A slow close reading of Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls (1995). One shot per day.
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0053
I feel like Iâm only beginning to understand the reasoning here. Nomiâs bag is in a car. That car is gone, so she attacks the next car available. Not a dance yet, but this is the first choreography. Performer and filmmakers are beginning to show their language.
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0052
How do you introduce new characters in your films? âHey, thatâs my car!â This is an incredible idea. At the peak of anguish, the protagonistâs uncontrollable tantrum is beginning to erupt. What could the world possibly offer in return?
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0051
Repetition in dialogue and shots hides that we are now looking through glass, leaving us and Nomi disoriented and frustrated. How do you get a heroine out of this predicament? Nothing in the story or image sets us up for where this leads.
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0050
Lost among the colours of advertisements, none offering what she needs, even if she had the money to buy it. Jeff, you thieving bastard! Hope everyone is still emotionally invested in the slowly unravelling plot. The stakes are high.
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0049
Same setup as the first crane shot, but Jeffâs car is gone. So is her suitcase, which I assume is later found in a Tarantino film. Her careless crossing of the road, emerging unharmed and unaware, is what really matters to us.
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0048
Hitting marks, camera moves, pause, not looking away from the inevitable crash. You see why her performance has a reputation for camp. Adore how she puts her jacket on to return to her previous self. Not snakeskin, but a symbol of individuality.
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0047
A jarring cut as if we are already in a dream. The camera moves, the light hits her eyes just right, and the exaggerated win gives the performance something to sink its teeth into. No win goes unnoticed; all gifts shall be exploited.
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0046
We are on the move, crossing space of vibrant lights. I so prefer this type of storytelling to the stasis of the car, actions as interactions. These eternal lines have been used by all parents in a children's funfair. But we are adults here.
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0045
This is really well staged by Lord Verhoeven. He does that in his sleep. The luggage never leaves the space of safety, but she bravely steps out. She still has her knife, I guess, and her striking eye makeup. That should be enough.
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0044
He re-enters the established safe space of the car to deliver his line, luring Nomi outside. Films have always depended on the kindness of strangers. Dreams depend more on recognition than trust.
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0043
Every family conversation I ever had is trapped in this loop. They want to help, but their suggestions... my reaction has been Nomi since I was fifteen. Though physically out of the car, the conversation is still in it. We are ready to move on.
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0042
Nearly out of the truck. Descending from the previous shot, the camera lowers to below eye level. The billboard offering sausage and hash browns grounds her introduction to the real Vegas. It has been 42 days. Text STOP for this madness to end.
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0041
The crane shot, evocative of Touch of Evil, is an oasis after the intercutting. Alas, it is only the truck parking. Who parks with such confidence there will be a spot? They did it once slowly, then had to repeat it at double speed. He knows.
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0040
Finally, we land on the two-shot to conclude (I assume) the scene in the traditional way. The driver, the wanderer and us, passengers in this dream entrance. I bet they chose this part of the shot for the Vegas lights coming closer and closer.
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0039
Rewarding to find a pause where we expect a response. After the editor has repeated shots to match dialogue, her silence breaks the pattern. The loop validates it further, as she eternally chooses not to respond, leading towards closure.
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0038
I can only assume the dialogue was longer, or needed trimming for performance, to justify the form of this scene. The same two shots, repeated. I do appreciate Vegas outside the windows, but for Godâs sake, please glance at the road.
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0037
We have settled into the back seat through the repetition of shots, like children caught between arguing parents, following a back-and-forth we only half understand. Although Iâm not sure what that might say about my family.
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0036
Passing on the ways of the land with an instant meme. The old wise men once said that in Vegas you have to gamble. Will she play by the rules? Delivered with a glow of red light on his face, we are going deeper into the night.
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0035
Speaking without thinking, not looking at the camera or at Jeff. Could we possibly believe her? I adore the looping "no". Every repetition chips away at her credibility. The passing car make me feel as though we are travelling backwards.
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0034
He never has to glance at the road. His gamble is a dare he has performed before as the vehicle is being pulled in by Vegas. Myself, I enjoy looking at the road while driving, but the film prefers Jeffâs eyes. Someone else occupies the driverâs seat.
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0033
She finally blinks at him as she accepts his lie. This is the real welcome to Vegas: accept the lies and follow your dreams. Nomi seems more than ready to do just that, with a smile.
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0032
As the night settles, the editing returns to back-and-forth talking heads. Is it about pace or performance, or a bit of both? I expect a double shot of them at the end of the sequence, a sense of satisfaction.
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0031
The complementary shot of Nomi, still from the back seat. Her face reflecting the warmth of Vegas reveals this is her first visit. She is looking for a fellow adventurer to experience the city with. A wonderful sparkle in her unblinking eyes.
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0030
A jarring cut from the mountain horizon to the city, but Vegas exists at night, so it's only fitting. A new camera position: we are cosying up in the back seat. The journey was long, as though we fell asleep and have just woken upon arrival. Or still dreaming.
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0029
A transition shot if I have ever seen one. What did they talk about as time passed? I want to believe they sat in silence, pondering their dreams, knife at hand. Maybe Jeff sneaked in a Garth Brooks song as the blue car became part of the icy landscape.
