We rarely give it up for editing. Yet, editing made this hunt-for-a-serial-killer tale into a guesswork thriller. It was all terribly clever, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if writer/director JT Mollner either edited the film himself or worked very closely between script and final cut.
I love this film because it was so clever.
I hate this film because I can’t write about it without giving away stuff.
Here’s what I can tell you – The film opens with a woman asking, “Are you a serial killer?” to someone in close proximity. I’m reminded of an axiom I love to quote, but rarely follow: Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answers to.
The film tells us in writing that our movie outlines “the final crimes of a prolific serial killer.” It will be told in six chapters.
Next screen reads, “Chapter 3: ‘Can you help me? Please’ “
Well, either somebody is dyslexic or being cute; either way have my attention, film.
In Chapter 3, we meet “The Lady” (Willa Fitzgerald). She’s bleeding and wearing red OR scrubs. She looks very out of place, running through Oregon’s wilderness, clearly terrified. She’s being 
chased by “The Demon” (Kyle Gallner), a large-ish and deliberate man carrying a rifle. Do we think he’d shoot The Lady if given chance? Certainly. He already fired at her crashed vehicle, inspiring her to take off on foot.
Next, there is Chapter 5: “Here, kitty, kitty …”
Seriously. Film told “in six chapters” and we started with Chapter 3 and then went to Chapter 5.
There is a method to this madness. But I can’t tell you that part. I can only suggest the story told out of chronological sequence immediately reminded me of Pulp Fiction, which is pretty good company. Strange Darling is a simpler tale; the same two people are the focal points of every scene. And yet for all that simplicity, this film will leave you guessing a bunch. Here’s some more I can tell you: these two almost certainly never met prior to an hour before Chapter 1 begins and they became intimate, in the most dictionary definition sense of that word. That’s all I can say, and it gives nothing away.
Strange Darlings is the kind of film where I leave the theater with a wicked, know-it-all smile. It’s the kind of film that makes me both feel smart and justifies my movie-watching habit over and over. Were it told in sequence, I’d find the film passable-to-good, but not outstanding. The more I think about this film now, the more I like it and hope there’s more of JT Mollner in my future.
Once an Oregonian serial killer
Took part in an entertaining thriller
The conclusion? Head-scratching
For directorial hatching
Because he jumbled up all of the filler
Rated R, 97 Minutes
Director: JT Mollner
Writer: JT Mollner
Genre: Oh, snap!
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Storytellers
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People who don’t like being duped
