–not that anyone usually cares. But the, there’s art. A painting has a fluctuating price scale determined by appraisers who are quite literally making it up as they go along. You can easily move a painting from country to country. And best of all, there’s virtually no regulation or oversight. It’s a free-for-all of corruption and malfeasance.
Then there’s the unscrupulous personalities it attracts who treat fine as a way to make money. You know the type: Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, the Painter of Light himself Thomas Kinkade. Even someone like Banksy, ostensibly on the right side of things, is not immune to this system. That half-shredded painting retained its ludicrous price. Then there’s all the dealers, brokers, and auction houses after their cut. There’s the interns and employees assembling the readymades that someone like Koons specializes in. It’s an awful place.
Worse than all of that, though, are the people who take the game seriously. There’s nothing wrong with being a serious artist and knowing your craft and theory, but to believe in all the parties and talk, that what you’re doing has any import or value beyond dollar figures, to buy into it all. It’s just sad.
I’m straying from my point, though, because I like ranting about the art world. We’re here to talk about Murder Party.
Christopher, that classic lonely sadsack with a cat, stumbles upon an invitation to the “Murder Party.” He assembles a makeshift cardboard costume, takes the train to Williamsburg, and finds the warehouse address. Inside are some very representative art students who, in the words of one of them, “didn’t sign up for a second degree assault party.” They are determined to commit a murder in order to secure a grant from their pretentious patron Alexander. What follows is gruesome death, drug fueled confessions, and arguing over what to order for dinner. It’s a very funny, deranged time and a great first feature from Saulnier, whose skill at comedy isn’t immediately evident in later films like Blue Ruin and Green Room. I haven’t yet seen his latest Hold the Dark, but definitely will at some point. Same with his episodes on the upcoming season of True Detective. I’d love to see him work in horror comedy again, but in the meantime there’s Macon Blair’s excellent first film I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore to feel the gap.
Oh, and there’s some A-plus animal acting from Sir Lancelot and Hell Hammer. They’re a cat and dog respectively.
October 21, 2018
oliveresque 