"Love Witch" is a film released in 2016 that explores themes of love, sexuality, and gender roles through the lens of witchcraft. Written and directed by Anna Biller, the movie pays homage to the Technicolor melodramas of the 1960s and 1970s, creating a visually stunning and nostalgic aesthetic. The film follows Elaine, a modern-day witch living in present-day America, as she uses her powers to seduce and manipulate men in search of true love. Elaine's glamorous appearance and bewitching ways make her irresistible to men, but her spells often come at a cost. Throughout the film, Elaine grapples with her own desires and the consequences of her actions, leading to a series of tragic events. In "Love Witch," Biller challenges traditional gender roles and expectations through the character of Elaine.

Love witch 2016

Director: Anna Biller Run Time: 121 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 2016

Starring: Gian Keys, Jared Sanford, Jeffrey Vincent Parise, Laura Waddell, Samantha Robinson

Country: United States
Language: English

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About the film:

Elaine, a beautiful young witch, is determined to find a man to love her. In her gothic Victorian apartment she makes spells and potions, and then picks up men and seduces them. However her spells work too well, and she ends up with a string of hapless victims. When she finally meets the man of her dreams, her desperation to be loved will drive her to the brink of insanity and murder.

With a visual style that pays tribute to Technicolor thrillers of the ‘60s, The Love Witch (2016) explores female fantasy and the repercussions of pathological narcissism.

“Anna Biller has quickly established herself as one of the most exciting filmmakers of the past decade.”

About the filmmaker:

Anna Biller is an American filmmaker who creates unique, female-focused, highly visual films that explore the female gaze in cinema. Her first feature Viva (2007) played in film festivals all over the world and gained minor cult status, and her second feature The Love Witch (2016) won acclaim for its elaborate visual style and feminist themes, and has screened at numerous film festivals worldwide. The film earned her the Trailblazer Award and Best Costume Design at the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle Awards, and appeared on many 2016 best-of-year lists. Biller has a BA from UCLA in art and an MFA from CalArts in art and film.

Halloween Horror Week: The Love Witch (2016)

That’s not our intro to Elaine (Samantha Robinson), the titular love witch of Anna Biller’s The Love Witch, but it’s sort of her thesis statement. She’s fled a bad marriage that came to a bad end (as did her husband, Jerry) and ended up in a small Northern California town to find love.

The glamourous Elaine has decided the best way to go about it is to shape herself into “just a pretty woman to love” – in other words, the perfect male fantasy. Her preoccupation has little to do with what she wants and rather what she believes men want. So of course, Elaine turns to witchcraft to accomplish this. And of course, it does not go at all according to her plan. There will be more bad ends to follow.

Writer-director-editor (among other roles) Biller’s The Love Witch occupies a delightful space between camp and high art. Biller’s film is self-aware – it’s at once romantic and serious, arch and hilarious, beautiful and tragic. The acting is performative and stylized but adds perfectly to the heightened reality this film evokes. There is a confident vision to this movie that few filmmakers would be able to pull off.

Biller famously spent years designing and fabricating the costumes and the sets as well as composing music and even hooking a rug to accomplish her singular vision. The movie’s aesthetics are a huge part of its appeal, giving it both a timeless and a time-displaced feeling. It’s not a pastiche nor a parody, but rather it creates its own world that draws you in. It will remind you of other movies you’ve seen – clearly, it’s been influenced by everything from Technicolor musicals to giallo to ‘60s melodrama – but it’s also like nothing else.

As the story unfolds, Elaine – all winged eyeliner and bright eyeshadow, shiny hair and seductive sweetness – sets her eyes clearly inferior men, such as Wayne (Jeffrey Vincent Parise), a professor; and the husband, Richard (Robert Seeley), of her friend Trish (Laura Waddell). They both immediately fall under her literal spell. But Elaine soon gets bored with them and their over-emoting. It’s not a surprise when they both eventually end up dead.

Flashbacks and voiceovers reveal the everyday abuse Elaine faced – from a husband who said she wasn’t doing enough to a father who said she was fat and unattractive. Even her initiation into her coven feels more male-dominated than a goddess-worshipping group should be.

In one scene, Elaine listens with caution as male witch leader Gahan (Jared Sanford) instructs two young women that “A woman’s greatest power lies in her sexuality” while in a burlesque club. In another, she pushes him away as he tries to kiss her breasts in a traditional greeting. This is all under the eye of fellow witch and friend, Barbara (Jennifer Ingrum), who allows it to go on. Elaine understands these are the people with who she’s chosen to align herself, but she still lingers on the outside.

It’s not until midway through the movie that we’re introduced to a police detective, Griff Meadows (Gian Keys), who is Elaine’s greatest love match and also the only man who doesn’t completely fall under her spell.

There’s an idyllic ride on horseback through the woods and then a mock Renaissance wedding between the two of them (it’s that kind of movie) but it’s in those scenes that show how far apart the two are – Griff, in the inner thoughts of his voiceover, refuses to completely fall in love with Elaine. Elaine, for her part, has decided he’s the one. She’s fallen under her own love spell, perhaps, and refuses to let Griff go, but making men love her is the power she has. It’s maybe the only power society has given her.

After the town turns on Elaine for being a witch, Griff, despite his better judgment (and his judgment of her), saves her. However, Elaine knows his true colors – and more importantly, he knows hers. So, of course, she has no choice but to stab him to death. Heartbroken, with his blood on her hands, she dreams of her fantasy – being loved, being carried off by her prince on a white horse.