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0028
From a knife threat to a near crash to friendly hitting, within seconds, because she shared her dream. I still do not trust Jeff, but I appreciate him saying what we were all thinking about dancing in Vegas. His gaze and smile carry this shot.
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0027
I thought Japanese but a friend wisely said: Nomi, Italian for names, in that she has many or none: No me, there is no self but she is secretly desperate for an identity: Know me. What, her? No. Me! Esterhaz is bringing layers. I got chills.
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0026
Alas, we are still in this car. Nearly a month in, an equilibrium is established and we are finally ready for introductions. Echoes of the title: showgirl is a role, not a name. Will she make a name for herself? Jeff spells out her motivation.
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0025
Concluding the car manoeuvre, the camera is left behind as the car regains the road. What comes next? Could this be a deliberate passing of time? The truck following close behind tells us this is not a conclusion. The tension remains unresolved.
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0024
Not the expected complementary cut to his face. Instead, the editor responds with the car swerving. Actions matter, and often movement carries the meaning. Fitting for what will eventually become a film filled with dancing bodies.
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0023
Like the laws of the wild. She showed him she was dangerous, and he matched her offer. Now they can talk. Admittedly, she did put away the knife in the most awkward way possible.
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0022
The story owes everything to this lone truck driver avoiding the crash. The film glimpses all those secondary characters on the fringes who allow us to dream of Vegas. Add to this the contrast of this blue shot with the warmth of the interior of the car.
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0021
And we are back inside the car. With a light shake, she falls deeper into his lap, the knife barely missing his throat. Every shot contains the idea of danger, like toddlers playing with matches.
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0020
Finally, we are outside the car. A small swerve lets the audience breathe with the promised action and the impending danger: a truck we did not even know was there. The editing cuts just before a possible impact. Will there be a crash?
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0019
For a second, she falls into his lap. We have been captive in this car for weeks now (surely Nomi feels the same), and the only human touch has been a forced one. The brief duration prepares us for an action sequence. Brace yourself.
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0018
Dare I say the editing is going through the motions? Perhaps repetition creates space for Elvis to take over the pacing while our heroine remains passive. Filmmakers are always trying to say something, but I am not quite sure what it is here.
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0017
Back and forth editing here for no apparent reason, unless if it is for performance or even more preferably if it is to emulate the rhythm of a sexy dance that will follow. A hidden promise.
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0016
Back-and-forth editing here for no apparent reason, unless it is there for the performance, or, even better, to emulate the rhythm of a sexy dance that will follow, like a hidden promise.
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0015
Although the camera angle on her is the same as before, the frame is blown up to bring us closer to her. This moment of vulnerability is essential to the heroine's journey. She is searching for someone she can trust.
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0014
Elvis is finally on our side, finding the courage to look at her and denounce his former self. A change of heart in a pickup truck, sealed with a wonderfully warm smile. No blinking means he isnât lying.
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0013
The frame opens up to reveal her hatred of Garth Brooks, easily convincing us that we dislike him too, whether we know who he is or not. All we can do is hide behind our steering wheels, hoping she doesnât dislike us.
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0012
Why would she take her eyes of him so quickly? He is terrified to glance at her and he doesn't deserve her gaze. An absolute queen who does not really know how to hold a knife properly, but why would she?
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0011
The knife reveal is synchronised with the turn of the head. The weapon is only there to point out her eyes as a threat. His face massive in the frame to validate her with his reaction.
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0010
One small beat and straight to the point for our Elvis impersonator. She is ready for it, her answer waiting to be triggered. I love the contrast between the washed-out exterior and their warm, carefully made-up faces.
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0009
Skipping axis consistently until they agree towards the same idea. The editor patiently waiting for her to hop over the line and give us a sense of security once again. To the mountains!
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0008
This is all about the shadow over her eyes, as she makes a choice. A power play in full effect. It naturally carries a stylistic reference to noir cinematography, but doesn't that work well?
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0007
Nomi's makeup matches the Elvis outfit of our driver, undoubtedly his first line would be "Vegas". Camera setup is destroying the axis here, officially creating a sense of unease and adventure. Great smirk, this is not her lucky day, is it?
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0006
Pard for partner? Or for Leopard? Her makeup is so much, it is all I can look at. Will the driver be in equally impressive makeup?
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0005
That was quick! She barely did any waiting. Not my experience of hitchhiking. But Nomi gets quick results: She wants something? She will get it fast. The heroin fully established in the first seconds.
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0004
Beautiful shot to begin with. Even better leather jacket. We follow her, the truck wiping the frame offers a reveal of the landscape and then the face of Nomi. Effective blocking that tells the story quickly. She is a woman on the move.
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0003
Here we go. This is going to be an analysis of possibilities, of choices, and this is the first creative choice right here: Showgirls, the title in plural. In a beautiful font. I wonder if that is about the different aspects contained in Nomi, the multiverse within.
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0002
As is the business, Showgirls announces itself first as an industrial object: MGM's spectacle, United Artists' authorship. Studios above characters, money over dream.
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0001
Before Las Vegas, before Nomi, before the stage, there is the lion. Every spectacle needs an entrance. Showgirls: A Shot per Day begins with a roar.
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