Trish said to Elaine early in the movie, “It sounds like you’ve been brainwashed by the patriarchy.” As much of a gorgeous, brightly-colored delight as The Love Witch is, it reveals the darkness under the surface of so much beauty and glamour. We’ve all been brainwashed by the patriarchy. The question The Love Witch leaves us with is what we’re going to do about it.

• Tags: anna biller, gian keys, jared sanford, jeffrey vincent parise, jennifer ingrum, laura waddell, robert seeley, samantha robinson

In "Love Witch," Biller challenges traditional gender roles and expectations through the character of Elaine. As a witch, Elaine embraces her sexuality and uses it as a tool for empowerment, often expressing her desires openly and without shame. However, the film also interrogates the consequences of such power dynamics and questions whether true love can truly be found through manipulation.

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Anna Biller

Anna Biller’s The Love Witch, despite being made in 2016, has an uncanny timelessness. Through her distinct art direction and production design, Biller created a sumptuous cinematic world that operates according to its own logic, building upon that crafted for her 2007 debut feature Viva. The story is of a woman named Elaine (Samantha Robinson), recently moved to a small town in California, who practices witchcraft in the hope of meeting the man of her dreams. Using potions and spells to make men fall in love with her, she initially performs for them the role of a submissive and docile female, only to become bored and turned off by each man’s cloying obsession with her, and so she kills them. It’s a unique femme fatale story with a campy undertone, whose look—employing shiny plastic wigs, stage make-up, and costumes crafted with bright, synthetic materials—lands somewhere between a pulpy B-movie from the 1960s, a spoof like Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), and the lush Technicolor musicals of Jacques Demy.

The Love Witch begins with an archetypal scene: a woman is driving down a coastal road in a red convertible, her jet black hair hardly moving despite the car’s rapid speed and open top, as her right hand, nails painted red, lights a cigarette. Like one of Hitchcock’s blondes, Elaine has a hard yet enigmatic glint in her eye. In another scene that takes place inside her Victorian-style apartment, in which Elaine is concocting her potions, each detail of the props and set, aflush with burning red candles and Pagan imagery, has been arranged as carefully by Biller as have the precise rituals performed by Elaine. With her spells and voodoo, Elaine—like Biller—ends up as a kind of auteur directing her own life.

In every aspect of the film’s production, Biller leans into artifice. Instead of attempting impossible authenticity, she draws attention to the highly constructed and coded nature of cinema, gender, and romance. She plays with tropes in order to observe some biting truths, and uses studio lighting, painted scrims, and extravagant costumes to bring the viewer further into her idiosyncratic world.—Gracie Hadland

One of the standout elements of "Love Witch" is its stunning visual style. Biller meticulously recreates the look and feel of Technicolor films, using vibrant colors, intricate costumes, and carefully composed shots. These aesthetic choices not only contribute to the film's nostalgic quality but also serve as a commentary on the ways in which gender and desire are constructed and performed. Despite its retro aesthetic and subject matter, "Love Witch" offers a contemporary critique of societal expectations surrounding love and relationships. Through its exploration of witchcraft and manipulation, the film invites viewers to question and reflect upon their own notions of love and the roles we play within romantic relationships. In conclusion, "Love Witch" is a visually stunning and thought-provoking film that offers a unique take on the themes of love, sexuality, and gender roles. Anna Biller's attention to detail and dedication to recreating the look and feel of 1960s and 1970s films adds an extra layer of depth to the story, making it an engaging and memorable viewing experience..

Reviews for "The Colourful World of 'Love Witch': Exploring the Film's Unique Cinematography"

1. John - 2 stars

I found "Love Witch 2016" to be quite disappointing. The film had promising aesthetics and a unique take on the witchcraft genre, but the execution fell flat. The pacing was incredibly slow, making it difficult to stay engaged throughout the entire length of the movie. Additionally, the plot felt disjointed and lacked coherence, leaving many loose ends and unresolved storylines. While the visual style was visually appealing, it could not compensate for the weak narrative and tedious pacing. Overall, "Love Witch 2016" left me feeling unsatisfied and uninterested.

2. Sarah - 1 star

I had high expectations for "Love Witch 2016" due to the positive reviews, but unfortunately, the film did not live up to the hype. The acting was generally subpar, with many characters delivering their lines in an overly theatrical and unnatural manner. This contributed to the overall lack of believability and made it difficult to become emotionally invested in the story. The film also seemed to prioritize style over substance, resulting in a shallow and superficial portrayal of witchcraft and female empowerment. Ultimately, "Love Witch 2016" failed to deliver a compelling narrative or memorable characters, leaving me thoroughly unimpressed.

3. Michael - 2 stars

While "Love Witch 2016" had an intriguing premise, it ultimately failed to deliver on its potential. The pacing was sluggish, with many scenes feeling unnecessarily drawn out and repetitive. The main character lacked depth and development, making it difficult to empathize or connect with her journey. The film also had a tendency to rely heavily on visual appeal, often sacrificing substance and storytelling in the process. Overall, "Love Witch 2016" had moments of brilliance, but they were overshadowed by the film's overall lackluster execution.

The Role of Psychology in 'Love Witch': Analyzing the Characters' Motivations